From the category archives:

Twitter for Business

Free Twitter Buttons….How can they help your business?

by Shelly Lodes on June 26, 2010

Put them on your Blog so your readers can find and follow you on Twitter.  Put them in your newsletter so your subscribers can find you on Twitter.  Put them on your Facebook profile and your Facebook Business Page so your followers and fans can find you on Twitter.

Twitter, along with other social media sites, is best leveraged when you integrate your sites. This allows people to find you on their platforms of choice.

Say for example one of your Blog readers loves to engage on Twitter….  by providing a Twitter button your reader can easily find you on Twitter. Everyone is very busy these days and it is much easier to click the Twitter button than it is to manually search for you on Twitter.

It is important to make it easy for people to find and connect with you.

I have compiled a list of ”free button resources” just for you!

Have fun! Some of these are really cute. For any men that may be here, cute may not be what you’re looking for so I’ve included some really nice “not cute”  buttons that won’t mess with your masculinity!

So here ya go……

TwitterIcon.com

Okay, for me this is by far my favorite. Lots to choose from and very cute! Sorry men, there’s that word cute again! Just go ahead and look anyway, okay? If you like golf, on page 15 there is a Twitter bird standing on a golf ball. If you are into blinking & animation they have some really fun icons! Note: I don’t recommended flashing or blinking icons for a business site unless your brand is less formal and all about fun :-)

Design Reviver

Nice set of 6 designs for an assortment of social media platforms. I added these because I love the Twitter bird!

Vincent Abry

This site is in French. I am very impressed with these Twitter images, so I want to say, “Merci” to their creator! I crack myself up, I don’t really know French…I think I said, “Thank You.” If not, then I’m saying it now: “Thank you for these wonderful icons!” P.S. If you do a Google search for Vincent Abry and find the “31 Logos et boutons pour Twitter: link, right next to it, click on “translate this page.” You can then read the page in English.

Productive Dreams

Icons with a unique page peel look. They have done this particular design in several social network themes. The Twitter bird is different.

Iconspedia

Unusual block style Twitter birds. They also have many other icons that I thought would be fun to use for the holidays.

Limeshot Design

A few styles but a ton of colors to choose from.

Webdesign.fm

Take a peek at these very happy little birds. This site said you can use these for commercial projects but this icon set may not be distributed in any way including reselling, sub-licensing, renting, or transferring. Fair enough!

Graphic Leftovers

Enhance your blog or site with these fun Twitter eggs. Download the free PNGfiles or buy the vector file for just a $1. The vector file will allow you to customize your own eggs, change colors or add your own twitter link, text or graphics. Eggs! A very unique group of icons.

Smashing Magazine

This set was designed by the talented Mirjami Manninen, an illustrator from Finland. This set is available as a free download and can be used for any purpose without any restrictions whatsoever. You can freely use it for both your private and commercial projects, including software, online services, templates and themes. The set may not be resold, sub-licensed, rented, transferred or otherwise made available for use.

Poetic Pixel

This is one good lookin’ bird…but it says you can only use it for personal use.  Take a look though, he’s cute!

Twitbuttons.com

This site has some nice hearts and a cute (yep, I said cute…. sorry guys!) little Twitter bird along with many other choices.  Be sure to read the fine read print at the bottom of the page if you use these.

If you plan on using these icons for commercial use, there could be a fee, or you may have to ask for permission to use them on your website. Just make sure you check around on each site for the fine print.

Thanks for taking the time to come here and smile. Come on, some were really cute. You just had to smile ;-)

If you know of some other great Twitter button, leave me a comment!  Or drop me an email and I will add them to this list!



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7 Ways Twitter Can Boost Your Offline Business Success

by Shelly Lodes on May 18, 2010

You have an offline business and you’ve been brainstorming, trying to think of ways to increase business. Twitter comes to mind. You say to yourself, “How can I utilize Twitter to help me market my offline business?”

Well, Twitter is not the magic marketing pill or a get rich quick fix. Having said that, Twitter can work wonders for some offline businesses when used in conjunction with your website, blog, and any other online real estate you may have developed.

7 Ways To Use Twitter To Boost Your Business

1. Build a targeted following on Twitter. This is very important. Twitter is not a numbers game no matter what some will tell you. The game is getting your customers and potential customers to listen to you. You need to build your following based on people who are potentially interested in your products/services and industry. Have a clear idea of who your potential market is and build your following accordingly. There are several tools and strategies business peeps use to locate their targeted customers (followers).

2. Post tweets using captivating copy that contain links to the bigger picture on your blog or website. Twitter is used to point your followers to the bigger picture.

3. Tweet links to other people’s information that is relevant to your targeted followers. This builds trust and demonstrates your willingness to share. People trust that you have their best interest at heart because you are willing to share other people’s valuable information as well. You’re giving them more value beyond what you can provide. There are more than enough clients or customers to go around, don’t horde your followers.

4. Tweet promotions and special offers only available to your followers. This is a great way to show them they are important and exclusive and you appreciate them. It’s a very powerful way to cherish your existing customers who have become your followers. This works very well for local offline retail and restaurants.

