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5 twitter traps: Don’t end up driving into these ones

By Varghese | Published: May 15, 2012

With Twitter’s immense popularity in the social networking world and among new professional bloggers and webmasters, it is not uncommon for a fresher to unknowingly glide into one of the many pitfalls of Twitter. The passion of voicing out one’s imaginations and latest news associated with them is definitely inevitable, but new as well as experienced tweeters may at times commit certain mistakes, which may unfortunately lead them to push away their followers and abandon them in the world of tweeter.

1. Occasional tweeting

Tweeter is a forum which one can use to get his or her voice heard in their social circle. And it has now become a part of every blogger’s and e-commerce owners’ life. With the tough competition, it is very easy to lose followers to someone else. Hence, regular tweeting is very important to stay in touch with loyal followers and to personalize the virtual relationship with them. But this sometimes appears to be wrong for some people. For them, tweeting is like teen sex. First their excitement leads them to the lanes of Tweeter and once they have explored it all, they lose all charms.

2. Use of spam promotional tweets

Although many have started using tweeter as a forum for their products promotions, we must not forget Twitter’s real identity. People are flooding their accounts with spam product promotions without knowing that this would rather harm their image instead of serving their intended purpose. Tweeter as we all should know is a social networking site where followers only follow things that they emotionally get attached with, but tweeting only product promotions will not allow them to get emotionally attached. So tweeting promotional tweets in between regular tweets is obviously the better way out.

3. Tweet retweet

“Tweet me and I will tweet you back!” is one of the most lucrative and deceptive options adopted by tweeters. Although the idea looks quite promising for attracting followers, but this lane leads to only blind ends. Thoughtful and planned retweets definitely prove their worth in the long run, but Retweeting randomly would never yield any results as far as increasing tweeter followers are concerned.

4. Being genuine

It is not an uncommon thing to see people tweeting for other companies or other individuals, but followers often try to connect to the real person who generates all the tweets. Creating a social and genuine identity is a must if one wants their tweets to get socially connected with their followers.

5. Providing TMI

“TMI” has become a very popularly used abbreviation among tweeters. But providing TMI or “Too Much Information” in the form of photographs or statements through one’s tweets may lead one to unwanted dangers. This proves to be very true especially in case of tweets from bloggers and professionals.

A guest blog by Alyssa Clarke. Alyssa Clarke is a blogger who also happens to be a tech buff. She is always on a lookout for latest tech stuff and being an eco enthusiast, she is currently hunting for some cool green android apps. She is a car lover too and at present is a big fan of the tweet run Mercedes Benz car.

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How to Increase Business Sales from Existing customers through Social Media

By Varghese | Published: May 12, 2012

Keeping the customers happy would naturally bring in more business. It would result in higher revenue as well. I would suggest some tips to attain good business from existing customers through social channel.

Provide customer service through social media

Many companies like DELL, Airasia, IBM etc succeeded in providing great support through social media. It would be extended to a Social-CRM software as well. Salesforce.com provides an excellent extension of social media through it’s CRM interface.

Give Offers and loyalty bonus to Purchase more

Keep the customers loyal with your brand by providing special coupons or loyalty points through social media channels. Jetmiles is a very good loyalty program implemented by Jet Airways. The existing customers would get more and more with frequent purchases. This would encourage them to purchase more. You would communicate it properly through social channels.

Communicate and Engage

Social Media is an instant feedback channel. You would gather customer feedbacks instantly through this channel. A happy customer is your sales person. A good word of mouth communication happens though this media. A happy customer would recommend the product to his friends. Referral Bonus programs would be added motivation to a happy customer. On the other side, an unhappy customer would do more harm than the good word by a happy customer. So it is important handle customer queries and complaints in right time and regains the trust of the customer. It would bring new customers and also bring more revenue from existing customers through a well maintained social media channel.

Educate the customer

Educate the customer about the new offer and features about the products or services. Use every chance to clear the queries about the product the customer. You would drive the customers to a new product page by sharing the link through social media. Toyota has developed a facebook game called “Toyota Tree” to make the customer aware about the environment initiative through facebook. People would water the tree and let it grow and distribute to their friends.Toyota’s green initiative is popularized though a simple yet interesting way.

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Social Media intimacy: How do you approach this?

By Varghese | Published: May 10, 2012

By this time, all of us are convinced that social media is effective and is here to stay. The marketing today is all about building relationships. Technology has given us ways to be more efficient, but not more effective. An email or SMS can never contain the warmth of a handwritten letter or a face to face meeting. Hence, before we begin a social media or any other campaign, we must understand the intimacy level for that form of communication.

