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What If There Was No Twitter

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Mark Schaefer is a long-time social media peer, colleague, and mentor with whom I banter and exchange heated yet friendly discussion about my views that PR Drives Marketing and his view that I’m on crack.

So, I linked to his tweet with intrigue to this magazine I’d not heard about, Social Media Marketing Magazine (which I now have joined), and, lo, here’s Mark’s excellent article “Why Facebook is More Important Than Your House.” He’s writing as adjunct professor at Rutgers University (pretty cool).

I encourage your read of what Mark’s saying, and then I encourage your contemplation of what I’m saying.

In a nutshell, Mark suggests that people are so aligned with Facebook it has become a lifestyle – the Farmville crap, photos of the grandkids readily accessible, and all the other inanities being exchanged among friends. (My words, not Mark’s.) We can’t forget that our kids are officially the Facebook Generation. Gen Y begets Gen FB.

Where others have glommed onto Facebook; I have become absolutely addicted to Twitter. Mark’s article got me thinking…what if there was no Twitter?

  • The spark in my life would slowly extinguish, and I’d again be commiserating, ranting, laughing, bantering, and learning from my Google RSS reader (which sadly is a one-way street).
  • Blog comments would be more robust because peeps would have to log their commentary directly on a blog as there wouldn’t be Twitter comments about blogs (which happens frequently).
  • Alas, I’d go into deep depression because the peeps I’ve met have extraordinarily enriched my life, professionally and personally. It’s these human relationships I can absolutely say are the single-most hidden gifts of Twitter.
  • My global network with direct connections and open communications to Hong Kong, Sweden, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Brazil, and hundreds of other cities and countries would be non-existent.
  • My learning curve would again be extended (as in take longer) without the immediate knowledge sharing Twitter offers.
  • There’d be no place I could let loose a rant, exclamation or share in the fund-raising support for a global natural disaster.
  • Most of all I’d have no community in which I could align, be a peer, become a mentor, share in a leadership capacity or move to a thought leadership and influencer role. I’d be relegated to the traditional method of networking by, argh, actually going to a physical meeting.

Perhaps your experience with Twitter has not been as rich as mine; if that’s the case, I encourage your exploration of this channel because Twitter’s hidden gifts bear more than the Three Wise Men.

What would you miss if there was no Twitter?

Auto Makers Tap Twitter Influencers

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Intriguing article in The Wall Street Journal on November 15, 2010 “Tweeting to Sell Cars; Auto Makers Turn to Social Media Influencers for Buzz.”

Basically, the piece is about Ford, Lexus and Toyota tapping social media heavyweights to help influence followers on Twitter and push brand and new cars. Where traditionally celebrities were engaged to tout new vehicles, now the likes of Brian Solis, a disc jockey, and Baratunde Thurston, web editor of the Onion, are being tapped to push autos down followers’ throats.

How do you feel about that?

Brian Solis is in my stream; he doesn’t follow me, but I regard him as an A-lister, for sure. Would I pause if he began tweeting about a brand more than five times a day? Absolutely, and then he’d lose credibility in my book. We all agree social media is supposed to be monetized. Kudos to those who do it well ala Brian Solis.

Being a Twitterati is more about creating community in my book, but it’s also about replying and connecting. The only time my tweet was acknowledged by Brian was when the product I bought from him was late by five weeks (and it messed up my presentation).

In the case of the large auto makers, their scale is global. To them numbers talk, and we are, after all, a numerical society – those with the highest numbers of followers get the nod from outsiders but not necessarily from we on the inside.

What’s your impression of Twitterati, corporate America tapping social media influencers, and whether that strategy works with the grassroots tweeps? I’d love to hear your impression on this one!

Twitter: Why Do You RT?

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This week, several Re-Tweets of a tweet I RT’ed provided fodder for a blog post oriented to thinking before clicking to RT someone else’s content. I didn’t know it would resonate as it did; it also prompted additional thought on re-tweeting as a practice.

(Just a note here for those not as engaged on Twitter — I absolutely LOVE Twitter for the wealth of relationships, training, community, and engagement it has provided me. Twitter has absolutely changed my professional life.)

Why do you re-tweet?

