Cindy Ratzlaff

Bestselling author, award winning brand marketing and social media pro, Cindy Ratzlaff, creates sales driving campaigns for authors, books and publishers.

5 Digital Apps under $10 | Low Cost Last Minute Holiday Gifts

By Cindy Ratzlaff

Avoid the malls and the post office by sending clients, friends and family a digital application, the ideal last minute holiday gift . They can be downloaded, enjoyed instantly and they provide fun, information or function throughout the year.  Demonstrate your forward thinking digital style  this year by gifting these fabulous applications to both the tech savvy and the digital immigrants alike.

Get your digital Santa on with these fun apps for the whole family.

Brushes for iphone, ipad and itouch – $4.99 at itunes

Brushes is a mobil painting application and winner of an Apple Design Award for 2010. This nifty app will keep the kiddies mesmerized on long trips and let you appear to be thoughtfully researching important information in those long boring budgeting meetings. You can paint pictures using templates or freestyle and Brushes records your strokes so you can export them and replay them as a QuickTime Movie. Bring out their creative side with Brushes.  This app is ideal for children, creative adults who love to doodle, amateur artists and even sophisticated digital artists.

Robert Parker 3 W’s of Wine – $3.99 at itunes and $4.99 at eRobertParker.com for Java enabled mobile devices

If you’ve ever been asked to select the wine for a business event or wanted to impress your friends with your wine knowledge, here’s the app for you. A database of more than 2,000 affordable wine from top producers all around the globe are at your finger tips in this easy to use app that lets you search by region, color, variety or even food. Once you try a wine suggestion and like it, you’ll be able to add it to your personal “My Wines” list along with your comments. It’s like having the famous Robert Parker in your iphone, at your command. This is the ideal gift for young professionals, people new to wine drinking or casual wine lovers who want to learn more.

Elf Ur Face – Free download at itunes

Take a picture of yourself, family, friends, or pets and give them some elf effects to put them in the holiday spirit. Then you can email the photos or post them to Facebook, Twitter or save them to your desktop for that long, really interesting holiday letter you know you’re writing. This app will provide hours of fun for kids and adults alike and is just plain good fun.

Mrs. P’s Reader Challenge mobil app – Free download at itunes

Mrs. P’s Reader Challenge is a fun new game that helps kids develop reading skills and comprehension and is brought to life by the voice of TV celebrity Kathy Kinney as Mrs. P.  It features five stories from MrsP.com’s Magic Library: The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Princess and the Pea and The Frog Prince; and two are the Grand Prize winners of Mrs. P’s 2009 writing contest for kids: Pretty Princess and Funky Frog and Spattered Mud and Crushed Petals. Readers try to win a pot of gold by answering multiple-choice questions about the stories, assisted by funny and encouraging audio prompts from Mrs. P.  Great for kids 4-10.

Zagats To Go app – $9.99 download at itunes

The famed Zagat Restaurant Guides are available in app format on itunes and you’ll get a year’s access to fresh restaurant ratings and reviews from over 45 trusted guides; all for less than the price of  one traditional paperback guide.  This one download gets you ZAGAT for your iPhone and iPad.

Top 8 Thought Leaders I follow on Facebook and Why

By Cindy Ratzlaff

As any professional will tell you, keeping up with professional journals, lectures, whitepapers and the like is a significant part of staying current on your business. Social media makes this a little easier and instead of pontificating on this point, I thought I’d demonstrate by taking you through what I read everyday and why and share how this fits into my MVP Strategy or Maximum Visibility Plan for creating powerful awareness for your brand.

Here’s a list of the top 8 thought leaders I’ve book marked in my A-list.

Every morning I log onto Facebook, first thing. There I’ve set up a Facebook list called A-listers. This list captures those thought leaders that share great links, create important content and whose interpretations of my business arena are important to me. I click on this list which filters my news stream on Facebook to bring in just the posts by the people on my list. Then I can quickly scan this list and see if there is anything I’d like to share with my fans. I make it a point to give a nod to the originator of the content and to the person who brought it to my attention. Why? First, because it’s the right thing to do. Secondly, because by doing so, I demonstrate to these thought leaders that I value their contribution, appreciate their content and continue to look to them for leadership. I claim a place in their community as an evangelizer of their brand. Thirdly, my name appears in news streams loosely associated with their name. This is something called ambient awareness. I didn’t originate the content, but I passed it on and named them. My name and their name are read together by more people as the content is reshared. In other words, I endorse their work and introduce them to others, thereby sharing valuable content with my fans.

