Who to follow on Twitter for businesses

Following the right accounts on Twitter is just as important as tweeting the right content. Following certain accounts can increase your business’ profile, both on Twitter and in your area, by connecting your business with your customers and local media outlets.

By following trendsetters within your industry, you can stay abreast of interesting and important developments that may affect your company. Also, Twitter can be used to keep an eye on the activity of your main competitors, as well as the larger companies you want your own business to emulate.

You will be able to see all the public tweets of the people you follow in your stream. Follow a diverse group of accounts to ensure that you get the most out of the service.

Industry leaders

Look for some of the bigger businesses that work in your industry. If you are opening a bakery why not check out Millie’s Cookies, Cinnabon or Dunkin’ Donuts. If you run a sportswear shop, have a look at Nike, Adidas orPuma.

You can monitor the leaders in your industry by following their activity on Twitter . Perhaps they will use the service in a way that you hadn’t thought of to promote themselves. Imitate their more successful or innovative ideas.

Follow the companies that provide you with your stock. Big brands often tweet about new product releases. SayNike football boots are one of your sports shop’s best selling products, if Nike were to tweet about a new football boot you could retweet it on your business page, alerting your followers.

You could then make sure that your shop was one of the first in your area to get the boot in stock and tweet about it, attracting more customers to your store.

Industry Voices and the Media

Follow the accounts of those in your industry whose views are respected. Look for the accounts with the most followers in your network and, perhaps more importantly, those that are getting the most retweets and favourites.

Following these accounts could lead to interactions with them, making their followers aware of your business. Their tweets may also prove to be very informative and useful to your business, tweets that you could retweet yourself.

Search for the Twitter accounts of the media sources in your local area. To do this, you can use the “Browse categories” list in the Discover tab, or you can use websites like Wefollow, Muck Rack and Twellow.

Building a relationship with newspapers, magazine publishers and radio stations on Twitter could persuade them to feature your business in articles and reviews.

Customers

When your business is just starting out on Twitter, it is a good idea to follow some of your current and favourite customers. Ask for your customers Twitter handles or email addresses, then use this information to search for them on the site.

People use Twitter to interact with brands and business. Following your customers will show them that you want to interact with them on the site, making them feel valued. Following customers will also make them aware that you are on Twitter and, if they thank you for the follow, it will make their followers aware of your business’ Twitter profile as well.

Competitors

Use Twitter to keep an eye on your competitors. Many of your rivals will already have Twitter accounts on which they will post company information and updates. If you can’t find a competitor type their email address into Twitter’s search engine, or have a look for their Twitter handle on their web page.

If you don’t want your competitors to necessarily know that you are following them, use a private Twitter list to keep tabs on them. You can follow lists without following the Twitter accounts listed within them.

Followers

There are two opposing schools of thought concerning follow-backs. Some say that businesses should follow all the users (those proven to be humans and not robots) that follow them, while others argue that businesses should only follow those more active and influential on Twitter.

The people who think that businesses should try to follow as many followers back as possible argue that not only does it show potential customers that the company appreciates their support and cares about their opinions, it also provides users with a way to communicate with companies privately on Twitter via direct messaging – a fantastic customer service tool.

The opposing argument, though obvious, is a good one: too many followed accounts clog up a business’ Twitter stream and bombard it with lower quality information.

If your company is not already on Twitter, it is unlikely that it is well-known. I suggest following as many people back as you can (having made certain that they are people) as this will help build your profile on Twitter, as well as off it.

Suggestions

On your Business’ Twitter home page there is a small list of suggestions entitled “Who To Follow”. In this list, Twitter collates accounts that you could follow based on your interests, activity and the people you follow. Clicking “follow” on one of the suggestions opens up a larger list of options: Twitter encourages users to follow as many accounts as possible to increase engagement and networking on the site.

There is also a longer list in the discover tab with even more suggestions of who your business should follow. Often these suggestions are very good, so it is worth having a look at this list – which is constantly updating itself – every week or so.

Others

Of course, you don’t just have to follow those within your industry or the people who follow you first. Why not follow the accounts of celebrities or people who interest you? Following interesting accounts may provide you with inspiration when you can’t think what to tweet, while interacting with celebrities might lead to an endorsement.

You should be using Twitter to display how interesting and multifaceted your business can be, so following the right mix of people can really help imbue your company’s Twitter account with more personality.

How To Optimise The Images On Your Business’ Social Media Pages

Images are incredibly important on any social media profile, whether they are the ones you use for profile and cover images, or the ones you share. Last year, more than one third of links shared on Twitter and over half of the posts on the Facebook news feed were images.

