An automated DM in Twitter is when you use software to automatically send a direct message to new followers. I was (and still am) against them because everyone knows they’re automated and are often annoying to the receiver. They do nothing to help the receiver get to know, like and trust you better. Getting people to know, like and trust you is your main purpose with marketing.

However, I recently received this automated DM and this is the exception to my no auto-DM rule. Why? Because it made me laugh – which is clearly the goal. It is poking fun at how most people craft these types of messages and instantly made me like the sender a little more. Therefore, it did the job.

What do you think? Leave a comment please.

Andrea J. Stenberg

You don’t want to be sharing what you ate for lunch or when you went to the bathroom.

On the other hand, you don’t want to be too promotional either; that turns people off. You need to find a balance.

What’s your social media brand?

No, I don’t mean your logo or your photo – although that’s part of it.

It’s how do you want people to think of you. If you’re a micro business – providing a product or service where your expertise is what sets you apart – then you probably want to be seen as an expert. You want to be the “go-to” person in your field.

How do you do this?

Be a resource

Provide useful information that your customers – and potential customers – need and want. You don’t have to create all the content yourself. Provide links to articles and blog posts that provide useful information. Using Google Reader and RSS feeds can be a great way to quickly and easily find content to share.

Someone who does a great job of this is Infinity Network Solutions. They’re an Owen Sound-based IT company and they populate their Facebook page with lots of great information about computers and how to use them safely or better.

Don’t forget to be social

However don’t forget it’s called “social” media. Part of the power of tools like Facebook and Twitter is it gives people a chance to get to know, like and trust you. But in order to do that, you can’t just be posting links. You need to spend some time talking about yourself, giving people a chance to get to know you..

For example, I Tweeted about washing my cell phone received tons of retweets and @replies like the one here.

So why would I send out a comment like this when I’m using social media for business? Because anyone who has had a similar experience suddenly felt a personal connection to me. I was no longer an anonymous business online but someone they could relate to. I’d gone from “know” to “like” because they could see how I’m like them.

Don’t forget to promote

After all, you’re using Facebook, Twitter or whatever for your business. So don’t go so far over to being a resource or being social that you forget to toot your own horn. Post about specials or new products you have. Post photos of work you’ve done for clients (with permission). Share news about hiring new staff, expanding or anniversaries. Just make sure the informational and social posts are more frequent. Only 1 in 5 or 1 in 10 posts should be blatantly promotional.

Someone who does a good job of this is Jennifer Harris of Keylime Creative in the Village of Paisley. She has a nice chatty style, shares information and promotes herself.

One final piece of advice

Don’t forget to reply to anyone who visits your page and takes the time to comment. It’s a great way to deepen the relationship and shows the world that you’re paying attention.

So go out and start posting!

Andrea J. Stenberg

If you liked this article, please share it with your social networks by clicking one (or more) of the share links. And feel free to join the conversation by leaving a comment here or at http://www.facebook.com/TheBabyBoomerEntrepreneur.

You can watch the video here or go to YouTube and watch it there.

After watching the video, please leave a comment here or on YouTube. And if you enjoyed the video, please feel free to share it with your friends.

Andrea J. Stenberg

I then wrote him a DM (that’s direct message – which is private on Twitter) asking him what his favourite Canadian wine is. At about the same time I received what is obviously an automated DM from him, thanking me for following and asking me to click a link and leave a comment about a wine I recently tried.

That was a week ago. There has STILL been no response to my message, which wasn’t automated. And his automated DM is still sitting at the top of my DM inbox, reminding me that he hasn’t bothered to answer my real message.

Remember, using Twitter (or any other social media tool) is about building relationships. It’s about giving people a chance to get to know, like and trust you enough that they want to deepen the relationship by visiting your website, having a conversation or visiting your store. By sending me an automated DM and at the same time ignoring my message to him, he missed a chance to let me get to know him better. And forget about like & trust.

You probably know that I’m against automated DMs (if not, please read this article http://ow.ly/4ujEb). However, if you are going to ignore my advice and send them anyway, please, please, PLEASE have the courtesy to read your own DM inbox and reply to anyone who sends you a message. If not, you’ll end up looking like a jerk.

Andrea J. Stenberg

Follow me on Twitter and if you send me a message, I promise to reply. And the reply will be from me, not a bot, not an assistant, not even my kid, but me.

