10 tricks for using Twitter

October 25, 2011 by Raul Colon

In order to find an effective and efficient way to use Twitter, here are 10 tips that may be useful for any Twitter user. Whether you’re new to Twitter or an experienced Twitter user these tips can help you get more results.

1. Use a tool for managing your tweets.

In today’s mobile world it’s easy to stay up to date with Twitter. With so many available applications to choose from such as: Tweetdeck or Hootsuite, and others can enhance the experience of Twitter.

2. Rotate links in your Tweets.

You should rotate where you place a link. Sometimes you should place it before the message which causes the user to see the link and then the message. This may increase the readers curiosity. At other times you can place the link in the middle of the message. It is a good idea to alternate the structure of your “tweet” so they do not all look alike.

Example:

Before the message: “http://about.com – Portal to find useful and interesting information.”
After the message: “Portal to find useful and interesting: http://about.com”
Middle of the message: “Portal to find useful and interesting: http://about.com information.”

3. Create “tweets” with no more than 120 characters.

Tweets that are less than 120 character make it easier for others to “Re-tweet” and pass the information along.

4. Create lists to filter messages from users by topic, relationship, or events.

As the number of contacts you have grow, it becomes more and more difficult to read through all of your messages. Having lists allow you to better control the flow of messages and interaction with other users.

5. Understand how to use “hashtag” and its many features.

A “hashtag” is a keyword which is placed with a number sign (#) in front. This allows the Twitter platform to easily find users that have used that keyword in their tweets.

6. Include a Background on Your Profile that identifies you, or the effort that you are running.

Twitter provides a generic background designs for its users, however, you have the ability to create your own background. This is very useful if your a business because it allows you to make your presence in Twitter stand out. Your background imagine can be as simple as just your logo, but I recommend having key features of your business on that background.

7. Complete your profile and highlight your interests so others with similar interests can see you as a potential contact to follow.

Be sure to keep up to date photo of you and information describing your interests. Creativity is always welcome.

8. Add links to your profile.

This will help to direct followers or visitors to your blog, or anywhere they can find more information from you. I always recommend to include your blog or website.

9. Share “tweets” from other users.

Twitter is a channel of communication whose purpose is to share information. Be sure to share and pass on information shared by others. If you only share what you create you miss the opportunity to create new relationships. Many users choose to stop following users when messages are often personal propaganda only.

10. Never click on links from strangers they usually arrive via a special “DM” (direct message).

Many people receive private messages which may have malicious code that can take over your account. Once you see suspicious activity call the Twitter security team they will show you how to precede.

These are 10 tips and tricks on how to use Twitter. If you have some tips for Twitter users post in the comments below.

If you need help on improving your online presence for yourself or your business feel free to send us your contact info!

[si-contact-form form=’8′]

Difference of Facebook page, profile and group

October 13, 2011 by Raul Colon

To clarify possible questions within the differences of a profile, page and a Facebook group I want to share the primary purpose for which of each are used.

Profile is a key part of Facebook and It is the most used by everyone. Each user has a personal profile, while the group is a place where, initially, Facebook allowed companies and groups have the ability to communicate.

The personal profile allows you to create a private space where you can share updates, photos, links, news, ask questions among others. All users of Facebook should have your personal profile to use other social networking features.

Groups provide an enclosed space for small groups of people to communicate about their common interests. Groups can be created by any user.

Pages allow the real organizations, businesses, celebrities and brands to communicate with your audience. The pages can only be created and managed by authorized representatives and officers of each organization, entity or company.

In simple words:

Profile – Each user has a profile for personal use.

Group – Center for common interests.

Page – Place of a brand, celebrity, organization, and / or company official on Facebook.

In more detail, these are the things you can do in each of them according to Facebook:

Profile

Privacy: visibility of information published in a profile can be controlled by the privacy options.
Public: Depending on how your privacy settings are set the public may
send an invitation to create a
connection. If you wish, you can limit invitations and who can see your public profile.
Communication: The updates can be viewed by
users with whom you have a connection. Any updates you make on other profiles or pages will be created
under his name.

Groups

Privacy: In addition to having an open group to the public,
there are more privacy options available for groups. In secret
and closed group makes
its updates visible only to other group
members.
Public: Group members must be
approved and added by other members.
When a group reaches a certain size certain features are
limited. The most useful groups tend to be the one
created to share with some people we know.
Communication: In groups, members are notified as their main option. Group
members can participate in “chat,
upload photos to albums shared document collaboration, and invite all members to group events.”

Any further questions regarding the differences? Feel free to ask in the comments area!

3 Reasons How To Promise & Deliver When building…

April 21, 2011 by Raul Colon

I see how many companies try to build their email marketing lists in a way that is not spam. But, once the list starts growing they get tempted to go towards the “dark side”.

Based on my experiences, I think these are 4 Reasons How To Promise & Deliver When Building Your Email List.

Set expectations

Be clear on how often you will publish your newsletters and communicate that to the people who have trusted you with their email.

Stick to a schedule

When companies or marketing departments start seeing results of an email list, they decide to break the established schedule.

Don’t send too often.

If you are bombarding your customers with messages via a newsletter or social media sites, they might lose interest in what you have to say. Feel free to ask your audience every once in a while if they want more info or less of it.

My recommendation is a monthly newsletter with occasional supplements to promote events or specials.

How often do you engage with your audience and the awesome individuals who decided to sign up for your list?

Any other tips or ideas that I missed out on?

Do you have permission to Play Music On Your Site?

March 28, 2011 by Raul Colon

Beware of the Music you use on your site you just may be breaking the law and copyright infringements. There are laws that you need to learn about if you are posting music on your website, an on-line slideshow, or even YouTube video. These laws protect the rights of music artists ,their work, and how the consumer uses or shares their product.

A question arose from one of our clients trying to find music that was protected under creative commons. A slideshow of one of their events made by a third party contained music that was violating copyright laws.

How could we help the client understand that the music they are using is violating a law and still help them create a slideshow for the website?

I asked for help from Jose “Pepe” Pesante (@joeprog) radio host of http://frecuenciasalternas.com and editor-in-chief of http://vorticeonline.com for assistance with finding a site under creative commons related to the music industry. Thanks to his expertise, he was able to provided me two sites; one called SoundCloud and the other Bandcamp. Both offer CC licensing and options for purchase, free download or streaming only.

I would recommend SoundCloud over Bandcamp because it is very obvious that it is for sharing. SoundCloud 101 is a simple guide that has a section for music artists and those looking for music, regarding the terms of their site. It also provides details of how one shares music under the creative commons license. There are samples you can listen to on the main page.

You can sign up for both sites as an artist or group promoting your music as long as you are complying with U.S. copyright laws and the websites’ Terms of Use.

Here are the links to some of the sites that I found useful that talk about copyright law for music along with links to SoundCloud and BandCamp.

http://mpa.org/copyright_resource_center/copying

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_copyright_law

http://soundcloud.com/

http://bandcamp.com/

photo credit by bwhistler