 Images are popular because they are eye-catching and instantly gratifying. However, when uploading images, the content is not the only thing that must be considered – you must also think about the file size of the image and its shape.

Here are some ways to optimise the images you display on the five major social media sites: Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

 General

 Whatever site you are uploading an image to, make sure that the file name is relevant to the image. So, if the image shows a red dress from your summer collection, call the image summer-dress-red.jpg. Naming your images appropriately will increase the chance of them showing up in the correct image searches.

You’ll notice that I named the image file as a JPEG. There are a number of image files you could use – JPEG, GIF or PNG – but using a JPEG is the best option. JPEG files can be compressed considerably, but still be of decent quality. Use GIF files for thumbnails and never large images. Use PNG files as an alternative to either of the other two.

Most importantly, make sure that all your images are eye-catching and relevant. Post regularly and respond to comments that your images get. Work out what images get the most likes, +1s and shares and when, then figure out the best strategy to take advantage of popular images.

Content that you post on any social media site will appear in the feeds of your friends, followers and connections with a miniature version of your profile picture alongside. Make sure that, even as a thumbnail, your profile picture is easy to make out.

Bear in mind that social media sites are constantly changing, so although the image sizes in this post are accurate (as of 29/05/2013), be sure to double check online.

Facebook


Facebook cover photos are the first thing visitors to your page will see, so make sure that it grabs their attention. The frame for the Facebook cover photo is 815 pixels wide by 315 pixels high. Your profile’s cover image has to be clearly related to your company, and it cannot mislead or infringe on anyone else’s copyright. Covers cannot display more than 20% text and they cannot contain display text asking users to share the image.

The Facebook profile picture overlaps the cover photo close to its bottom, right-hand corner. It is 160 x 160 px, but the image you upload to fill the space must be over 180 x 180 px. I would advise using your company logo as your profile picture, but try to be creative with your cover photo. If you have the time, change it every month or so, or use it to advertise new offers or products you have. Make sure, however, that you follow Facebook’s rules.

Timeline images are displayed at up to 403 x 403 px in the preview, and 960 x 720 px in the lightbox. Images up to 2048 x 2048 px can be uploaded. If an image is 403 pixels wide and 603 pixels wide 200 pixels will be cut from the preview, which would look awful if those 200 pixels are of vital importance. Don’t expect visitors to your page to click on previews if they can’t see the entire image, they are only going to enlarge images that intrigue them.

Google+


Google+ cover photos are significantly larger than their Facebook counterparts, measuring 2120 x 1192 px. When a user visits your page however, they only see the bottom third of the image, having to scroll up to see the rest. You need to make sure that the bottom third of your cover image contains all the necessary details to catch the visitor’s eye.


Current Google+ photos are circular, rather than square, which is great for companies with circular logos as it cuts down on negative space, but not so great for those with square logos. If your company has a square logo, work out how best to fit it into the circular frame.

It is especially important that you optimise the SEO of all the images on your Google+ page, as well as the ones you share, because Google indexes everything on its social media site, making it more likely to appear in Google Search. If a search of your company can take someone to your Google+ page, it gives them the opportunity to engage and interact with you and the images you post.

 Twitter

 Unlike Facebook and Google+, Twitter allows you to create and upload a background onto your profile page. When you create and upload your background page, ensure that all the important content is visible by placing it on the right and left-hand edges, so that it doesn’t get hidden by your stream, navigation bar, uploaded images or header image.

The header image is 520 x 260 px, but be aware that your 81 x 81 px profile image sits pretty much right in the middle – you don’t want your profile image blocking part of your header image, especially if you have put your contact details on there.

 
When you are posting an image on Twitter, there are three different Twitter cards you can use: the Large Image Summary Card features an image prominently, with the corresponding article summary beneath; the Photo Card is ideal if you just want to post a photo; use a Gallery Card for collections of images.

In stream, a tweet with an image will have a tiny photo icon at the bottom, with “View photo” alongside. An image within an expanded tweet is 375 x 375 px, whereas an article preview image is 120 x 120 px. All the images you tweet can be viewed in a picture gallery on your profile.

LinkedIn

Your company’s LinkedIn profile page has a number of tabs with customisable banners across the top. The Home page banner and the Products & Services banner are both 646 x 220 px. Treat your Home page banner like your Facebook or Google+ cover images: use an eye-catching image that is relevant to your company. Be creative with your Products & Services banner. Why not update it regularly with new products or special offers?

