How to really make Twitter work for your business

Filed Under Checklists, Community, Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Successful Blog, Tools | Leave a Comment

By Tina Hamilton

By now entrepreneurs and small business owners should be aware that marketing from social media platforms is highly advantageous—namely Twitter. I thought I knew it all when it came to utilizing Twitter for marketing efforts, however, the old saying “you never stop learning” proved to be very true. I knew Twitter for being a notorious platform for fans to follow celebrities on, and for big businesses to establish contact with people via blasting multiple daily tweets. I was under the misconception that when it came to marketing, only large corporations benefited from using Twitter. I was mistaken, for in the words of Yoda, “size matters not.” Twitter can even benefit a kid with a lemonade stand.

Simple rules to follow

When setting up a Twitter business account there are some simple rules you will want to follow that I discovered are very effective. If you are a home-based entrepreneur the Twitter winds will blow your sails towards the shores of other companies and marketing experts with whom you can connect. Marketing your brand on Twitter (correctly) will open more doors for advantageous encounters.

Brand yourself

When setting up your profile make sure you take advantage of the area reserved for your profile photo and instead upload an image of your company’s logo. This will help to establish brand recognition, and the verbal tweets that you provide can be placed with a visual image that will brand itself into your audience member’s minds.

Wave your Twitter flag

In other words, let EVERYONE know that you are on Twitter. Tell all your friends and followers on Facebook, Linkdin, Pinterest, and any other social media platforms you may be using. This is a numbers game: the more followers you get, the better your brand’s online exposure will be.

Being a leader means to be a follower

As a business leader you will want to follow as many businesses, entrepreneurs, marketing experts and those who are relevant in your field. It is common “Twitter etiquette” that if someone follows you, you follow him or her in return. You should also follow all of your competitors for two simple reasons: (1) you can keep an eye on “what they are doing” and (2) it provides an opportunity for their followers to discover and follow you.

Stick to business

We all know that bartenders aren’t supposed to talk about politics and religion, and the same holds true for business Tweets. As you will see lots of tweets floating through cyberspace that stress views on non-business related issues, you may feel tempted to respond. But don’t. Running a successful Twitter campaign requires one to stay on neutral ground at all times.

Get visual

Sharing images is a great way to draw attention to your brand. People are more inclined to respond to tweets that include images—just make sure they are business appropriate. A photo of the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders could offend those who dislike the team or upset those who think cheerleading objectifies women. Instead, show an inspirational and motivating image or personal photo from your place of business (a happy client using your services, for example).

Growth!

Trust me guys, follow these tips and you will see a difference in the number of people you communicate with via your brand. Not only have these methods helped me; they have helped many others who took them on board. Here’s to some successful tweeting!

Author’s Bio: Tina Hamilton is a veteran journalist who enjoys covering a wide range of topics like social media, business, society, and others as a staff writer for Organic Media Group, a boutique SEO consulting agency. You can follow Tina on Twitter as @TinaTheScribe.

WordPress Plug-Ins to Make Your Website More User Friendly

Filed Under Blog Basics, Comments, Successful Blog, Tools | Leave a Comment

By Danny DeMichele

If you have built your website on WordPress you are lucky. There are so many plugins available to make your website more productive and fun for the users you are attracting. What’s more is these plugins change the way you can interact with your customer base in a way that grows loyalty. You will quickly find that certain plugins will draw people back as well as attract new users.

Here are some plug-in ideas for you to sample:

Slider Revolution

This WordPress plugin helps bring your website to life. You are no longer stuck with the same intro sliders that everyone else has. Instead you can build a slider that makes sense for presenting your content. It is also easy to change so you can make your website new and dynamic daily.

Breadcrumbs

You want to use SEO and drive traffic to your site. Often the search engine then takes the user to the exact page showing no relationship to your home page or anything else you have to offer. Breadcrumbs helps the visitor navigate your page and clearly shows the relationship.

Subscribe to Comments

When users surf the web, they might leave behind a comment, but depending on their involvement may never return to the discussion. Subscribe to comments allows the person to know when the discussion continues and gets them more involved with your page. It also encourages them to leave comments because they can easily follow up.

WP Super Cache

No one comes to pages that take forever to load. While they might be patient the first time, it is frustrating when someone returns and it takes a long time again. Super Cache allows for lightning fast loading for your returning users and improves your return numbers.

