1. Attracting New Clients

Probably the number one reason that many businesses are on Twitter to begin with is to attract new clientele. The results are in, and social media has shown time and time again that, when used properly, it’s a great way to get the word out on a business or service.

2. Drive Web Traffic

Depending on how many people you follow, Twitter can be very fast-paced, or relatively toned down. Either way, when you use your account to share your web links, interviews, information or upcoming events it’s an inexpensive way to appeal to a vast range of people in a short period of time.

3. News and Events

Twitter as a news service is a double edged sword in one way because misinformation can sometimes spread as fast as great information can. For the most part, using Twitter as a news network works really well, especially for local information like traffic backups or parade routes. Twitter is a great place to find out about the unannounced protest or 5 car pileup you want to avoid, as long as you’re tuned into the right local users.

4. Politics and Sports

As many have already seen, using Twitter or other social media sites is a great way to keep informed on the latest happenings in both politics and sports. News, as we already know, travels fast on social media. Within minutes of a major upset in either sports or news, these things will likely be trending on Twitter. It’s also a great way to see these events become interactive in a way they have never been before.

5. Finding a Network of Professionals or Employment

For many professionals, Twitter is an easy way to locate and connect with others in their field. By building a fantastic web of people in the same industry, professionals have the option to ask questions, discuss policies and see if there’s a more effective way to get the job done.

6. Finding Employment

For many people, having a wide range of people in their field also means a wide list to choose from if they ever need to find a new job or position. There may be room for growth at another company that you would never have caught wind of without Twitter. The possibilities are endless!

Want to take advantage of these great Twitter uses but aren’t sure how to start?! Give us a call and we can help you out with a customised Twitter strategy and branding package.

Your adventure in the Twitter world is one that’s going to begin by either signing up on the web version, or by downloading the mobile application and following the prompts. Much like other social media applications, you will need a valid email address that is not already registered to Twitter. The email address that you choose does not have to be either visible or searchable within the service, which is good to know if you’re concerned about privacy.

Consider Your Name

Your username is going to represent you to everyone you come in contact with on Twitter. Give some consideration to the name that you choose, but if you decide later that you may not have chosen so wisely, don’t worry! You can switch your name in your account settings, assuming that your desired username is not already being used. Your username, whether picked when you sign up or changed later will have to be under 15 characters long.

Select a Picture

When you’re using Twitter, the very first unwritten rule you will find out is that before you even follow anyone, you need to add a user picture. This isn’t an actual rule, of course, but you’ll quickly find that it’s hard to engage without a photograph attached to your name. Pick a headshot, logo, even a family pic- anything that will help your future readers understand who you are.

Follow

Start your Twitter experience by searching keywords or hashtags with the search bar along the top of the website, or by using the # panel on the mobile app. This will lead you to some interesting tweets that you can use to start getting the feel for the site. Once you’ve followed a few people, the idea is to hop right into conversations! Don’t worry if you feel a little awkward conversing at first, in no time you’ll be belle of the ball!

Follow these simple guidelines and you are sure to enjoy success in the twitterverse or, if you’re still not sure where to begin, give us a call and we can help you out with a customised Twitter strategy and branding package.

What is a Facebook Page?

A Facebook Page is designed specifically for your brand or business in order to share your story, products and create connections. Through a Facebook Page, you can host events, add applications and update your fans as news develops about your brand or company.

Pages are created and run through your personal profile, but if you’ve noticed that a page already exists for your company you can claim it instead of creating a duplicate account. This sometimes happens because people have checked in at your business and the new page was created to represent your company. In order to claim your page, click on the settings cogwheel (the gear icon) and select the “Is this your business?” option from the menu. From here, you will be able to follow the steps to verify information about your website. After you’ve done this, you will then be asked to claim the page, as well as provide documentation to prove your connection to the company; a business email or an official document will be sufficient.

Why a Page is better for a business or brand than a personal account.