And if you haven’t done so yet, please check out the free internet marketing ebook I co-wrote with @sos4business. Internet Marketing 101: Discover Three Simple Things You Can Do Now to Grow Your Business Online will help you jump start your online marketing. Get the free ebook at http://29daystogrowingabusiness.com

Enjoy,

Andrea J. Stenberg

After you listen, please leave a comment and tell me what you think.

Andrea J. Stenberg

Your Bio

Don't just have a list of words in your bio

Although your Twitter bio is only 160 characters it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put some thought into it. A lot of Twitter users just list a bunch of adjectives that describe themselves.

However if you’re using Twitter for business, you need to be a little more strategic.

You want to make sure your most important keywords are used in your profile. You also want some information about why someone should follow you. After all do not try to make a sale with your Twitter profile. You’re just trying to make somebody interested enough to check you out and see what you have to say.

Your Photo

When looking at your Twitter stream you notice that you pay more attention to some people than others. And the way you know it’s them is by their avatar – their Twitter photo. And that’s how people will get to know you as well. Even if you’re tweeting exclusively about your business, I urge you to use a headshot of yourself. Twitter is about giving people a chance to get to know, like and trust you. They don’t want to build a relationship with a brand, they want to build a relationship with a person.

Your Favorites

This is a tip I got from Jeff Herring. Whenever anyone says anything nice about you or your business, save them in your favorites. If someone is checking you out to decide whether or not to follow you, a bunch of comments by other people saying how great you are may tip the balance.

Now of course none of this is going to work if you don’t provide interesting content. You need to make sure that what you tweet about his information people are interested in hearing. You can have the most well-crafted profile on Twitter, but if you’re boring it’s not help you at all.

Andrea J Stenberg

******

Are you still struggling with Twitter and the rest of your online marketing? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Many business owners find online marketing even more challenging than offline marketing. Because I know many of TheBabyBoomerEntrepreneur readers still face this challenge I partnered up with business coach Yvonne McCoy and virtual assistant Carlene Kelsey to create a very special ebook/workbook called Internet Marketing 101: Discover Three Simple Things You Can Do Now to Grow Your Business Online. This FREE ebook is also a workbook and is intended to help you make very real progress with your online marketing.

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Hashtags are used for following conversations on Twitter. Putting a # in front of a word or code allows everyone to see what’s being said about this topic.

For example, you may have seen #followfriday on Twitter. This particular hashtag is a way for people to tell their followers about interesting people on Twitter.

I’m a big baseball fan. By following #Bluejays or #gojaysgo during a game, I can chat with fellow fans from the comfort of my living room

Hashtags for Live Events

However, hashtags can be used in a variety of other ways. This past year when I was at Podcamp Toronto, the hashtag for that event was #PCTO2010. Before and during the event, people could Tweet about Podcamp and include the hashtag #PCTO2010 so others could follow the discussion.

Before the event even started I learned about the speakers, discover who I knew was attending, and had conversations with other attendees. During the event, people could Tweet about the workshops, voice their thoughts, and in a variety of ways have discussions. Afterwards, the hashtag was great for locating people I had met and wanted to connect with.

Virtual Events

Hashtags are particularly useful for virtual events. I am currently participating in the #blogboost challenge. This virtual event is a month-long support group encouraging bloggers to write posts daily, and share them with the group.

Hashtags are also useful for teleseminars and webinars. If you are hosting a teleseminar, create a simple hashtag for the event. Tell participants about it, and encourage them to tweet throughout the teleseminar. By using the hashtag, participants can see who else is attending this virtual event. If participants tweet interesting content related to your teleseminar it may attract new followers.

How to follow a Hashtag

There are several ways to follow a hashtag. If you use Hootsuite or Tweetdeck, create a column specifically for the hashtag. Anytime someone uses the hashtag (even if you’re not following them) that particular tweet will appear in the column. This is particularly good for ongoing hashtags like #blogboost.

You can also use your web browser to follow hashtags. Sites like http://hashtags.org or http://monitter.com/ will allow you to easily follow hashtags. For following a live event like a teleseminar use http://tweetchat.com. Not only can you follow the live chat, but you can add your thoughts to the discussion with the correct hashtag automatically added.

Andrea J. Stenberg

Do you have an interesting hashtag you follow? Please share it here by leaving a comment.