Who do I read and why?  Here’s a list of the top 8 thought leaders I’ve booked marked in my A-list.

1. Mashable:  Mashable is my number one read because he and his highly credible team of uber tech and social media obsessed reporters are 100% on top of all things related to technology, people in technology, applications, social media, and virus attacks. They give me the how, the why, the who and the what and keep me in the loop. If you follow only one blog on social media, make it Mashable.

2. Mari Smith: Mari Smith is the Facebook guru. She continues to invest her time and talents in knowing every nook and cranny about Facebook and she is a serial sharer. She’ll tell you everything she knows and more. She’s funny, generous, gifted and worth your time. By calling Mari a Facebook guru, I actually do her a disservice because she’s more than that. She’s an expert in relationship marketing, whatever the platform. Trust me. Add her to your everyday reading list.

3. Dan Schawbel: Dan is the Personal Branding Guru and author of Me 2.0, and his insights into the brand that is you are simply brilliant.

4. Darren Rowse, ProBlogger: Darren’s tag line is “Build a better blog.” He’s not kidding. Daily posts with actionable ideas for creating a more vibrant blog that people will read and want to follow. I bow to his brilliance and read him every single day without fail. He’s an evangelizer for the blog as your core content base and other social media sites as your syndicators and I think he’s a rock star in both information and delivery.

5. Adam Urbanski: Adam is the king of marketing strategies and is someone who truly understands how to connect the social aspects of social media to the deliverables of selling. He’s a consultant, teacher and businessman who delivers real content that can be implemented by businesses, solopreneurs and brands alike.

6. Read Write Web: This is a blog that does reviews of new technology products, comparisons and analysis. It’s ranked by Technorati as one of the Top 20 blogs in the world for a reason—simply stellar information delivered in easy to understand and digest bits. Go there now.

7. Miles Austin: Miles writes a blog called Fill the Funnel and his pithy, eclectic mix of commentary, review and hot news are all about web tools for sales.

8. Natalie MacNeil: Natalie’s blog She Takes On the World by Natalie MacNeil which gives great career advice to women. I like her style, content and message very much.

There are many, many more that I read during the course of my week but these are my never miss blogs. They keep up current, energized, engaged and motivated.  What are your favorites?

Reputation Management | Crisis Management

By Cindy Ratzlaff

One of the biggest concerns companies have about venturing onto social media is a fear that detractors, competitors or others who dislike their brand will comment publicly, venting their problem and leaving open the door for a lot of negative viral buzz. Their thinking is that if they aren’t on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or any of the other major sites, those naysayers or disgruntled types will have no public venue through which to flog them. The fatal flaw in this strategy is that angry consumers or clients don’t need a homebase through which to damage a company and it’s reputation. They have their own homebase through their individual social media platforms. When a plane is stuck on the runway for more than three hours, hundreds of passengers will take to Twitter with the hashtag #Airlinenamefail or something similar and soon enough thousands will be aware of their plight.

Your brand is what your customers think it is, not what you think it is. So listen, engage, and if the message you want is not the message they’re repeating, alter your strategy.

If a company stays away from social media so as to avoid negative online feedback they will accomplish two things:

  1. They will be unaware of problems that might have been easily resolved but when left alone may become much bigger problems.
  2. They will be miss a valuable opportunity to fix minor problems and turn cranky customers into happy evangelizers.

Mashable wrote an excellent post recently sharing three terrific examples of how major brands monitored, managed and resolved (or not) some important brand missteps and criticism.

Bottom line: The conversation about you is going on with or without you. You can only influence it if you are aware of it.  Every company should be active on Facebook and Twitter, at the very least, to monitor and influence their brand reputation.  Every company should have a google alert set for their key words and get that digest daily.  Every company should search their brand name or the name of their current campaign on Twitter daily.

Social Media Technology vs Social Media Marketing

By Cindy Ratzlaff

Socia Media Technology enables Social Media Marketing

I’m hearing a lot of talk from big advertising and PR agencies about social media technology. That sounds so much more impressive than the overused phrase social media marketing, doesn’t it. But in reality, they go hand in hand and one does not displace the other. Social media technology is the architecture and social media marketing is the message. It’s that simple.