People re-tweet to:

  • Give credit (as per Jenn Whinnem in the comments to said post above) and as a goodwill or friendly gesture to pals in your tweet stream.
  • Recognize the originating author’s content, such as a blog post.
  • Share news of the day relevant to an entire stream of tweeps (that’s short for people who tweet).
  • Get attention by the originating author as a pal to include in their stream.
  • Raise the bar on a brand (usually one’s own) as a reputable source for content.
  • Share studies, data, pontificating with others interested in the same topics/themes.
  • Send along hot news so you don’t have to find it yourself.
  • Build link love (to a lesser extent)

Re-tweets are so commonplace that rarely do we think about why we do it. Nor, as above, do we check links before sending tweets along. Sometimes that can be a disaster especially if content is a bit weak and no one takes time to read an entire story.

I know in the past I’ve been guilty of doing a bit of buttering up when I RT, but that’s when I was building my stream and creating a brand. That’s probably not anything to feel guilty about, really; it’s what Twitter is supposed to be about, right?

Twitter helps people:

  • Build a brand
  • Create a community
  • Engage with folks of like minds or not
  • Push and pull data and info
  • Monetize (to a lesser extent) and provide value with measurement

So, why do you RT and do you think before clicking send?

Twitter: Think Before You RT

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I learned a valuable reminder

https://www.ordinary-gentleman.com

today. Last night while tweeting on my Blackberry while at a client welcome reception watching Monday night football (Bears win), I RT’ed a tweep’s tweet. She is a respected high-level marketer from a respected large company. In fact, I’ve done business with her, although indirectly.

Here’s the re-tweet I made, and what caught my eye was the hash tag “#quote.” I knew this did not encompass the entire definition of marketing yet I liked the “authentic voice.”

RT @margaretmolloy: A marketing agency’s greatest value is helping the client find and express its authentic voice. #quote #in

Today, two individuals in my stream called me on the content of the RT I sent:

@FocusCom said: @Soulati gotta disagree. The purpose of marketing is to attract interest in products & services that result in sales.

@BruceServen: @Soulati that’s as good as calling it dead and irrelevant.

I wasn’t clear without searching for the original tweet what I had said that prompted these tweets:

@FocusCom: @Soulati It was an RT. “Authentic voice” sounds lovely, but in reality the role of marketing is to sell stuff.

What I read as a quote from a respected colleague made for a different point of view by others. People RT on the fly, they don’t open the links others post before sharing with their streams, and what results are the varying perspectives that make Twitter so rich. My interpretation is not yours, neither am I attempting to make yours mine. We share opinions, perspectives and information; it’s all good.

Thanks to @FocusCom and @BruceServen for your unassuming blog-post prompt and questions pertaining to this tweet. It gave me a healthy pause and prompted this post that encourages everyone to think before they RT and expect healthy rebuttal when someone takes the time to respond.

Twitter Roundup — What Every New Blog Needs

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Credit: https://simonnemichelle.files.wordpress.com

I just registered as an official hash tag, and a new blog called SMB Collective is in the works. This post is inspired by the mission for SMB Collective to be educational, supportive and bring global perspective on a variety of topics for all small and medium business owners. Within that tier one audience is the newbie blogger, and this information is for them/us.

(Background on the formation of #SMBChat can be found and .)

I asked several tier-one tweeps and blogging communities, including #SBT10 and #BlogChat, what they recommend every new blog needs. 

(For your information #SBT10 is at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesdays hosted by primary ring leader of WordPress premium theme, Headway. I thank Grant for teeing up my question on Twitter yesterday to help garner this fodder.)

The Twitter Tweep Round-Up

Following is the roundup of everyones’ suggestions varying from previous posts and video to someone’s brand new post and other tips on plug-ins and strategy. What’s neat is the interpretation of the question and thus the varying insights and expertise:

