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7 ways you’re failing at Twitter for online marketing

Twitter internet marketing fail

We’ve been talking a lot lately about using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as an inbound marketing technique to improve your overall Internet marketing results.

And there’s a good reason for that – according to a recent benchmarking report from Optify, Inc., 41% of traffic and over 26% of leads to B2B Web sites are driven by organic search results.

But that doesn’t mean you should ignore social media – Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn and others. Although social media drives less traffic than an organic search, those social media visitors usually become leads at a higher rate AND your social media activity influences how your site ranks in organic searches in positive ways.

But, here are 7 common things that businesses do to sabotage themselves and prevent them from getting full online marketing ROI from their social media posts.

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Not sure when to tweet? Check out this handy chart

A key to getting the most from Twitter is:

  • getting the most click-throughs to your content
  • getting your community to amplify your message through re-tweeting

And for this, as for so many things, timing is key. Download our handy chart to find out when the it’s the best time to send out your message. It’s what we’ve got posted on our walls here at Fruition.

Download PDF: When To Tweet Chart

 

[ctaw]

 

 

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3 Reasons to Relax About Your New Klout Score

Angry Twitter post about new Klout scoring algorithm

Klout, the online tool that tracks your social media activity and claims to rank your influence there, retooled the way they calculate those rankings last week. The change resulted in a reported thousands of Klout users seeing major drops in their Klout scores. And that has many of the site’s users freaking out.

The concern is misplaced, though. Here’s why.

Read the rest at Technorati.com

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Toronto “Arts Czar” shows us how *not* to do engagement

A concern we hear a lot from marketers and business people is about how to deal with critical voices in social media — people who’ve had a bad customer service experience with you, have had problems with your product, people who are just huffy that you exist.

Arguing on teh internet

And the stock social media guru response to those concerns is that businesses should engage with those critical voices and use them as occasions to win converts.

We couldn’t agree more.

But there is a right way to engage with critics and a wrong way.

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Twitter: Changing Lives and Your Business (Video)

Here’s a recent presentation I did with fellow Social Media Club Niagara colleague, Robin McPherson, titled “How Twitter Changed Our Lives and What This Means For Your Business“.

Topics included:

- Top Twitter Strategies
- Best Practices (with examples)
- Tools and tips to increase @replies, RT, and click-throughs, and followers
- Tons of research, metrics, and resources on Twitter.

It pulls from real case studies, including our own experience. To advance slides on the presentation, just hover the mouse over the right-hand side of the displayed slide and click. Also, if you weren’t able to attend our the meeting in September, here is the video (see below).


About the Author:

Mitch Fanning is VP of Strategy & Business Development for Fruition Interactive, a professional member of Social Media Club, and founding member of Social Media Club Niagara. He’s spent 10 plus years working with businesses of all sizes, from global brands - to B2B companies - to some of Canada’s fastest growing Internet companies ranked in the PROFIT 100. Follow Mitch on his adventures in new media here at [mitchellfanning.com].

Photo credit: Robin McPherson

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How Twitter Helps One Small Business Generate Sales

The receipt you see above is a direct result of this tweet (see below) by @eatingniagara, which included a picture of the pizza she had purchased from @BellaNoelaPizza in July (approx two months ago).

It looked really good.  So I retweeted it.  As a result, the following conversation ensued.  I ended the conversation with @eatingniagara by asking @BellaNoelaPizza what kind of pizza I should try?

Three hours later I got the following response:

Big Mac version pizza?  I was intrigued.

Over the last few months, I’ve been busy and kept putting off my promise to go and try their pizza.  During that time, I received a few updates and #FollowFriday mentions from @BellaNoelaPizza.  Not over doing it, but enough to re-focus my attention on the fact that I’ve got to at least give them a try.