CloudFlare

Everyone hates comment spam. CloudFlare allows you to see exact IP addresses of comments and you can then block the user at the source. No more tricking the system; instead you have ultimate control over your WordPress site.

Akismet

Another spam filter, this one does not require you do anything. It filters all sorts of spam on an autopilot mode 24 hours a day. You can go through the items that have been filtered if you like. It is not quite as good at shutting down things at the IP level, but it can get spam removed more quickly.

Facebook Comments for WordPress

The world is username- and password-inundated and most people don’t have the patience to create new logins. This plugin allows them to use their Facebook account to leave comments. It gives them a way to follow through and it helps you navigate back to the person.

ShareThis

Using 50 different social networking sites, people can share your page via their preferred outlet. This helps you make the forum more open for all users and keeps you from having to run a million plugins. This is probably the most universal of all the ways to share content.

AJAX Contact Forms

The right contact form can help you build the best mailing list. People want a form that is easy to use and AJAX has provided just that. You can choose what data is required and it will utilize the auto-fill-in options for people who have saved their data. This saves them time and makes it more likely they will fill out your form. You can even use the direct Twitter messaging system to instantly confirm their note, making you timely, helping to stick in the user’s memory.

Whatever plugins you put on your WordPress page, you will want to follow how they affect traffic. A great analytics app will not only help you do this, but help you decide which plugins are the very best for your website. It is all about being flexible and WordPress plugins can help you make the right impression.

Author’s Bio: Danny DeMichele has been building and managing online businesses for the past 14 years. He recently sold his search engine marketing agency, eVisibility.com, to LSF Network, Inc., a top 20 private digital agency in the U.S. Danny is currently the CEO of Incubate.com, a digital marketing agency specializing in all things web.

How to Boost Blog Visits: Make Your Blog into a Mobile App

Filed Under Blog Basics, Successful Blog, Tools | Leave a Comment

By Natalie Bracco

Just because you know how to write an interesting blog that gets visitors to come back time and time again doesn’t necessarily mean that you know how to make your blog accessible to people who access online content through mobile devices. Without a tech background, it might seem impossible to turn a blog into a mobile app. Luckily, with the right tools, even a newbie can make blogs mobile-friendly and reach even more readers.

Make Your Own App with Conduit Mobile

Conduit Mobile

Creating your own app might sound intimidating, but you don’t need a degree in computer programming to make one that puts your blog into the hands of people using mobile devices.

A free tool called Conduit Mobile will do most of the work for you. Conduit Mobile takes content directly from your blog and makes it easy for mobile phones to access. You can even add YouTube videos, RSS feeds, and other social media to stay connected with your readers. Conduit Mobile is currently free for all users.

Go Mobile with GoMobi

GoMobi

GoMobi is similar to Conduit Mobile, but it’s slightly different in that it creates a .mobi domain for your site’s registrar. With GoMobi, you can quickly add your content to a mobile app that lets readers view your pictures, videos, and words. If you can upload images to your website, then you can use GoMobi. GoMobi even adds a link that will take visitors to your full website, allowing them to peruse all of the content that you have available. To use GoMobi, you have to purchase it from one of the product’s authorized dealers, such as eNom or DigiWeb. Typically it will cost about $7.50 per month.

Easy Integration with Uppsite

Uppsite

Uppsite claims that it can take your Web content mobile within two minutes. Its designers created it specifically it to work with popular publishing platforms like WordPress and Twitter, so you can integrate them into your mobile site easily without any technical knowledge. Uppsite also lets you add advertising to your mobile site without bogging down your content with ugly images. That could easily help you make more money. Uppsite comes in three plans to choose from: Basic, Premium, and Deluxe. The cheapest plan costs $9.99.

Use a Plug-in to Reach Mobile Readers

MobilePress

If you already use WordPress for your blog on your website, then you can add plug-ins that will instantly make content readable on smartphones. The basic version of WPtouch makes your WordPress content available without slowing down your website. If you want to maintain the look of your current site and access additional features, then you might need to upgrade to WPtouch Pro, which comes in at $39 per site.

MobilePress is another plug-in that makes your WordPress content easier to see and use on a mobile device. It, and several other plug-ins like it, is totally free.

Mobile devices are quickly becoming the most popular way for people to access online content. What steps have you taken to make sure all the people out there have a good experience when they visit your site?

Author’s Bio: Natalie Bracco writes about technology and blogging, especially on devices like LG cell phones. She also writes about finance and lifestyle. You can follow her on Twitter @NatalieBracco.

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