Although the medium is the message, as Marshall McLuhan said, the message still needs to be crafted.

Your brand can have the most sophisticate social media technology available, yet not attain your goals if your social media marketing message is not clear.  Creating conversations with your clients about their wants, needs and how you can fulfill them is what social media marketing facilitates best.

So, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, ask yourselves the important questions:

  1. What is my unique value to the consumer?
  2. How will I communicate that both verbally and visually?

Then bring social media marketing and social media technology to the same table for a good long talk.

Twitter power | Forbes List

By Cindy Ratzlaff

I was delighted to open my e-mails this morning and discover that I’d been named to the Forbes list 20 Best Branded Women on Twitter.  It was fun to be included in a list with Maria Shriver, Kimora Lee, Ivanka Trump, Ann Curry, Kathy Ireland and Alyssa Milano to name just a few.

Alyssa Milano, Maria Shriver, Ivanka Trump, Ann Curry and Cindy Ratzlaff

We’re all so different that it’s hard to image another list where we’d all be named together.  But it just goes to show you the power of Twitter to extend your brand message and personality to an enormous audience.  If you’re not already representing your brand on Twitter, what are you waiting for?

How to Create an RSS Feed for Any Twitter List

By Cindy Ratzlaff

Each individual post on Twitter has a unique URL. You can find it by mousing over the date and time stamp on the lower left hand corner of a tweet. These are Google indexed and therefore every tweet you post is read by Google as fresh, unique content and elevates your social currency and searchability. If no other Twitter uses intrigue you, this one should. Using Twitter helps make you and your brand more visible. The more visible your brand is, the more you are perceived as an authority in your field. Using Twitter to reinforce your brand messages and identity is an excellent mind share strategy.

Many business owners say they just don’t always know what to tweet about. I advise them to tweet about events they’re hosting, new products they’re launching, tips and strategies that will be useful to people in their industry and in general to talk to their customer on Twitter exactly the way they would in person. But even the most prolific among us can sometimes be at a loss for ideas. I’ve shared before that I subscribe to several great blogs and use some of those posts as tips to tweet out to my followers.

Another great idea comes from Mana Ionescu via Twitip. Because Tweets are short, they are often very similar to article headlines so an RSS feed may be the right solution for those who want to subscribe to tweets alongside their news and blogs in a reader such as Google Reader. Twitter has an RSS solution only for your Favorites, so here is a simple way to turn any Twitter list into an RSS feed for your favorite reader.

Follow these steps for a simple and quick solution:

  1. Create a list of people you want to follow closely; people who regularly put out quality content that you often share with your friends and followers. For example I follow the Forbes.com list of the Top 30 Women Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter. You can create your own custom list or access an existing list. If you haven’t created a list before, look in the right column of your Twitter account and click “New list.” You’ll be prompted to name the list and then add peeps to the list.
  2. Copy URL of list. Once you are viewing the list, copy the URL from your browser window.
  3. Go to this simple set up page aptly called Twitterlist2RSS and follow the easy two step process to generate an RSS feed URL.
  4. Copy the generated RSS URL from your browser window.
  5. Paste that RSS URL into your favorite reader to create a subscription.

You’ll be able to browse your own custom list of influential tweets along side your favorite blogs and news headlines and have an unlimited source of great information to share with your friends and followers. By passing along valuable tips and techniques, you become a trusted resource and create conversations about you.

Social Media Marketing and Brand Goals

By Cindy Ratzlaff

Social media marketing is the new shiny toy. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a really useful shiny new toy. It’s a rapidly evolving, fun newcomer that is grabbing all the headlines, adding bells and whistles every week…sometimes every day. So while every author, company, brand or entrepreneur needs to have a social media marketing strategy and be able to innovate and implement great new campaigns, it can’t pull focus from your primary goals. It’s a method to help you reach your goals, not the end goal itself.

Make sure that your social media marketing efforts serve your overall brand goals. As you set or review your brand goals, ask yourself:

  1. What unique product or service do I offer?
  2. What “need” does my service or product fulfill?
  3. Where would potential customers seek solutions for fulfilling that “need?”
  4. What 5-7 words describe the “why to buy” for my product or service?
  5. What is my complete marketing strategy for announcing and promoting this product?
  6. What are my expectations for income from this product?
  7. Does this product reflect all of my brand messages and core values?