Low Intimacy Platforms

If you think that Twitter is the only and the best medium that will help you build relationships, then think again. The worst thing about Twitter is that it is overcrowded. You need to do a lot of get heard. And sometimes, you would not even know who you are shouting to and if anybody is listening. There are way too many groups and lists that people are into. Moreover, you can just post characters within 140 characters and it puts limits to self expression.

Blogs are also a medium of self expression and people write a lot when they blog. They think that they are building good relationships when they receive a lot of comments. It is true; more comments do amount to something. But there is only one person talking at a time and hence intimacy level is not that much. Also, blogs and blog comments are mostly only textual which is yet another factor that contributes to lower intimacy level.

Medium Intimacy Platforms

It was thought that new media will swipe email marketing away. The reason is simple. New media is more personal and more interactive. Email still has its benefits like one-to-one interaction between the sender and the receiver. There is no character limit and what you write to one person remains with that person. Of course Facebook is the medium driving all social campaigns these days. It has a higher intimacy due to its high visual appeal. With the latest timeline update, a glimpse to a Facebook page can show you what the person or brand is all about. It is easy and it is interesting.

High Intimacy Platforms

Social media might be ruling the charts but chat has not lost its charm. Chat is the only place where you can get an instant response. And when in trouble, a customer truly cherishes the 24 hour chat support that you offer. With online chats people often build relationships that last for life. Similarly, there is no replacement of a hand written note. Everyone knows that it takes time and effort to write by hand and you cannot send it to all. This uniqueness is what makes it so special.

People often wonder why tweet-ups are organized and why companies continue to have customer and partner meetings. Yes all of it can be done through Twitter or Skype using virtual events and conferencing, but it would not add the personal touch you need which you get by meeting personally. Businessmen often fly to other countries even though technology is available. What works for personal relationships also works for business relationships.

No matter what the product or service is that you intend to market, relationship building is a must everywhere. Keeping in mind the intimacy levels that the above platforms offer, you can choose the kind of event or marketing campaign you want to create.

How to Get Followers to a Website

By Varghese | Published: May 6, 2012

Getting followers towards other content pages is one of the most common uses of twitter. , You might also want to send them to a purchase page or registration page as well. Some might even expect their followers to click on the ads placed in their website. You cannnot tell your followers directly to do what you expect. Writing blogs would make your readers entertained and it attracts readers in two ways. It attracts readers from outside twitter by way of SEO and referrals from other websites such as directories, social bookmarking websites or forums. Secondly it brings readers from social media websites like facebook, twitter, linkedin etc. Slowly your followers who visits your website by clicking the links you provide with your messages will be your regular readers. Offering some discount coupons is one good way to get followers to a website. Pay the followers something to visit your website. Continuous and regular updates about the subject matter discussed in your website would bring in genuine readers. Make sure the content is uniue and interesting and carefully drafted when you post it in your social media website. Here is a post that would help you to write good tweets. The more the followers or friends you have in your network, the more the chances for it to get re-sent or retweeted or liked. So that your reach would be widened.

Posted in Social Media | Tagged social media marketing, Social Media promotions | 1 Comment

Can social media kill your job chances? Absolutely!

By Varghese | Published: May 4, 2012

Social media is supposed to be a boon for businesses as well as for personal branding. A good social network online can land you in jobs, get you business and keep you updated with what is hot in your industry. All this is important but can it ruin your job chances? Every rose has thorns and social media is no different. Your social media activity is a reflection of who you are. And even if you don’t agree that is what the recruiters think.

You’re Friends

We seem to add everyone on our friend list even though we are faintly acquainted. Some of our friends from childhood are not a true reflection of us but it does not always show on our profile. A profane comment or inappropriate tagging might just create the wrong impression on your prospective employer. If they are sharing inappropriate content on your wall, you are to be blamed. Talk to your friends or do not give them the permission to write on your wall or tag you. Do not let all your friends do anything that brings you into bad light.

Barren Profiles

There are people who love to create profiles on every new website that is available but are not active on it. Sometimes, it creates a wrong impression of carelessness and not utilizing available resources. Moreover, they can also create an impression of lack of commitment because you jump into things too quickly and do not pull them through till the end.