Facebook Pages are not the same as individual accounts. A Facebook Profile is meant to be a representation of you, personally, while a Page is meant to be a representation of our brand or business. These Pages were created to allow organizations, celebrities and businesses share information and events with fans in order to create and maintain a one-stop-shop on Facebook. Facebook profiles are for personal, non-commercial use according to the Facebook terms of service, and as such, they are subject to things like limits on the amount of friends that are allowed. A Facebook Page is not independent; it won’t require a separate login, but they will behave differently than your personal profile. In order to protect your privacy, people who “like” your business page will not be able to access your personal account, nor will they have the ability to see who the administrator for the Page is. Fans of your page will also be able to message your page, but not you directly.

How to make your Page Images streamlined.

As with all aspects of your company branding, it is important that your images create a tidy and streamlined view of your company in order to appear professional and attract visitors. The two main sources of these visual stimuli will be your cover photo and your profile image, both of which are powerful branding tools on your Facebook Page. Your cover photo will be the first thing that catches the eye of your fans, so ensure that your message is clear, concise and well branded. Your photo should be 851 x 315 pixels in size. If graphics aren’t your strong suit, consider a hiring us for this task to ensure that your message isn’t lost in poorly made photos. Your profile picture should fall in line as well; about 200 x 200 pixels in size that is easily viewed in a thumbnail image.

Star or hide stories to control your image and message

As the administrator, you are able to “star” stories on your timeline, keeping them at the top of the page for easy viewing. In this same way, you can remove things that no are no longer relevant and distract from the overall message you’re looking to get across. Be sure to monitor your Page on a regular basis to avoid a buildup of irrelevant or useless, even unflattering material.
Make sure though, if a negative comment has been left, that you address it offline by sending a private message and turning this into a good service experience for your customer.

Optimizing Your Page

Now that you understand the basics of the Facebook Page and how you can make it work for you, develop a plan to optimize your use of the platform. This means taking the time to ensure that your other methods of social media are attached to Facebook and easily accessible. Link often to your website and other social media channels to hold the attention of your visitors and keep them viewing your pages for longer. Cross post your information, but don’t overdo it!

The perfect balance of posting is debatable, so find a time frame that works for you and your viewers; whether it’s once a day or once a month, always ensure that you focus on engaging your fans! Open the floor by asking your viewers questions, engage with them by answering their quandaries, and consider running promotions which attract new fans and follows. To be safe, always read official terms and conditions to ensure that you are clear on just what you’re allowed to do within the rules of any given platform, and ALWAYS ensure that your contact information and websites are up to date.

Using Tabs for Facebook Pages

Using Facebook tabs is a great way to direct traffic to specific part of your Social Media campaign. While tabs are no longer as predominant in the layout of the Page Timeline as they once were, they are featured underneath your cover photo. You can customize your tabs through the use of customized applications, keeping these thumbnails in line with the overall imagery that you’ve used in your cover photo and profile image. Apps are a great way of offering visitor feedback, and have generally been hailed as the premiere way to optimize engagement among social media marketers.

Before you design your custom app, ask yourself what you want to get from using a custom application in the first place. This can be anything from joining your newsletter to striking up a conversation, you just need to have a strategy in mind. If you want to keep people engaged on your page for longer, try offering tips and tricks through your custom applications, or offer details about an upcoming webinar or event. You can even pull your website directly into Facebook utilizing apps.

Give us a call today so that can get started on making your Facebook Page the hub for all of your pertinent information!

Read on and find out how YOU can use Social Media for your business..

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When you hear “Social Media Marketing”, you think of Facebook. Don’t you?

Well, although Facebook certainly has a stronghold on the world of Social Media, they aren’t the “end all, be all”.

If your customer base is business-to-business, Facebook is probably not the most useful tool.

So what other options do you have?

Read More on Leslie’s Blog

All that of course has changed and because of that, I have an update!
As you know, I LOVE Inforgraphics.. well, Patricia Curto of Vaughan Mompreneurs shared an Infographic on Facebook the other day that encapsulates it all quite well!

The graphic touches on Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+ AND Pinterest – Your entire Social Media Marketing toolkit all in one beauty of an Infographic!

The list is extensive because it covers all of the popular channels, so my suggestion would be to TRY to do as many of the tasks as you can.. you will not be able to do all of them every day, if you do, let me know your results!

Do you do anything that is NOT listed on the task list? Put it in the comments and share with everyone!

