5 Signs You’re Being A Twit on Twitter

Are you a twit on Twitter?

What’s a “twit” anyway?

One definition of a twit is:

“a foolishly annoying person”

If you’re new to Twitter, it’s easy to get confused and be a twit rather than sending out a good tweet. Here are 5 signs to look out for:

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20 Men Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter

I was recently included in a Forbes.com list of 20 Women for Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter and immediately thought, what about the Men?  They may be a minority but don’t they deserve some lovin’?

I admit, probably 90% of my followers and those I am following are women…and I also follow some really HOT male entrepreneurs on Twitter.

By hot I mean:

- They have an awesome business I admire and am learning from
- They are genuinely interested in and engage with their community
- Some have a wicked sense of humor
- Some have gone out of their way to help me out
- And some of them, are just plain hot (You know who you are!)

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7 Questions to a Social Media PR Strategy

• Four out of every 10 Americans read blogs, according to a study by Synovate/MarketingDaily.
• There are 500 million Facebook accounts
• An estimated 75 million users are on Twitter, with 10 – 15 million actively using it

Social media has become a very powerful frontier for PR–one that is easier, faster and cheaper to permeate than traditional media.

That said, figuring out social media, getting involved, building and sustaining relationships sure can take up a lot of our time. Too much time, in fact, especially when we get into it without a strategy.

Here are seven questions I ask my PR students and clients, to help them craft a doable and effective social media PR strategy:

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Twitter Chats: Another Social Media PR Opportunity

As Twitter becomes more and more popular, its users keep coming up with new ways to better interact and engage with each other.

One popular way is through Twitter chats. A Twitter chat is a live discussion via Twitter on a specific topic. There is usually one host, who moderates the chat, by tweeting questions. It’s a virtual water cooler and a good place to meet people, deepen friendships, and exchange information.

Participants keep track of the “conversation” by following and using a hashtag–a pound symbol (#) followed by a word. For example, #prinpajamas is a hashtag.

Twitter chats allow participants to discuss a topic and have their own questions answered.

Some Twitter chat organizers even allow each participant to mention their business and tweet a link to their website.

You’ve got to agree, Twitter chats can be an excellent PR opportunity. They’re an easy way to get in the radar of Twitter power users, meet potential partners, and even get some leads.

Here are a few tips to make your Twitter chat experience a positive and fruitful one:

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I’m Spilling My Secrets

The other day, a Twitter friend asked me if social networking was just a time suck. I replied, “Only if you’re doing it without a strategy.”

Have you?

My recent articles about using social media as a marketing tool show that by using social media strategically for online PR, you can see a measurable impact on your business. In fact, I attribute a five-figure increase to my 2009 bottom line to social media alone.

I’ve also given away a free report and video, which are enough for social media marketing newbies to start getting positive results without spending hours in social networks.

However, these are just the tip of the iceberg. Read more

Before You Tweet About What You’re Eating…

… read this first!

Social networking is fun, but if you’re (constantly) sending updates about what you’re eating for dinner — or worse, attending to your personal hygiene needs — then read on.

Playing nice online means not only engaging, but also sharing good content around.

• It’s good for the person who created the content, because you send more traffic their way. And any good content deserves more audiences, doesn’t it?
• It’s good for your contacts, because they discover cool stuff that will entertain them, inspire them, or help solve their problems.
• And it’s good for you, because you become known as the source of things good and useful. Which means your updates will be shared around, which means more followers and contacts for you. Plus, you enhance your brand, credibility and authority. Who wouldn’t want that?

But here’s the thing.

Before you can share good content around, you first have to find them. Read more

Is Social Networking a Time Suck?

Do you ever wonder if all the time you spend sending updates on Facebook, tweeting on Twitter, or connecting on LinkedIn is nothing but a waste of your time?

In my experience, social networking can pay off big time. But I also realize that, as enjoyable and engaging social media can be, it can also be a huge time suck — if you don’t have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and specific strategies for how to get there. Based on the mistakes I’ve made and what I’ve seen others making online, I’ve created a free report called “15 Clues You’re Lost on Social Networks (And What to Do About It)”:

If you’d like to get your copy of the report and access to the video, please fill up the form below so I know how to get it to you:

Name
Email

I hope you enjoy the report and video. Do let me know what you think!

My Year On Social Media (Lessons Learned)

I’m a social media newbie. I’m not an expert, I’m not a guru, I’m not a leading authority. I wouldn’t even say I’m a blogger.

Having been a publicist (and often getting sidetracked with my own entrepreneurial ventures) for more than 18 years, last year I launched PR in Your Pajamas with the goal of helping entrepreneurs get the kind of publicity in newspapers and magazines usually reserved for corporate clients who can afford hefty retainers.

In other words, helping small biz clients get publicity in what you would call “traditional” or “offline” media. Very quickly, I got immersed in social media, which I consider to be an extension of “online PR”. Read more

How Social Media = Online PR

In a recent post I talked about the difference between offline and online PR for small businesses. Just to take it a step further, I think of Social Media as Online PR because at the end of the day, social media is a means of establishing your brand and getting buzz for your business.

In creating a PR campaign, you need to determine your key messages and your key audiences, you need to prepare a way to communicate your message (writing a press release, media pitch or media kit), you need to pitch the media and then track what the media is saying about your company.

It’s the same with Social Media Read more

What Is The Difference Between Offline and Online PR?

If you’re new to PR, public relations for small businesses is all about building your reputation. It’s the result of what you do and say, and what others say about you. PR establishes credibility and generates awareness outside your limited inner circle so that people can’t wait to come in droves to your site or store to evaluate the information for themselves, join your company, invite you as a potential partner, invest as a stakeholder or buy your product or service.

It’s crucial to include PR in a small business marketing plan as a way to differentiate yourself from the competition.

PR pros can use many different tactics for a product launch, or to sustain longer-term public relations goals such as brand building or local community relations.

Offline PR uses tactics like Read more

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