5. Ask questions. This keeps you in tune to your market and your followers. Asking questions can accomplish a couple of things. First, you will be able to identity your markets most pressing issues or concerns and address them in a timely manner. The second would be the advantage of having greater insight. The majority of your clients or potential clients do not realize why things are not working or that you can help them with a particular issue, so when you ask questions you can uncover the underlying issues or problems. These areas of concern can go unnoticed due to lack of communication. Something as simple as asking questions can unveil treasures and add tremendous value and overall impact to your business

6. Answer questions. By answering questions you are giving a voice to your company. By supplying answers and solutions you are revealing your knowledge which increases your credibility. Your followers will see that you really know what you are talking about. Once you have their attention and trust, you have your foot in the door. In turn, this gives you the opportunity to work on the rest of their issues as a paying client.  Use Twitter search to find the people who are asking questions.

7. Conduct market research. Surveys’ and polls are a perfect way to figure out what your followers need and want. Address those issues in future posts and tweets. People will come to see you as their solution provider.

These are just the tip of the iceberg, but you now have an idea as to how Twitter can realistically function for you. It is fast, free (unless you hire someone to manage your social marketing), efficient and powerful.

Share with me the ones you have used or if you have an idea not listed here!


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Bonus Tip – Beware: Spammers Harvesting Email Addresses on Twitter

by Shelly Lodes on November 28, 2009

Beware of poisonous spammers

Most of us are aware of Spammers on Twitter. But did you know they could be harvesting your emails?

Type “email me at” or “contact me” or “gmail” into Twitter Search and see what turns up…

I ran the search and I was floored at the amount of people who actually put their email address in their tweets. Some even post their primary address. Once you tweet your email it becomes searchable forever.

Chris Crum’s post on WebProNews explains how easy it is for spammers to harvest email addresses from Twitter tweets by using a simple script. Chris advises that you shouldn’t throw your email address in your tweets unless you want it to be searchable.

Part of me did not want to mention this vulnerability because it gives unscrupulous spammers new ideas. I’m sure this is not new and probably has been going on for some time but I always hesitate to broadcast devious behavior for fear of spawning more copycat activity.

After performing the Twitter search myself and witnessing a lot of tweets containing email addresses I feel this issue is worth mentioning.

Sometimes what seems so obvious to some is not that way for others. If you don’t think like a spammer you might not have given this issue much thought until now.

Protect yourself by sending them to your website instead. They can ask you questions or send you information from your contact form on your website. If you are having a specific conversation and need to send your email address then I suggest you send them a direct message. Direct messages are not searchable.

Be aware that some people do not read their DM’s because they are littered with spam & false connections. If you are trying to get sensitive information to someone reply to your recipient using the required @username and tell them you sent a DM that contains the email address they need.

If you feel you absolutely want to leave an email in a tweet format it as: shelly at shellylodes dot com.

This isn’t a huge problem, but you should be aware….

Dedicated to your success,

Shelly Lodes


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5 Ways Your Business Will Twinkle on Twitter

by Shelly Lodes on November 25, 2009

Blue Star Button

Twitter this, Twitter that, everyone is talking about Twitter!

Solo entrepreneurs, small business owners and network marketers are flocking to Twitter in droves trying to expose their products & services.

Twitter is a valuable branding, marketing & social media networking tool business owners use to connect with customers, prospects and fellow associates.  But, if you want to successfully leverage Twitter you MUST learn  how to use it effectively.

If you would rather listen to this post….

Your Business will Twinkle on Twitter if you give these 5 factors serious thought….

  • Create An Attractive Bio When creating your Twitterland Bio you are limited to 160 characters. In those 160 characters you need to display your professionalism and your authentic human side. But that isn’t enough. In addition, you need to be informative and interesting. Take the time to think about this and get creative.
  • Include Your Picture Building trust and credibility means being transparent. Social Networking requires that you let people know who you really are. Being real and authentic means you will have to show your face, preferably a close up. You can use your business logo but personally I do not recommend it.  If your logo is where you get the most brand recognition then go ahead and use it, just be sure to use your real name so people are aware of who you are.
  • Create a Presence With a Custom Background Design Your Twitter background is your billboard and a piece of your virtual real estate. Go surf around to some Twitter pages and you’ll see that business owners use their backgrounds to display various credentials and services. Don’t waste this valuable  marketing space. Use this space to tie it into the existing look of your brand. Be consistent with the look of your website or blog or any other internet presence you may have. If you possess Photoshop skills, you could easily whip up a personalized background otherwise a decent background will cost you between $50.00 and $75.00.
  • Gain The Right Followers If you’re a dog trainer and you have 4000 followers interested in trading stocks, building houses or wind surfing, then Twitter will not do anything for your business. The object here is to get targeted followers. In the case of the dog trainer that would be followers who own dogs, especially disobedient dogs! Connecting with pet store owners and veterinarians could also qualify as a dog trainer’s target market. Attracting a targeted market is what will drive your bottom line.
  • Don’t Sell! Share Information Instead If you think you’re going to sign up for a Twitter account and immediately start to rave about your products, services or business opportunity you might as well take up Tiddlywinks. The idea is to engage in conversation and get to know your followers as if you were at a BBQ or some other casual social gathering. Mix and mingle and share who you are. Offer to help them with their problems, suggest solutions. Share your expertise freely. Pay it forward….. :)

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