After you’ve identified your unique offer and created your targeted, keyword rich messages, make social media outreach via your business Facebook page and Twiter account a regular but measured part of your everyday business tasks. Just 10-15 minutes in the morning and perhaps another 10-15 minutes at the end of the day or at midday can help you keep your brand message in front of potential customers.

Here are five things I do every morning:

  1. Facebook Profile: Check in-box and respond as need, accept or decline invitations to events and pages, check my “key contacts” stream briefly for any interesting updates, news, innovations I want to share with my friends.
  2. Facebook Fan Page: Briefly check to see if any comments or questions need clarifying and post either a link to a news article or blog post that I want to share with my fans or post a tip, strategy or idea. That post goes out automatically to my Twitter as well.
  3. Twitter: Check @replies to see if anyone has questions. Thank folks who retweet or #FF me. Check DM’s and respond as necessary. Check one of my key lists and peruse the stream to see if any of these industry movers and shakers has something I’d like to retweet or read or share with my followers.
  4. Blog: Post to my blog, which will then auto post to my Facebook Fan Page and my Twitter account.

Periodically throughout the day, if I find something worth sharing I pop over to Hootsuite, which I keep open on a tab on my browser. I post the link, write a quick post and pre-schedule it to go to one or more accounts later that afternoon.

I spend no more than 10-15 minutes each day glancing through my Google reader which aggregates about 20 blogs I find most relevant to my business and I grab a link and schedule a post from one or more of those on Hootsuite.

Once a week, I spend a full day writing blog posts, making videos and planning additional marketing strategies for my business.

The rest of my time I spend on clients, writing, and creating new opportunities and outlets for my work. For every product, my social media marketing strategy is just one portion of my overall marketing plan. My marketing strategies including speaking engagements, webinars and teleseminars, e-newsletters, targeted advertising, guest blogging, in-person networking and media interviews.

What are your non-social media marketing plans? How will you create conversations about YOU this year?

Book Publicity | The Top Ten Things Book Publicists Want Authors to Know

By Cindy Ratzlaff

You’ve handed in your manuscript, completed all the edits and now your job is done. You’re thinking that now it’s up to your publisher’s publicity machine to make your book a success. Wrong.

In most houses that publicity machine has been downsized while the number of books needing publicity and promotion has stayed the same. What’s left is a hard-working group of thoughtful people who truly love books; who would spend all the time in the world to get the word out if it was humanly possible; and who need an author’s cooperation, participation and good-cheer now more than ever before. Remember that these overworked people want your book to succeed.

How does one get to be the author whose publicist tells others: “this author was great to work with,” “the author knew the right people and really helped me get the book into important hands” and I would walk through hot coals for my author?”

It’s essential that authors view themselves as a partner in the publishing process and that includes the marketing and publicity portions of the book publishing cycle. To that end, I’ve enlisted veteran book publicist John G. Ekizian to join me in creating this list of The Top Ten Things Book Publicists Want Authors to Know.

Before you turn over the responsibility for communicating your book’s message to the world, remember.

1. You are a brand.

2. Your book is your first product.

3. Your reputation is on the line and if your first product doesn’t succeed, launching new products or books will be much harder.

4. Therefore, you must be a full partner in promoting your book, finding and alerting potential readers and in general, creating conversations about YOU.

Here’s what can you do?

1. Mobilize your friends, family and fans. They really do want to help—but you have to tell them how they can be most helpful. Start with your immediate fan base, however small. Give them early copies of your book or galleys—or even a PDF of your manuscript. Ask them to read it and give you their feedback. Ask them to write a short review and to post it on Amazon.com, BN.com and Borders.com. Tell them not to gush, but to relate why the book moved or informed them. Ask them if you can post their review to your website. Ask them to give their opinion on your Facebook Fan Page, on Twitter and on LinkedIn. Start close to home and create buzz that can build.