Being Too Much Out There

Some people are over sharing. There are some people who share everything like where they are, what they ate and drank, along with the pictures on social networks. Most employers want to see you as a serious person who is too much into his field of work. Most of us are not that way and use social media for personal stuff. The good idea is not to make everything public. Use lists and private groups. If you are sharing everything on social media sites, you are not only revealing too much of your personal self to your employer but also letting him know that you spend so much time on social media.

It is a Time Waster

There is no doubt that social media is great for business; it does take up lot of your time. If you are searching for a job, you need to spend time doing it aggressively. You miss out on a lot of opportunities if you just sit there watching that video your friend shared, or read that story about some woman who did something extraordinary. Go out and meet people face-to-face and read about what is new in your industry. Let social media remain a part of your job search, don’t overdo it.

If used wisely, social media can definitely help you in your job search or in any business activity you desire. But it can absolutely ruin your job search if you do not know how to use it carefully. Just like a pinch of salt in good food, use it in the right quantity and enjoy its flavor.

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Twitter today and tomorrow History

By Varghese | Published: April 30, 2012

Before 2006, SMS or “text” messages were viewed as a person-to-person medium. They were like postal mail or telephone calls – a way for one person to communicate with one other person. That all changed when a small company launched a service called “Twitter.” The idea behind Twitter was to use the SMS messaging pipeline, but provide a way to publish text messages to large groups of people via the web. Since SMS messages are restricted to 160 characters, Twitter provided 140 character “tweets” that could be sent with a user name and published on the Twitter website.

At first Twitter was something of a curiosity. Dubbed “microblogging,” Twitter was pretty much used by geeks and technical folks until the 2007 South by Southwest Interactive conference showed the value of tweets and “hashtags” (#) to collect information from various posters into a single feed. After that Twitter exploded and quickly became a fixture online and in the news.

Today

Twitter today is a foundation of interaction between celebrities and their fans, companies and their customers, and online trends and everyone. There are 140 million active users sending over 340 million tweets daily. Celebrities like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber have over eight million followers. Celebrity adoption of Twitter happened so quickly that Twitter had to add a “verified account” status that allowed them to annotate which of many accounts under the celebrity’s name is the actual celebrity.

An indispensable component to any news story now is coverage of news being “tweeted” from the location of the event. Often Twitter feeds are the only communications available to people in an area. From the authoritarian shutdown of internet services in some cases to a disaster collapsing the communications infrastructure, the tweets don’t seem to slow down. Again, hashtagging provides an easy way to track the notes being sent from all over the globe related to a specific event.

Twitter has also been at the focal point of a number of scandals. A few celebrities have discovered that being able to say anything to anyone isn’t always the best idea. Rep. Anthony Weiner meant to send a private “twitpic” of his privates to a fan and instead accidentally sent it to the whole world. Designer Ken Cole thought it would be a bright idea to use the riots in Egypt to “twitvertise” his new spring collection. Folks that felt that civil unrest wasn’t a great platform for fashion advertising let him know in the harshest manner. And the Republican Senate nominee from Alaska tweeted that he was “house shopping in DC” before the election. While that may not have been the only reason he ended up losing said election, it certainly didn’t help.

Tomorrow

In just a few short years Twitter has become a fixture in everyday life perhaps faster than any other technology. So where is it going from here? It’s a safe bet that mistweets, drunken tweets, and hacked tweets will continue to haunt any celebrity or politician who keeps Twitter software on their phone. It’s a sure thing that “managed” Twitter accounts will show up soon, where all tweets go to a moderator or handler before being released to the web.

Twitter has recently added a way to send photos via tweet – expect at some point to see video and perhaps other media types added. Twitter may also add a secure payment method, making it easier for companies to run “Tweet sales.” Picture Amazon.com or Wal-Mart sending a tweet that some item is on sale, and a quick reply with a personal password will order the item in a fit of impulse shopping. Think w00t! on steroids.

We’ll also see media blending and crossovers. Websites will become increasingly integrated with Twitter. Television shows will make Twitter feeds part of the story. It may become impossible to keep up with some reality shows if you don’t follow their tweets, as critical developments between episodes will pop up when you least expect them. And in a world of increasingly on demand video, TV scheduling itself could be via Twitter: “#MadMen Cola Company ad conference at http://amctv.com right now.”

And of course we will simply see Twitter continue to work its way into our everyday lives. While we won’t tweet everything, the ability to tell a bunch of friends at the bar that you’re running late or to schedule a quick family get-together is too easy to ignore.

