3 Reasons Why You NEED To Use Twitter

I’m proof positive that Twitter is a great marketing tool for a home based business. There are 3 reasons why it’s powerful to use Twitter for small business. It takes literally about 15 minutes daily and provides a steady stream of leads for my business. It costs nothing but time.

Think of it this way: Twitter is an ongoing conversation from people all over the planet about what they’re doing, what they’re reading, what they’re watching, what they’re thinking – you get the idea.

There are 3 Reasons to Tweet:

#1 – It’s the easiest, fastest education on the planet

Follow people that you respect: gurus in your industry or authors of books you read. Soon, you’ll get immersed in exactly what they do, read, watch and think on a daily basis.

If you want to be like them, do what they do. You’d never get the chance to know so much about a person of stature as you do on Twitter.

People to follow in the home based business industry: Perry Belcher (web 2.0), Frank Kern (Copywriting), Mike Dillard (Strategy), Anthony Robbins (Mindset). Me, Steph Robey – if you want to see how a baby boomer, old school marketer uses Twitter. (pivot_positive@twittter.com)

Emulate them and get better results in your life.

#2 – It’s the easiest, fastest way to gain exposure in your industry

Facebook, YouTube, eZines, WordPress, Ping – all offer tools that allow you to automatically tweet when you upload a new video or blog or write a new article. So, as you’re building a following, look for people who have similar interests, people within your industry that can benefit from your content.

A link can be automatically sent out via Twitter to your followers each time you upload content. This helps to establish you as an expert and build credibility and trust with your followers.

Eventually, people make it back to your site(s), check out your business and become a prospect. Be careful not to sell. Build relationships first. Eventually, they’ll want to know what you do for a living and then tell them you do marketing and occasionally you teach people.

They’ll want to be part of the occasion so have a way for them to opt-in to your list and become part of your “tribe.”

#3 – It’s so fun, it’s addicting

Twitter’s like high school. You can hang out on the “mall” with the cool kids (see reason #1). You may not directly be a part of their “tribe” but you can listen in on what they’re doing reading, seeing, thinking and be in the “know”.

Then, you get to tweet to them about the things that you’re doing, reading, seeing, thinking and they retweet – send your message out to their own personal “tribe.” (See reason #2).

Supply value, have fun and build a following using Twitter for small business. Seth Godin wrote an excellent book on this called “Tribes.” Your list is basically your tribe and your goal should be to grow your tribe and it’s really easy to do with Twitter.

Be Big! Pass it on…

Five Guidelines for Outsourcing Your Social Media Marketing

Am I the only one who has noticed all the social media marketing experts that are appearing on a daily basis? It’s almost as if that’s become the job for those who have become unemployed, suddenly create a Twitter account and a Facebook account and you are now a social media marketing expert. It is very similar to when Frontpage came out and everyone became web designers.

Look, I’m all for free enterprise and entrepreneurship and creating your own empires. What I’m not for is small businesses being taken advantage of by those who claim to be experts, but have no clue of how to market a business using social media marketing methods. This is the reason I write articles that give businesses guidelines that they can go by when selecting marketing firms to outsource to. This week I focus on guidelines you can use when selecting a social media marketing expert or firm.

This all started at a business lunch last week. I was speaking with a business owner and he asked me “Chris, what if I want to outsource my social media marketing, I see the benefits, but I simply don’t have the time. What should I look for?”

Great question, as I mentioned earlier in this post truth is in today’s economy when people become unemployed they immediately entitle themselves as “social media experts.” A social media expert is a person who does more than sit and eat Cheetos, while watching Jerry Springer and tweet all day.

There are many out there that claim to be social media experts, there are few out there that can prove they are worthy of this title, so let me see if I can help. Take a few moments and review the five guidelines that I provided to you regarding outsourcing your social media marketing. I think this will help you when it comes to outsourcing a social media marketing expert or firm and ensure that you are selecting someone who has the skills and experience to get you the results you desire.

Chris Treece   chris@cltmarketing.com