2. Influence the influencers: Create a list of the top 25 people in your area of expertise or who write in the same field or genre as you do. Find, read and subscribe to their blogs. Comment whenever they write something that interests you. Become visible, let them know you’re a fan, offer them new content from you whenever appropriate, such as being a guest blogger. You should also consider finding and following them on Twitter and Facebook. Again, interact with them. Pass their blogs, tweets and posts on to others. In other words, hang out on line with people you admire and who you would love to have read your work. After establishing an online relationship, you may have an opportunity to offer them an early galley or ask them to give you a quote. But first you need to be a part of their community and genuinely engaged with them.

3. Find your natural audience: The biggest marketing mistake most people make in book promotion is to assume that everyone will be interested in their book. Books that sell usually begin selling to people who are really interested in the topic. Want to sell a cookbook? Go after the person who has a shelf full of them. Who really cares about your topic? Think about it this way. You were attracted enough to this topic to write a book. Where would you go to learn about you? Would you find the kind of information in your book on CNN? Then that’s your natural audience and you and your publicist should target CNN. Are you writing about romance and mystery? Then maybe CNN may not for you. Every author we’ve ever worked with believes their book is right for Oprah. Not all books are right for Oprah. Watch the shows, see what kinds of guests they book and then make sure your publicist knows which shows most often present the subject matter most similar to your book.

4. Facebook Fan Page: Please create a Facebook Fan Page for yourself. Every author needs one. Name it for yourself, the author. You might call it John G. Ekizian | Author, Speaker. Use your name, then the upward slash and a two to three word qualifier. Those keywords will be useful in identifying you to potential friends and fans and will be Google searchable. Then create a tab with the name of your book. You can add video interviews or author chats that you create yourself. You can use the Events application to invite fans to your personal appearances. You can post news and information about reviews as they come in. This is a wonderfully rich and free tool. Please don’t overlook it.

5. Advertising versus publicizing: Every author wishes that their publisher would place full page ads in the New York Times Book Review for their book. Realistically the more that $75,000 (conservatively) that these types of ads cost isn’t a good investment for your publisher in terms of return on investment. In other words, they’re not recoup $75,000 in books sales from that ad. Publicity is a better investment of marketing dollars because a television appearance, a national publication, a radio tour or other major media can reach far more people than a one-time advertisement in one publication.

6. Webinars and teleseminars: These are the new virtual author tour and can help you reach hundreds and perhaps thousands of potential readers without ever leaving home. A webinar allows participants to view your computer screen and hear you talk as you show either a slide presentation or demonstrate something online. Many webinar hosts also allow for the audience to see you at times during the presentation. Teleseminars are via phone and are audio only but listeners can ask questions via a type-in pod. Both can be very interactive and allow people who might otherwise have not been able to “meet” you, come and hear you talk about your book.

7. Your 30 second pitch: When your publicist meets with national television producers and editors at major publications, he or she has 30 seconds to sell you and your book as a potential story or segment. Help your publicist hone your message down to a short, potent sound byte. Does your book “save lives through new research that proves sound waves are harming children,” or does your book show us “a brand new way to lose weight while you sleep.” These are silly but you get the idea. Think in headlines.

8. Op-Eds: Writing original opinion page articles can be a very effective way to increase an author’s visibility and by association help promote your book. The piece cannot be about your book but must be an opinion about some current affairs topic in which you might be considered a thought leader. For example, if you’ve written a book on World War II, you might write an opinion page article on the lessons learned or overlooked from World War II as we escalate troops in Afghanistan. You’re by-line would include Author of, the title your book. You may not mention your book in the article but positioning yourself as an expert will help you publicist book more media for you. You are sharing your ideas and information because you’re an expert. This part of a visibility strategy.

9. Create Your A List: Pick 10 media targets that you feel are right for your book and learn everything you can about them. Watch the shows, read the magazines and newspapers. Write down the name of the reporter or host who most often seems to be reporting on topics that are similar to your book topic. Share this list with your publicist who rarely has time to watch this much TV. He or she can really use your research skills. This is an excellent way for you to partner with your publicist.

10. Radio: Please don’t forget radio. Both broadcast and internet radio are great ways to reach people who might like your book. Blog Talk Radio and other internet radio platforms are reaching large numbers of people, are archived and accessible on demand and live forever on the internet. Please do not turn down internet radio interview opportunities because you don’t think they are worthy of your time. In fact, while your publicist is working hard on connecting with traditional media, why not reach out via Twitter and Facebook and put together your own Blog Talk Radio tour. Just start talking about your book, offering yourself for interviews, searching and following anyone with a Blog Talk Radio show and engaging with them on your topic.