The Careers cover photo is slightly larger, 974 x 238 px, giving you even more space to play with. Change the Careers photo every so often to keep your page fresh. All the banners are limited to a 2 MB maximum size.

Pinterest

Of all the social media sites in this list, Pinterest is the most image focused. Pinterest is all about discovering cool and interesting images and pinning them onto your own boards. The better the images you pin to your own boards, the more likely people are to follow you.

 
If you are a company with tangible products, find interesting ways to post them on your boards. You can even add pricing and availability information to products you pin on Pinterest using rich pins.

Images you post on Pinterest can be of any length, but in the preview they have to be 192 px wide. When enlarged, a pin can still be of infinite length, but is limited to 600 px in width. The profile picture frame on Pinterest is 160 x 165 px. Choosing the correct 222 x 150 px cover image for each of your boards is also important – it should either be the most eye-catching on the board, or the one you want more people to pin.

DIY PR Success - 7 Social Media Tips

Business owners can be the best PR managers. Using social media and the Internet as a distribution platform you can match the results of even the best PR agency. However, the amateur marketer can need a little help learning the short-cuts to early success.

Here are some easy steps to get these social media tools returning real PR and branding results:

1. Set-up your PR and Branding Platform. Start small and focused. This platform is going to be where you drive people to learn more about your business, products, and services. Pointing back to this central focal point with all of your PR and branding campaigns with assist lead generation.

If you are technically inclined a simple blog is a great place to start. However, it is not necessary--you can chose to make Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn your personal brand platform. Make sure a visitor is engaged with your strategy when they arrive.

2. Listen First. Once you have a good platform, a base station, you need to start listening to your market. Consumers are all over the Internet and making it easier and easier to survey their needs.

A great place to start listening is on Twitter--the premiere social networking and conversation tool. Search for key words associated with your market in the Twitter search engine, then sit back and see what they expect.

3. Participate. Listening is important, but participation builds trust, relationships, and targeted audiences. Ultimately, and online PR and branding strategy online is community building.

Community building means conversations and conversations build audiences. Audiences that will trust your recommendations, marketing, and services. Participation in your community will create sales leads for your business, if done appropriately.

4. Give Value First. Consumers are naturally skeptical, especially online. Nothing brings a sale faster than "giving first" and breaking that natural skepticism. Online publishing tools and platforms have made is a snap to leverage the Internet for big-time audience generation and distribution.

Creating valuable content targeted at solving problems for your ideal customer can make a big impact. This can be as simple as a blog post, eBook, or amateur video. This little effort and value given freely and distributed widely will bring enormous return.

5. Build Relationships. You have to care! Consumers and customers see this in a heartbeat--and they react. Quickly returning emails, phone calls, and even tweets show a passion for your business and the customers you serve.

Customers greeted with a sense of urgency can be the biggest advocates and promoters of your products and services.

6. Be Helpful. Consumers are using the Internet more and more to find information and solutions to their problems. Being helpful is one the most powerful marketing tactics. The psychological principle of reciprocity can produce incredible returns on a simple helpful tip, pointer, or referral.

If you know the answer to a question--help someone. There are lots of ways to help online and build your brand. Check out LinkedIn Answers or Yahoo!Answers.

7. Promote Others. Having a successful PR and branding strategy is not all about you. Promoting others builds your audience and reputation. This technique has two benefits: Getting the reciprocity of helping someone else with a campaign. Second, you get the attention and trust of those who follow your advice and gain value.

Promoting others is like doubling your product base and increasing your marketing reach.

7.5 Engage PR and Marketing Professionals. With so many social media tools available and free advice on the Internet it is easy to rush in without a plan. Doing PR and branding without clear objectives and concise messages can be an obvious train wreck to consumers--a lasting bad impression.

Professional advice and guidance from PR and marketing professionals can help you set firm footing and foundation under your idea. Then you can make do-it-yourself have real impact.






Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1912105

YouTube Secrets Exposed: Do's And Don'ts of Building a Successful YouTube Channel

YouTube is a vital promotion tool, if you're a independent/obscure artist and you're not lucky enough to have your music uploaded by someone else to YouTube, don't just sit around waiting for someone to do it. You have two options, send uploaders your music or create your own channel. I recommend you do both, it's great for all artists to have their own YouTube channels, that way you control the music and how you want your self to be perceived.

What I will share with you today are just some simple tips to get your channel up and running and build a steady fan base. If your goal is to make a channel with 30k Subscribers and get partnership then look elsewhere, this advice is just for normal artists seeking to bring in the fans they already have.