You’ve likely experienced the time where you witness something fun, awe-inspiring or just generally want to take a picture. You reach for your camera and “oh no!” you forgot it.

Been there.. Wayy too many times!

Now, things are different – as long as you have a fairly up-to-date phone (iPhone, Blackberry, or other “smart” phone) you have a camera at your fingertips!

The use of your cellphone camera should be fairly straightforward – there is normally a generic camera app that comes with your phone – no bells, whistles or maybe even filters, just a basic point, click camera.

But what happens if you want to do more than “point/shoot”?! Never fear! There are a whole slew of crazy apps out there that you can download and enhance your newly minted Cellphonography skills. The problem of course is that there are too many to choose from; which one is the best? Which ones are worth your investment (they range from free to $4.99) and are they all necessary?

I would suggest starting in your “App Centre” on your phone. There should be a section that has the top paid and free apps from which to chose. Check the ratings, read the descriptions and look at the screenshots – all of that information will help you make an informed decision.

Of course there will always be people who will have their absolute faves and yes, you should check them out, you’ll probably find a new (and fun!) photo app to play around with.

MY Faves are the following ones:
For basic picture taking: Genius, Camera+ and Instagram
For adding fun effects and taking photography further my faves are: Pocketbooth,100Cameras

I do have others in my photo “pocket” but don’t use them very much. Labelbox, Diptic and Bokehful are some fun ones that I go to for adding text on photos, composing photos into different layouts and adding pops of color.

There are scads of books out there, but one that I have discovered that is GREAT and is very affordable is the iPhone Photography: The Visual Guide, written by Alli Worthington. At $10 for an e-book – (meaning that you can download it onto your phone/iPad and have with you at all times for support on the go) it’s a great choice to get started in cellphonography.

I think the main thing to remember about cellphonography is to try new things and have fun.

*Disclaimer: I am an affiliate of Alli Worthington’s iPhone Phototgraphy book, meaning that not only do I think it’s a great read but, should you buy a copy, I receive a small commission too. Just wanted you to know

I did, and I pushed it out of my brain for the past 30 years.. Until I got a Facebook message from my friend Jim.

I messaged Jim and was inquiring about a local television show that had (unbeknownst to me) been discontinued. I expressed my dismay and it was then that Jim responded to me ” I would love you to pitch an idea for a show that you would produce and host. Small business, social media, something we could spin into 13 shows. Give it some thought.”

*Backstory notation; Jim is the Supervising Producer for Rogers TV Georgina and he was on the hunt for TV Hosts and Community Producers. People who had an idea (or a skill/knowledge) for a TV show.*

I replied with – “Thought has already been given!” (The details hadn’t been thought of, but I knew it wasn’t something I wanted to pass up, so I feigned preparedness!)

A few weeks passed and emails, phone calls and coffee shop meetings were held. A name was debated and decided upon, graphics were thrown about via email and then approved and then last Wednesday, I tried to get some sleep, knowing the next day, my dream – my ultimate dream – would come true!

I walked in to the TV Studio on Thursday morning, more nervous than I have ever been in my entire life and was excited to see what awaited me.

My “desk”, three cameras, a couple TVs and a Crew (I had my own Crew!!!). The next few hours flew by in a nervous blur (I have to say that I was pretty sure I blew the first episode) and then the day was over.. Three episodes wrapped and three to go!

My guests were great! We talked about everything under the sun (for what we talked about on the air, you’ll have to stay tuned ) and had a great time filming the episodes. They helped me ask pertinent questions, and gave me informative answers and generally eased my mind (and fears!)

That night, I went home, had a glass of wine to celebrate my experience and then slept like a baby in anticipation for the next day’s episodes (3 – 6)

We shot the 6 episodes back to back over the two days, so I had a “wardrobe” and was required to change in between the episodes so to make it look like I wasn’t wearing the same thing throughout the 6 weeks (the magic of TV eh?)

Once the end of the 6th episode was taped, we shot 6 weeks worth of commercial promo spots where I announced who “Next Week’s” guest would be.. That was nerve wracking and for some reason, it took me about 5 tries each time I did a spot.. I just couldn’t get the words out – we’re talking like 10 words max and it just couldn’t come..