BONUS TIP: All placements are not equal. You need to get your idea across or the placement is pointless. Working with a talented publicist can help you hone your marketing message into several succinct sound bytes that will be picked up and repeated both online and off to increase your outreach and brand visibility.

Publicity creates conversations about YOU. Be a full partner in making that happen to give your book the best possible opportunity to reach an enthusiastic reading audience.

How to add a “Follow Me on Twitter” Button to your Facebook Profile and Fan Page

By Cindy Ratzlaff

Note:  Since the publication of this article in January of 2009, Facebook has discontinued their support of FBML.  Facebook no longer allows you to add an FBML box to the left hand side of your Fan Page.

Take your Social Media Image Seriously

Your Facebook® profile and your Facebook® Fan Page are two key social media touch-points for connecting with potential clients. Creating your on-line funnels in a variety of social mediums helps people find you and clearly understand the service you provide. Now, the yellow pages will do the same thing but social mediums let customers engage with you first and then decide, based on your attitude, the comments they read from your friends and followers and the value you provide in your various postings, whether or not they want to take the next step and become your customer. They can literally shadow you while deciding. That’s why it’s so critical for you to take your social media image seriously.

The Key Ingredients to your Social Media Strategy

Because your potential customer might be exploring numerous social media sites, you’ll want to be on at least Twitter, Facebook, Linked In and I highly recommend that you have a blog. If you already have your own website that becomes your home base. If you don’t, you’re blog can serve that purpose.

Now the number one rule of any great marketing campaign is to make sure that every consumer touch-point is integrated with every other one. All of your social media sites should link to each other, carry a similar look and message all while speaking to the consumer in the voice most appropriate for that medium. For example, you’ll communicate in short 120 character* bits on Twitter, longer more detailed thoughts will be incorporated into your blog and your Facebook profile and fan pages might be more personal and intimate. Yet an integrated marketing strategy means that the core values and the key message points will be the same, albeit communicated differently.

Helping Customers Find, Follow and Friend You

If you were the owner of a Deli, you wouldn’t hide the checkout counter. You’d make it very easy to find. Shoppers would never have to guess where to find you, talk with you and pay you. It’s the same with social media sites. Be user friendly. Make it easy for someone who finds and follows you on one site to find and friend you on another.

I recently installed a “Follow me on Twitter” button on my Facebook Profile and my Facebook Fan Pages. This is a nice visual addition to your profile or page and there are a lot of designers and programmers out there offering free buttons. I happen to love http://twitbuttons.com for it’s user-friendly interface. You simply enter your Twitter name in the URL box at the top of the page and all the HTML code in every Twitter Button box is changed, automatically, to customize the button for your twitter page.

So here are the instructions for adding a “Follow me on Twitter” button to your Facebook Page.

  1. Log onto your Facebook Page and go to the applications link on the bottom left hand side of your screen.
  2. Click “Browse applications and the find ” “Extended info” application. Add that to your profile. Then click the edit settings link to the right of the app in the list of apps you’ve downloaded. Where it says “Tab” click “add.”
  3. Then go to http://twitbuttons.com and pick out your favorite button. Be sure to enter your twitter name in the black space above the buttons. This will automatically enter your correct twitter name link to the code under each twitter button image.
  4. Copy the code of the button you like and go back to Facebook to the Applications list (link on bottom left of page).
  5. Open the Extended info application by clicking directly on that link. A window will pop up for you to paste your code.
  6. Paste the code and click the “Add to Profile” button on the upper right of that page.
  7. Then click the Save changes button below the code and return to your page. You can change the look of your button at anytime by returning to these instructions and choosing a new button from the website I mentioned or another you may find. You can design your own if you’re skilled with HTML too.

Transparency is Currency in Social Media

I recommend adding your “Follow Me” button or link to all of your social media sites and using the custom options on your Twitter background to provide the URL’s for your Facebook, Linked In and Blog to your Twitter followers. You get the picture. The name of the game is to be visible. For some inspiring examples of people who are doing this well, check out these social media pros. Each one of these people are helping potential clients find them and utilizing a slightly different style. Take a look and make a plan to help yourself stand out in the crowd.