First, set up a account in your artist name, get the page looking good and when it comes to uploading music have this in mind:

Google the most popular times in your country when YouTube has the most traffic and pick the best days (In my opinion Thursday and Sundays are perfect days).
Spread out your uploads, don't upload more then one thing at a time. The first upload will get less hits then the last upload as people will overlook it.
Tag your videos correctly and honestly! Don't put nothing like "car crash martian conspiracy", tag your music by genre, artist, year and maybe even a couple similar artists.

That is the easy stuff that most people will know as it's pretty common sense. The hard thing about YT is understanding that you are a needle in a huge haystack and getting your music/content heard and watched can be tricky.

Now if you are already an existing artist and your music is already on YT the first thing you need to do is: Harness your fans. You do this by collecting the usernames from people who have commented on tracks of yours that are already on YouTube. Collect those usernames up and put them in a notepad file and separate them by a comma.

Now it's easier to contact them and inform them that you have a new channel where you will uploading your music and content from now on; if they want to follow your new music then they can subscribe. Don't be pushy or beg for subscribers from these people, your preaching to the choir! These people are already fans of your music so your only goal is to notify them of your existence on YT if they won't to subscribe that's down to them.

Now bare in mind when it comes to contacting these people you can do it several ways, you can write on their channel walls or you can inbox them, if you inbox them you can batch message 25 people a time in a comma separate username ID list but you run the risk that people will ignore the message because they think its spam as it is a bulk message. Either way, you should notice an immediate response.

In my opinion there is no point in having a YT channel if you are not going to engage with your listeners, appreciate the feedback you get, ask for opinions...etc and if someone takes two minutes out of their life to send you a message saying "thank you for making blah blah I love that song, it changed my life" then take 2 minutes out of your day to acknowledge them.

If you are a new artist or a lesser known artist, how do you go about gaining new fans on YouTube? This is a tricky situation because unlike above you are not contacting people that already know you, so some people may view it as spam. But if you target the right people, they will thank you!

In this day and age it's hard to find new artists so when your messaged from a artist who you like it's a win/win situation! The hard part like I stated previously is finding those fans. If you make deep conscious hip-hop there is no point contacting people you find on a Lil Wayne video asking them to check out your music, if you do that do us all a favor and don't start to begin with. Instead find your target audience by narrowing down similar artists to yourself, people who you have a similar sound to. For example if you make music similar to say: Sage Francis you wouldn't just contact Sage Francis fans you would narrow it down more by including another artist you are similar to.

How? Use Google! Narrow down your search by searching:
Google > YouTube.com "channels" for example. Atmosphere or Sage Francis

By putting YouTube.com in the search field it means Google only searches that site and by putting brackets on "channels" it will bring up channels making it easier for you to contact these people. Now remember there is a thin line between promotion and spam, if you think you can just click subscribe on all these peoples channels and they will subscribe to yours, then that's a stupid idea. Contact ONLY the people who you truly believe will appreciate your music if any at all.

Target hip hop heads, people who are part of the hip hop community don't target everyday folk who use YouTube to watch make up tutorials but also who happen to like the same artists whom you believe your self to be similar with. There is a huge hip hop community on YouTube. Use the above advice at your own accord but don't spam or ruin YT for the rest of us or make it harder for other artists who are using those tactics properly, don't put a stain on fellow underground artists.

A couple Do's and Don'ts:

DO'S

Your own videos for songs be creative or if you don't have Album artwork..etc use good high res images.
Post your videos to other similar popular videos as a response.
Keep your channel active, spread our uploads out and keep people up to date.
Post all relative information in the video description: Downloads/FB Fan page...etc.


DON'TS

Buy "fake" views or subscribers. It's obvious and achieves nothing! If your main goal on YouTube is to get popular then ask yourself why! Your main goal should be to get and maintain a steady, dedicated loyal fan base.
Post comments on other videos telling people to check out your music, it's totally different from what I mentioned above and most people will just thumb you down anyway!
Get pissed off with people if they leave a negative comment, one of the best reasons for a artist to have YT is for fan feedback, if someone don't like your music that's life! Appreciate their opinion and don't get involved in petty internet arguments.
SPAM! I've said it already but you will gain nothing spamming people, you will probably just piss people off and they will just dislike your videos without even giving it a try.


And remember YouTube is a huge site, any of the advice will work, you just need to be dedicated and time will provide results.

- See more at: http://www.praverb.net/2012/05/youtube-secrets-exposed-dos-and-donts.html#sthash.qk6GdvXh.dpuf