Erin Tillotson» Social Media

5 Things To Do Before You Invite Your 1st Twitter Follower

Erin Tillotson — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:41:10 +0000

Once you join Twitter you want to run out and connect with a ton of targeted people and get your message out there! I know, new networking and business growth opportunities are exciting. I’d like share 5 easy steps to do before you invite your 1st follower.

Let’s talk about how you can get your account ready for all those new followers,

Complete Bio: When people check out your Twitter profile one of the 1st things they will look at is your bio. You want to be memorable and unique. Always have your most relevant website link as the URL. Last but not least, be sure to add a professional picture of yourself as well, nothing is worse than seeing a new follower with the “egg!”
A few actions to avoid in your bio:
- Don’t stuff your bio exclusively with keywords. People cannot connect with just words. You want your personality to be present.
- Don’t use industry lingo. Use words and phrases that your target client or market uses.
Have at least 20 Tweets on your profile: With a full page of tweets people will know you are serious about twitter. They can get a feel for who you are, what you have to say and if you match what they are looking for. Offer some good content that will benefit your target market.
A Professional Background: This is a great way to increase brand awareness. Use your logo, tag line, photo and anything else that helps represent your business. Mari Smith is a great example of branding. She changes her background to support her current marketing plans.
A Giveaway or Link for New Followers: Here is an opportunity to further connect with your new connection. Offer a great resource to them.
This can come in a variety of forms – I use SocialOomph to set this up:
- Share a popular blog post. If one of your blog posts gained a high number of comments and social interactions it must have been extremely helpful to your audience. Share this with new connections!
- A free report. These are generally behind a lead generation form (opt-in form), where the visitor will enter their name and email address to receive your free gift.
- A Custom Welcome to Twitter Page: Setup a page on your website just for new followers. Have a nice introduction video with something they can walk away with, a tip or action step they can do right away.
Understand the basics of Twitter: When you know a bit about Twitter you can engage much more efficiently and save yourself a lot of time.

Likes for free WiFi

Erin Tillotson — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:52:42 +0000

Alright check out this strategy. You’re a small business owner and want to provide free WiFi to your customers. How about growing your Facebook Business Page and get free marketing while you’re at it!

I would totally Like a page for free WiFi. And you can bet I’m going to leave a comment on your page before I leave to, saying thank you!

This is a really cool idea. Watch this video to hear a bit more about this service.

Have you used Wavespot for your business or been to a business that uses it? I’d love to hear your thoughts about it, and where you used the service.

7 Steps to a Captivating Social Network Profile

Erin Tillotson — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:47:29 +0000

I’d like to introduce you to Mr. Blank. I know you’ve seen him on Facebook, Twitter and other social sites. He’s the one with no profile picture and no information. Here he is ->

When you see him do you accept the connection? I actually run the other way! When we are looking for valuable connections we check them out. Who are they? What do they do? Where can I learn more? So don’t be Mr. Blank! Here are 7 easy steps to creating the best social profile!

1 ) Add a professional photo – The first thing people look at is your picture. So have a picture that best represents you and your brand.

2 ) Define your specific skills, passions and expertise that set you apart from the rest. Showcase your expertise and unique brand in a memorable way. So anytime they are looking for someone with your expertise they think of you!

3 ) Provide your 30 second elevator speech (tailored to the specific social network). Here’s your chance, you can only be memorable once! Make the most of that short bio. Entice them to stay awhile.

4 ) Be interesting and memorable (share passions, interestes and unique traits or accomplishments). Clients and customers do business with people they like, business that “get” what they’re about! Share with your passions and share your case studies with your social networks. They want to hear this! This is what creates great connections and ongoing relationships.

5 ) Tag your profile with keywords relevant to your business. These are words your potential clients will understand and that use in their everyday word. Don’t use industry terminology that they won’t understand. Consider using words and phrases that are results oriented, what will get prospects excited?

6 ) Include key links to your blog, website and possibly other social networks. One of the most powerful aspects of social media is driving traffic. Be sure you include a link that is a great starting point for someone who just found you! Where should a new prospect start with your business?

7 ) Make sure your profile is readable and easy to follow. Don’t use images that are hard to understand or follow. Use a compelling image with great emotion. Chose your words carefully and strategically. The copy of your profile goes a LONG way. Use results and pain words. Paint a picture they want to live in!

Alrighty, there’s 7 easy steps to improving your social media profiles now. Make a few changes and see what benefits come to your profiles.

Did you use any of the steps for your business profiles? What helped you the most?

