The Social Media landscape is a very interesting one. It comprises of 10 key elements and all of them can be used, and are being used, to help generate and maintain sales for small to medium sized businesses. In this 7-part blog series, I am going to give an over view of the 7 elements you need to be using as a bare minimum.
1. Publish
2. Share
3. Discuss
4. Social Networks
5. Microblogging
6. Lifestream
7. Livecast
The other three, virtual worlds, social games and MMO (or Massively Multiplayer Online game) can also be used, although not essential.
So, let’s keep the focus on the big 7 and help you get your Social Media skills & understanding to a whole new level.
Micro Blogging
“Microblogging” The Social Media Landscape – Part 5 of 7
Twitter is the only Microblogging site worth learning about, getting stuck into and maximizing. Twitter is experiencing unprecedented growth on a daily basis!
First of all, what exactly is “Microblogging”?
Microblogging is a type of social media that allows its users to write short, sharp messages to update their readers. Like a text-message on a cell phone, microblogging is usually limited to a small (less than 200) number of characters.
So, this “Twitter” thing that you’ve heard on the news, read about in the newspaper or had an email from someone suggesting you checkout what someone has posted…
Twitter is the number one microblogging platform available to the world today. As far as the Social Media Landscape is concerned, this is Mount Everest – large, powerful, unpredictable, challenging and intriguing.
First of all, a lesson in Twitter Language:
Tweet – a post on twitter made by a user
Follower – somebody who is monitoring another users tweets
RT – “Re-Tweet” is when you copy another users Tweet
@ – Placed before the username of the person you wish to reply to
# – Placed infront of a key word to make searching easier
language lessonYou can see a number of things in the above screenshot: JoshCalvetti Re-Tweeted IronmanAdam’s tweet. The tweet included a web link and it is important to use http://www. to ensure the link is “clickable”. IronmanAdam saw that #fail was a trending topic (on the side bar of your twitter home page).
My username is @adambaird and you can find me at http://www.Twitter.com/adambaird
It is incredibly simple to use and problem most people face isn’t how to log in, its “Why twitter?”
Instant information is what we are hungry for in the fast paced world we live in today. Until now, our lives have been shaped by what the large news corporations choose to share with us – as well as how and when! With Twitter, the voice of one person can be as powerful as an entire news network. This was proven when actor Ashton Kutcher recently challenged CNN to a race to get 1million followers.
Interestingly enough, even though CNN were broadcasting live arcoss the USA campaigning for more followers, Ashton beat them to it. Now, each time Ashton tweets, more than 1million people are receiving that message on their twitter page.
Here are some pretty neat tools that you can have a play around with on Twitter…
1/ Twittercounter
2/ Twittergrader
3/ Wefollow
4/ Twhirl
5/ Search.twitter
6/ Nearbytweets
7/ Tweetlater
How is Twitter good for business?
Unlike an eNewsletter, telemarketing or lumpy mail, your prospects and customers can choose to “Follow” you without having to share any information with you. They are in control of if, when and how much information they want from you and this means you will reach more people, more quickly!
As I wrote about in Part 2 regarding YouTube videos, trust is, without a doubt, the most important aspect of generating a sale. When your prospects and customers can learn more about your business without having to give you anything first, you are fast tracking the building trust process with them.
It is important to understand that your customers will also lose trust in you and your business when you make mistakes! Learn what your customer perceives as spam – this is the number one killer of sales! If you put a link to your latest and greatest product in every single tweet, you are going to piss some of your customers off – there’s on question about that.
All in all, Twitter is an incredibly powerful and unique form of communication and fits nicely into the Social Media Landscape.
Again, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I could write a month worth of blogs teaching you the ins & outs of Microblogging and Twitter. Keep an eye out for some video blogs and perhaps a tutorial or two on Twitter at the end of this 7-part blog series.
So there you have it, some food for thought on the Microblogging element of the Social Media Landscape. Twitter is definitely the key player here – ensure you use it!
Come back for Part 6 & 7 real soon or even better, subscribe to this blog and have the next post emailed to you when I hit “submit”!
Uncovering the Social Media Landscape