Finally, I finished the last promo and Jim yelled from the sound booth “That’s a Wrap!” and my awesome crew all started clapping and cheering! What a cool experience!

A HUGE kudos goes out to my first guest, Jennifer Anderson of Talk of the Town Events – As the former Host of The Parenting Show and current Host of That’s My Story, she knew all the ropes and made me feel so at ease.. even though I was (or so I felt) a blubbering fool!

My crew was so fantastic and I’m pretty sure the end result would’ve been a disaster without them;

Ron, Lou and Alan – My Camera Geniuses – Thanks for making me look good (and for only shooting “my good side”)
Alyssa and Kimmie – My Floor Directors – Without you, I’m sure I would’ve stared blankly into the camera stunned or even worse, talked straight through the commercials!
Nicole – My CG Guru – Thanks for putting up with the slew of links and websites URLS – Sorry for making your eyes tired
John – My Graphics and Animation God – Thank you so much for taking my vision and turning it into a wicked intro!!
To everyone else that I KNOW I missed – Thank you so very much for making this experience an super awesome one!!

and last but not least…

Jim – My Supervising Producer – For giving me this opportunity, I cannot thank you enough, my only hope is that you let me back on the air!!

To stay up to date with the show, please visit the Social Scene’s website or become a Social Scene Fan on Facebook!

You can find the originals at the bottom of this post, but I took a bit from each (2 were VERY similar) to put here – these, in my opinion are the best examples of how to go about your interactions with each platform.

Note: Google+ is not on here as it is such a new platform and I am just getting used to it and it’s features.. I will come back in a while and update the post when I get used to Google+

Twitter

• Say hello, comment on the day and ask a question with your first tweet!
• Be sure to respond to everyone who replies to you
• Find seven to ten things worth retweeting in your general feed and share – before doing so think “Are my followers going to be interested in this?”
• Reply to at least five things with full responses (not just “thanks”)
• On #followfriday choose five Tweeters you admire, tweet a message for each and say why you should follow them
• Review follower list and identify people to follow back
• Respond to those you mentioned or replied to you
• Check and respond to direct messages (DM)
• Identify new people to follow
• Tweet 3 business related Tweets; related to your industry, or links to your own blogs or products
• Tweet 2 personally related Tweets – let people see the person behind the Twitter account
• Ask at least one question that requires an answer

Facebook

• Check birthdays on the home page. Send the birthday wish via Twitter or email, makes it more personal
• Respond to any posts, messages or comments on your wall
• Post a status message at least daily, something engaging or interesting
• Comment on at least five people’s status messages, walls or updates
• Share at least 3 interesting updates that you find
• Leave a message on 2 fan pages
• Join at least two fan pages each week and post messages introducing yourself
• Review friend requests and accept requests that make sense for you
• Review invitations for events, fan pages and applications you’ve received
• Check private messages and respond when appropriate
• Read “news” page and identify posts to “like” or comment on
• Identify new people to friend or to suggest your fan page/group/event

LinkedIn

• Accept only invitations from people you know and trust
• Search for new business contacts on LinkedIn and personalise an invite to
  become LinkedIn, invite those not on the network to join
• Enter any recent business cards to invite them to LinkedIn
• Provide a recommendation every few days for people you can honestly and fully recommend.
• Drop into Q&A and see if you can volunteer answers
• Make an introduction if you see someone needs or wants something and you know someone who can help
• Make sure your resume (portfolio) is up to date
• If you are a member of a group, stop by and see if there is anything that needs to be dealt with (Comments, questions etc.)

Blogs

• Visit your blog’s comments section and comment back on replies
• While on those sites, use a tool like StumbleUpon and promote their work
• If you have a few extra minutes, click through to the blogs of the commenters, and read a post or two and comment back
• Write the occasional post promoting the good work of a blog in your community
• Find a new blog to comment on every day

Are there any tips that you have that I should’ve included? Please leave them in the comments so we can combat this chaos together

Have a great weekend!

The Original Lists

http://www.morganpr.co.uk/Daily-Social-Media-Checklist

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/19-presence-management-chores-you-could-do-every-day/

http://prsarahevans.com/2010/02/04/whats-your-social-network-routine/

http://www.nikkipilkington.com/free-social-media-marketing-checklist/