Notes From The Meeting: Social Networking; Twitter

Thanks again to everyone who came to the meeting on Social Networking - it was a pretty big turn out! Here are some notes I put together on the topic for those of you who couldn't make it. To keep these posts from being ridiculously long, I am going to do them in steps. I am starting with twitter, and later this week I will post the ones on facebook, blogging and etc. sites. So, stay tuned for this series!

 

If you have absolutely nothing else social networking wise, it should be twitter. It's a fast, efficient way to connect with others and it's really simple to update. Twitter is called "micro-blogging", and it's simply mini updates about whatever you want to post.

-Keep it interesting. No one wants to read about just your shop, over and over again. Think of your twitter as a television show. For 90% of it, you want to entertain people (with links to good articles, funny blogs or pictures, or a good video to watch), but for the other 10%, put a commercial in there for the hottest new product in your shop. Basically, give people a reason to want to follow you & be yourself!

-REPLY TO PEOPLE. It is entirely frustrating to @ or DM someone and not hear back. There are links on the right side to check who @ or DMed you if you are missing it.

 -To get followers, start by finding people you already know on twitter and follow them. Post a link to your twitter everywhere - shop announcement, message to buyer, e-mail. I include a link in my message to buyer (along with a link to my blog and facebook), alerting them of special promos, deals and giveaways. There are also sites to join for your twitter business. twibes.com, twibs.com and a good article with links on tips here!

-Follow only people you want. There is no need to go on a follow frenzy and follow everyone, I did this at first and my twitter page was just obnoxious to keep up with. I now have it slimmed down to people I enjoy hearing from, and I do add new people every now and then.

-Follow etsy and etsy admin. @Etsy @daniellexo @TeenAngster @marymarytweets are good ones to start with!

-Announce specials, sales or deals. Do this more than one time, but not back to back. Post a notice in the morning and late afternoon, this ensures you are hitting mulitple timezones without being obnoxious.

-Lately, there as been a LOT of spam and virus' going around on twitter. If you are posting a link, don't just post the link. I am INCREDIBLY hesitant to click on twitter links as is, so if you're trying to link to a new item, but want to keep it a surprise, just post something like "New listing [link]" or "I almost couldn't give up this new item [link]".

-Whenever I find a blog/website I enjoy, I always try to find their twitter. Not only will it update me when there is a new post, but I can talk directly (or as close to directly) with the writer and build a relationship. This is excellent promotion for your business if you manager to get a retweet or a mention in a blog/on a website. In addition, should they ask for people to promote on their blog/site, you will hear first word from them!

Peek back later this week, continuing this series with discussion on Facebook. If you have any more twitter tips, feel free to post them in the comments!