Social Media Valentine’s Day Style

Erin Tillotson — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 22:02:26 +0000

I hope you all had a terrific weekend (especially if you celebrated Valentine’s Day early!). Today much of the world will be sending a receiving flowers and eating yummy treats. I wanted to share some of the interesting social media facts that have influenced the modern Valentine’s Day.

Here is are some great results of a survey used on the social media sites Facebook and MySpace.

Why did I share this with you? Because you see if you ask people their thoughts, opinions or needs and wants they will tell in this social world. Be sure you are using this to your businesses best advantage!

Many businesses used social media for their Valentine’s Day promotions on sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. What is their motive? To get their piece of the $15.7 million (says National Retail Federation) that is anticipated to be spent for this special occasion. To read about some of the great promotions that went out read this article by USA Today.

I also found this funny video about the use of social media to locate information online for his Valentine’s Day. I found it funny but it is so true that we (well, many of us) are reminded of things at the last minute because of something we read online! Then we go online to resolve our problem. What a great use of technology!

I hope you all have a wonderful day and enjoy your activities!

Did you use social media at all for this Valentine's Day?

My Recent Social Media Workshop

Erin Tillotson — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:00:29 +0000

I recently had the pleasure of offering a workshop to local women’s business group. We held the event at a great local cafe, Sertinos, where we enjoyed some wonderful food and coffee before the workshop. I covered Twitter and Facebook basics for all the business owners in attendance.

Check out a few pictures of the workshop on my facebook fan page!

Just a little food for thought, I found this group through social media! Had I not been on Facebook and meet another woman business owner and she not recommend this group I would not have know about them. I would have never had the opportunity to hold a workshop! If you are in the Tucson area and are a women business owner please check out Sharon Michael’s Group, Women Who Want To Successfully Work For Themselves

Facebook Fan Pages Changes

Erin Tillotson — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:20:42 +0000

A quick post to let everyone know that Facebook is making a change to size of your fan pages soon. If you have any customizations on your page you should get them updated as soon as possible.

The width of the pages are been shorten to 520 pixels, that’s down 240 pixels. You will more than likely need to do some redesigning to fit this new width. You or your fan page manager should make these changes right away.

For more specific information visit: http://wiki.developers.facebook.com/index.php/Roadmap_Profile

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Schedule Your Facebook updates

Erin Tillotson — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:04:39 +0000

I have been testing out a few systems lately and asking questions to all the big brands and one has provided a solution. SocialOomph has now added the ability to schedule updates for your Facebook profile and any page your are an administrator for.

This makes me so happy, not only for myself but for my clients too. We can now streamline our tasks even better.

What can you do with the new Facebook feature?

Schedule status updates — Free up time. Now you can keep your Facebook status updates fresh by scheduling them to appear on your Facebook account at the dates and times of your choosing.
Schedule page wall updates — Be productive. You can schedule updates to be posted to the wall of any Facebook Page of which you are an administrator.
Secure Facebook Connect access — Peace of mind.

This is only available to Professional members so get your free 30 day trail and see all the possibilites there are with SocialOomph.

How to Share on Facebook with Two Clicks

Erin Tillotson — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:34:51 +0000

Facebook’s Share Bookmarklet is a simple way to share websites on facebook with two clicks. When you visit the bookmarklet page along the right hand side you will see a “Share on Facebook” button. Click and hold on that button and drag it into your bookmarks bar in your browser.

Now when you’re researching online or just found something that will interest your friends all you have to do is click that button and you can instantly share that page.

Another great featuer that Facebook has labeled a “Pro Tip” is the Share Bookmarklet will recognize when you share videos and music, making them easy to play within Facebook.

How Flock Can Help Your Social Media Efforts

Erin Tillotson — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:12:43 +0000

I was turned on to Flock some time ago and I have loved it ever since. It not only helps my social media but it also helps me in the work I do for my clients. I put together this short screen cast of the basic features available on Flock. From blogging, to “Twittering” and “Facebooking” right in the browser no need to go to the actual website.

What do you think of Flock the social media browser? Any questions?

Tools For Checking Brand Names

Erin Tillotson — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:13:00 +0000

I often hear new business owners seeking a way to check their brand name availability on the social networks. With the high activity of social media it is important to check your potential branding. Here are two easy tools that will check the social networks for any name you may be considering.

User Name Check

and

NameChk

When you are thinking of a new product or new business you should run them through these easy tools and see if they are already in use. If they aren’t in use then go sign up and retain the names for when you are ready to use them…or they be gone before you get the chance.