If You Liked What You Read Here, Please Join Me

*Always try to keep your tweets to 120 characters so that people can Re-tweet your post. When they re-tweet, some of the character spaces are taken up with their Twitter name. At 120 characters you’ll be re-tweet-friendly.

Pssst! Twitter Demystified for Newbies!

By Cindy Ratzlaff

Unless you’ve been living in a cave or just emerged from a year-long biosphere experiment, you’re aware of the hype over Twitter and the scramble to figure out either how you can use it to grow your business or how you can ignore it and still not be left behind. Well, you can’t ignore it or you will be left behind so let’s look at some very simple ways you can enhance your business strategy with Twitter and maybe even enjoy yourself in the process.

According to internet guru Pete Cashmore’s website http://mashable.com, an estimated 6 million people in the United States have registered Twitter accounts. The research firm eMarketer estimates that this number will double by the end of 2009 to more than 12 million and by 2010 will reach more than 18 million users.

Yikes, you’re thinking. “How can my brand or business stand out in the sheer volume of noise of six million people tweeting?” A better question might be “What do I know that others might also want to know?”

OK, here’s the secret. Twitter is just a conversation. You have conversations everyday. Talk to people on Twitter just as you would were he/she to come into your bricks and mortar store: honestly, personably, helpfully and knowledgably.

  1. Share: Twitter is a conversation. Talk to people the way you would if you met them socially in person. If every time you met a potential client or customer you launched into a sales pitch, people would go out of their way to avoid you. But if you developed a reputation for being an engaging, interesting person who generously shares his or her experience with everyone-no strings attached-people would be delight to see you and introduce you to their friends and family. It’s the same concept in Twitter. A realtor who Tweets about community affairs, house maintenance tips, great contractors, good sales and special events in the neighborhoods they serve will be considered a resource to people who might not be in the market to buy or sell a home. However, that realtor will be forefront in their minds when a friend is looking to relocate or a family member moves.
  2. Listen: Conversation is a two-way street. Let’s think again about the similarities between a virtual client interaction and a physical one. If you’re selling jewelry and a potential client walk into your store, you’ll most likely ask them “How can I help you today?” Once you hear that they’re looking for a graduation present, you won’t try to show them engagement rings. In social media, you’ll do the same thing. Tweet about the things you know and the things you care about. Then listen to others and engage in conversations. Think of Twitter as a virtual backyard barbeque. You’ve got a burger in one hand and a soda in the other and you’re talking to some new “neighbors.” You tell them a little about yourself and then you listen as they tell you a little about themselves. When you hear that they are looking for a gymnastics class for their 7 year old, you introduce them to another neighbor, whose child takes gymnastics. They remember you as a great conversationalist, a good listener and a well-connected and helpful neighbor. Next time they need advice, perhaps the name of a good family doctor, you come through again. Ultimately you become a trusted source and when the time comes that they or someone they know needs the service you provide, they will recommend you. On Twitter someone might ask you what hashtags mean or what in the world a Retweet is. Listen to the conversation and provide value to build a strong social media reputation.
  3. Communicate: Be clear with yourself and others about why you tweet. If you’re using Twitter to grow your business, make sure people can identify what it is you offer. Start with your Twitter name. @Jailbird might not be a great name for an auto dealership but @DriveSmart might be. In many cases, it might be best to use your actual name as your Twitter name. This signals to others on Twitter that your updates will reflect your values and your reputation. Use your twitter profile bio to tell people something about yourself. Include your website link so interested parties can contact you or at least survey your offerings. Customize your twitter background with visual clues as to who you are, what you do and what people might expect from following you. Think of Twitter as an online business card.
  4. Be authentic: You cannot be all things to all people. Be yourself and engage in the conversations that interest you. Retweet (repeat other people Tweets) things you see on Twitter that you found helpful or intriguing. Act as a filter for your Twitter Followers by participating in conversations that mean something to you and letting the other pass you by. In this way you amplify your interests and muffle the noise created by six million plus people “speaking” all at once.

Don’t be intimidated by Twitter. Jump right in and join the conversation. It can be the biggest social mixer you’ve ever attended, with literally millions of fascinating people waiting, real time, to talk to you. You can follow me on Twitter at @BrandYou. I’m interested in your experiences with Twitter and other social media. I would love to share what I’ve learned with you and I’m looking forward to meeting you there.

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