I’ve talked about the tools we use with our clients in the past, segmenting them as social networking tools (sharing conversations) or social media (sharing content). The reality is that on social networks you can share content and with the social media tools you can have conversations. The one that splits the difference is Twitter. Its the one that many business people don’t get.

LinkedIn is easy. Its a business professional social network that in simple terms is online networking. Facebook is more of a social interaction tool but with over 350 million people there are consumers and business people on it. And its easy to interact.

Twitter though is just noise right? The misconception is that its a bunch of people tweeting about their latest coffee conquest. The reality is… that happens, and a lot of people are ready to tell you the latest money making scheme. But there is also a lot of great information being shared by individuals and companies. And its a valid business tool.

Here are some thoughts on the business use of Twitter. (more…)

The greatest tweet in the world is worthless if no one reads it. An OK tweet to a network of thousands is likely to produce more results than a great tweet to hundreds. Its a numbers game and you should be playing to win.

When new people to LinkedIn tell me they don’t know how LinkedIn will help them I tell them to “start building your network now so that when you do figure it out you’ll be ahead of the game”. The same goes for Twitter…if you don’t know why you Tweet, don’t worry. Start building your followers.

Here are seven mistakes to avoid if you want to grow a significant following:

1. Still Displaying the Brown Photo
   For many this is an automatic “no follow” mistake. Its just assumed that if you have not taken the time to update your photo then you must not be serious or active on Twitter. If you’re not active, what’s the point of following you. Post a picture of your dog and you’ll have a better response to people following you.
2. Display a picture of your child
   Your child may be cute but if that’s your Twitter profile I’m probably not going to follow you. I love children…have thre young ones now…but I don’t follow children on Twitter if I can help it. And I don’t take the time to click on the link to verify who and what you are.
3. Have a picture with your shirt off (guys…and girls I guess too)
   I’m glad that you’re proud of the work you’ve put in at the gym but it doesn’t really come across well online. Buy a domain and post all of the skin photos you want. (more…)