Well, today, I’m happy to report that I went to Bella Noella’s for lunch and shared two slices with @treatqueendiva - the famous Triple X (it actually does taste like a Big Mac) and the Buffalo Chicken Wing pizza.  They were good :)

The result.  Bella Noella’s Pizza generated a sale ($12.00) and in the process has another loyal customer who is generating additional “word-of-mouth” marketing.

Why This Worked

As previously mentioned, I initially heard about Bella Noella’s Pizza from @eatingniagara who, when it comes to food in the Niagara Region, knows her stuff (i.e. she’s an influencer who I trust).

This generated “awareness” as well as “consideration” and “preference” over where I might get my next pizza slice from.

When I asked for a recommendation, Bella Noella engaged me almost immediately.  This showed they were listening and here to help.  This created the additional momentum for me to take “action” and “buy.”

Once I decided to act and tried their pizza, I was hooked.  As a result, this created “loyalty.” In addition, I’ve now become an “influencer.” And the marketing process starts over again.

It really is that simple.

Mitch Fanning is VP of Strategy & Business Development for Fruition Interactive, an authorized member of Social Media Club, and one of four co-founding members of Social Media Club Niagara.

He’s spent 10 plus years working with businesses of all sizes, from global brands including NBC.com to Canada’s fastest growing Internet companies ranked in the 2009 PROFIT 100.  You can also follow Mitch on his adventures in new media at mitchellfanning.com.

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Diamonds in your own backyard

Instead of going somewhere for our summer vacation, @treatqueendiva and I have decided to plan a few small adventures for the month of August to rediscover (and appreciate) all the great things the Golden Horseshoe area has to offer (i.e. Southern Ontario).

In other words, we’re staying home.

Seriously, we’ve come to realize (once again) we live in a very unique and diverse area of Canada.  As a result, we’re going to rediscover the “diamonds” in our own backyard.

Social Media is No Different

When it comes to online marketing (specifically social media) the same often can be true.

People want to be heard.  That’s why some use social media, to express themselves.  Day after day, I see individuals and companies use social networks to broadcast “all-about-me” messages in an effort to influence others.  Of course, this doesn’t work.  Most people are not interested in you (or me).

They’re interested in finding solutions to their problems.

People also want to be appreciated and understood.  The world is full of people who are self-seeking, but the rare individual (or organization) who unselfishly tries to serve others (using social media I might add) has an enormous advantage.

Dale Carnegie (author of How To Win Friends & Influence People), once said, “you can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” Zig Ziglar (author and speaker) said it slightly different, “you can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough people get what they want.”

Recent Example

Lululemon Athletica - @lululemon

The Situation: @treatqueendiva loves her Lululemon gear.  Recently, her gym bag strap broke.  Distraught, she posted the first of five tweets below.  Shorty after, @lululemon responded, demonstrating they understood and offered her solutions.

The Result: The customer felt appreciated and, most importantly, found a timely solution to her problem.  In addition, Lululemon increased their “social equity” proving they’re here to help.

Advantage: Lululemon.

Lesson: Become a “Diamond” Hunter

Slow down, watch, listen, and the opportunities will unfold.

Yes, use online publishing and social media tools to tell stories that educate.  However,  more importantly, spend time in “search” mode watching and listening to what people are saying.  Do this and you’re going to be ahead of the game.  My colleague, Keith Burtis, recently summed it best - (remember) “those are HUMANS behind the keyboard!”

So, what’s in your “backyard”?

About the Author:

Mitch Fanning is the VP of Strategy & Business Development for Fruition Interactive. He’s spent 10+ years (and put in his 10,000 hours) working with businesses of all sizes, from global brands to Canada’s fastest growing Internet companies ranked in the PROFIT 100. At any given moment, Mitch can be brainstorming ideas for a client, writing for blogs he contributes to, or resting under a tree in a quiet vineyard with @treatqueendiva.

Photo credit: swamibu

[disclosure:  Lululemon Athletica is not a client of or affiliated in any way with Fruition Interactive]