  • I’ll begin with a few suggestions of my own (knowing my first blogging attempt is deficient in many of these aspects) — each blog needs a good back-up plan, whether Back-Up Buddy or something else. Analytics are necessary to identify posts most popular with highest traffic. A plug in that allows the emailing of comments is required (not here yet); and, I like New England Multimedia’s blog yesterday (see below) with the plug in Michelle uses, called Comment Luv (it enables a blogger’s previous post to present with a posted comment elsewhere). Lastly, RSS is important; people need ways to subscribe to your blog.
  • was the first to respond. He said every blog needs (for starters) an about page with a picture; a widget for categories; e-mail opt-in; social connections (I believe that means ways to follow, repeat on Twitter, Facebook, etc.); and, threaded comments.
  • Amy Howell with claimed she was a newbie and tossed this question off to who added a blog post written a year ago in answer to my question. In spite of her tee up to Mark, Amy added links, promotion of others, imagery, and use of humor as her recommendations for new blogs.
  • Mark W. Schaefer’s from July 2009 offers tongue-in-cheek serious counsel from his friend John Bottom, a gifted B2B marketer in London. They both agree “good, original content” is all that’s needed. Mark says be consistent with personal passions and interests; focus on one broad subject area so as to not confuse your readers; be interesting, useful and entertaining.
  • Jon Buscall, who resides in Sweden and owns , shared a link to a YouTube he developed featuring WordPress plug ins and a bit more.
  • of storytelling fame shared these tips for every new blog — A great title that relates to the business if possible; an about page that describes what’s in the blog for the reader as well as giving a little info about the business as it relates to that; a services page that describes what’s offered, whether via e-commerce or brick and mortar; a contact page that has every way imaginable to get in touch with the business and the people behind it; a contact form should be there, too; a story page (you knew that was coming right?). While they’re not prevalent yet, they soon will be. This is where the emotional connections between business/brands and customers are going to be cemented.
  • , a B2B marketer who runsa well-respected blog,  , pondered a bit and suggested a PLAN (for content and promotion) and key plugins like All In One SEO Pack and Subscribe2 are required.
  • asked if the question referred to WordPress and if so she recommends getting a good theme; one that is SEO friendly (she uses Thesis), and get Akismet for spam management. Calls to action should be positioned clearly and above the fold (because you’re blogging for a reason). Include the RT button as well as Like/Share on every post.
  •  Several people who surfaced as a result of my at-large question suggested I feature Doug Stewart’s blogging tips for small businesses and entrepreneurs, and they are . Doug tweets from Oklahoma. I just met Bruce Serven yesterday, and he recommends “perseverence” for any new blog or blogger.
  • My new PR friend from The Netherlands offers his number-one recommendation as great content –“that really crushes it!” and a good measurement tool as a close second. (I like that he’s always using “crushes.”)
  • , a regular contributor here, took the question directly to heart and ran off to write a brand new post with her recommendations and five best practices for beginning bloggers. She said it was too much to fit into multiple 140s on Twitter. Love that, Michelle! If you tap in to her piece, she suggests images, make the ask, KISS, title, and keywords.

Because these are so valuable, and the content I find is also valuable on , I’m providing the links they gave me on Twitter for . Because these suggestions by WordPress Beginner are important, I’m sharing nearly the entire bulleted list right here, so everyone can link quicker. If you’d like to see more from these guys, I encourage you to follow them on Twitter and peruse their blog. These guys rock. (Hey, can you help me design my next blog?)

Must Have WordPress Plugins for Every Blog (extracted from WordPress Beginner, and they say “We recommend these plugins for any new blog or existing blog. There are more plugins that would need to be added based on the niche and your needs. But for any generic blog, this should be a good list to start with.”)

  • – comes installed with your WordPress by default. All you have to do is get an API Key to activate it. It prevents your blog from comment spam. Read our .
  • – This is an ultimate necessity for your blog if you want to have any chance of ranking high in search engines. All-in-One-SEO Pack allows you to add unique meta description, keywords, and titles to each page of your blog and blog posts. ( for the Recommended Settings and tips.)
  • – When running a blog you need to allow your users to contact you. This is the best free contact form plugin to this date. It makes everything easy. (An alternative to this plugin is a paid plugin known as which is extremely feature rich.)
  • – This plugin lets you make backup for your blog’s database as often as you need. You can set this process to be automated and have it deliver to your email or a safe spot in your webhost. By having this plugin, you can always stay on the safe side because if anything goes wrong, you have the latest backup in your possession. If you want to get a full backup of your WordPress site, then a commercial plugin known as is the BEST option.
  • – A plugin that allows your users to subscribe to the comments, so they will be notified when the next comment is posted. It helps your user to stay updated with the discussion and keep the activity going on your blog.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU for everyone who contributed to this crazy “crush” of tips from peeps strictly on Twitter. I LOVE Twitter and all of you. What did we miss in this SMB Collective?