Twitter Vocabulary Evolution at a Fast Pace

A Guest Post By Nisha Sharma, She represents a site called neteffekt.com. She loves to write about technology and business advice, For more information, Visit email marketing reseller.

Posted in Social Media | Tagged Real Life | Leave a comment

Tracking of Social Media – The new government regime

By Varghese | Published: April 23, 2012

Tracking of Social Media becomes necessary to prevent its’ misuse. Press Council Chairman, "tracking social media" Justice Markandey Katju urged the government to build a team of experts to take measures to track social media against it’s misuse for defaming people and groups. Mr. Katju wrote in his letter to the Honorable Minister of Broadcasting, Mrs Ambika Soni about the practice of defaming people, communities, groups and communities. The recent incidence is the dissemination of a CD which even the author admitted has been distorted for defaming a reputed senior lawyer of the Supreme Court and Member of Parliament, and the threat to defame a union minister. People kept uploading the CD through social networking sites irrespective of the injunction by the court against it. He demands a legal move to track social media. “Government should take measures for weeding out such offensive material”, He added. There arises an opposition as well. It says “Freedom of Media” could not be neglected in a democratic country like India. Mr. Katju counters this statement “The reputation is a much valuable asset and cannot be harmed at any cause by mischievous people. Freedom has to be coupled with responsibility as well. Otherwise anybodies reputation can be seriously damaged.

Government of India to Use Social Networks Widely

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Social Media Blogs – Some Good Picks

By Varghese | Published: April 21, 2012

Socialmediaexaminer.com – Social media examiner is a prominent blog in the social media space. Social Media examiner is managed by talented authors who contribute genuine content about using of social media tools like facebook, twitter or linkedin.It contains original case studies, reviews, research and guidelines about effective use of social media. The founder and CEO Michael Stelzner is a man behind big social media summits like Social Media Success Summit. Socialmediaexaminer.com integrated a unique feature to the readers called networking club to make the readers engaged and stay in touch with each other which is similar to a social networking platform where you would communicate with other members who are interested in social media. Socialmediaexaminer.com is definitely a best in class blog with exceptional quality articles written by multiple authors.

Techipedia.com – Techipedia is the blog owned by Tamar Weinberg – An eminent author in the social media blogging space provides a true insight about the usefulness of social media in marketing. The author is passionate about the Internet, social networks, and technology. Tamar was working as an Internet Marketing specialist since 2006. Even though techipedia.com is a single author blog, It is supported by several guest bloggers from all over the world to provide quality content to the website.

Mashable.com – Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005 Mashable is more of a news website rather than a blog. As the site claims, It is the greatest independent news source in the social media space. Mashable boasts of having 20 million visitors and 4 million social media followers. Mashable also contributes its content to top media sources such as CNN, ABC News and Yahoo! News. Mshable is the biggest yet growing source of Information about social media and technology.

Lauraleewalker.com – Lauraleewalker is a personal blog about social media. The author Laura-Lee Walker is passionate about social media and it’s applications in modern business. Her writing style is simple yet exceptional and capable of making the readers entertained whole through out the blog. The knowledge pool contains vibrant and unique information on certain topics about social media which are not much discussed in other popular blogs.

Corporate Social Networking among the smart workforce of the New Age

By Varghese | Published: April 18, 2012

The corporate social networking scenario is getting liberalized as more and more companies are realizing varied uses of social networking platforms. internal Social Networking is emerging with the wide acceptance of social networking platforms as a communication tool by companies. The new generation is more technology savvy and utilizes the online media quiet effectively to virtually communicate with his friends and colleagues. The companies have realized the situation and have introduced online space for their employees. “The Online Media is easy to use and capable of getting a response instantly” says Shwetha Agarwal, A systems analyst in an IT company fromBangalore.

The Social networking platforms are designed exclusively by the companies for their employees. The employees can connect with each other with their colleagues, friends and superiors. They take it more personal often. It not only acts as a medium to stay connected but also plays vibrant roles among modern work force. It facilitates collaboration and sharing of knowledge by asking questions, sharing of links, updates about technology issues etc. Online media called “Octopus” on Polaris Financial technology provides tools for internal communication, project management and knowledge base for employees. It enables review of work done by subordinates or other team mates. Employees would manage their tasks quiet effectively. A milestone based task management system is integrated with the system to keep the employees informed about their current and upcoming tasks with time required to do it. These internal social networking tools are essentially a part of corporate social networking. The Corporate Social Networking platforms enable a sense of community and transparency at the work space.

Corporate Social Networking – The Other Side

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