How to Use Twitter for Your Business

Recently, Twitter has been getting a lot of publicity. A day doesn't go by that we don't hear about Twitter on the Radio, TV, or see it in our magazines. All the big businesses seem to be getting on Twitter.

The question I'm being asked is, "How do I use Twitter for MY small business?" It's really not an easy answer because we are still on the cutting edge of Twitter. We are just now seeing Twitter move from the "early adopters" to the the mainstream.

But, it is time to get started even if you don't see immediate results. It's time to claim your brand on Twitter and learn as you go.

Be sure to read the Twitter Guide for Small Businesses.

At Twittip.com I found a really good slideshow that explains Twitter for Business. Watch it and get started with your own business and personal Twitter accounts. (By the way, I found this article in my Twitter Stream. A classic example of how Twitter is helping me in my business in finding relevant information I can use in my business.)

Tweeting For Business

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What is Ping.fm and How Can it Save You Time?

Today I opened my Ping.fm account to help me save time. Ping.fm is a service to help you update all your social networks in one posting. It was so easy to do that a blonde like me could do it. I simply entered all of my favorite social media sites like Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, Blogger, and Delicious.

Now whenever I want to update a status or let everyone know about a new post I've written or if I want to share an article I've read, I can post it to Ping.fm and it will send it to all of my social media sites.

There's a learning curve of course. Like I just posted that I was testing Ping.fm and now my blog has a post on it with that one sentence. That's when its obvious that I'm blonde.

So, Ping.fm is a website dedicated to helping you save time in letting the world know what you are doing. Give it a go and let me know how it works out for you.

I got the idea to try Ping.fm after reading Ben Parr's article, "How to Manage Multiple Social Media Profiles."

How to Twitter a Message with Your Cell Phone

I've been on Twitter now for over 6 months, and I'm just now learning to use it with my phone. Now you can see why this site is called Internet Marketing for Blondes, right?

It is really easy to do, but frankly I didn't want to be bothered with text messages all day from my Twitter friends (sorry peeps, but I do work full time outside of my internet marketing.)

Anyway, about two weeks ago, my husband asked me to teach him to Twitter so he could follow Lance Armstrong. I helped him set up his account and the first thing he does is figure out how to get messages on his cell phone from Lance Armstrong. Then, he's telling me that Shaq O'Neal is twittering and telling folks to find him at the mall or on the street corner and he'll give them Laker tickets. Well, it just sounded like my husband was having too much fun!

So I asked him that burning question: "If you are following a hundred people, how in the world can you get anything done in the day?" He told me you can select which people you follow by phone and you don't have to follow them all. Plus you can turn it off at anytime.

DUH? Why didn't anyone tell me this???

Well now I know.

So I set up my cell phone today on Twitter. I hope I don't regret this.

Here's how you can set up Twitter to send and receive messages by text on your cell phone:

Step 1: Log in to Twitter.com and log in.

Step 2: Click on the tab, "settings."

Step 3: Click on the tab, "devices."

Step 4: Enter +1 and then your phone number (if US)

Step 5: Set up Twitter as a contact in your cell phone and enter the number (they call it a code.) This is the number you will dial to send messages from your phone.

Step 6: From your phone dial Twitter (the code you just entered) and text the other code (the green one) to Twitter. You will get a text message from Twitter confirming your connection.

Step 7: In Twitter, go to the contacts you are following and turn on the device for each person you want to receive Twitter messages by phone.

Step 8: Send messages to Twitter just like a text to a friend.

That's all. So easy a blonde can do it!

Setting Up Your Small Business with Social Media Marketing

Today I've been busy setting up my husband's chiropractic business with Social Media to help him market his practice more efficiently.

As a busy doctor, he doesn't want to sit at home or in the office in front of the computer for hours at a time. He is willing to text for hours at a time and says he feels connected to the universe. Whatever! So, I accepted his challenge to create a simple marketing plan that he can use via his phone in as little as 10 minutes as day.

If this blonde with a techno challenged husband can do it, so can YOU!

Follow me as I set up his business in 3 easy steps:

Step 1: Establish a online brand identity. (I am a big fan of Dan Schawbel, a leading personal branding expert and have learned many helpful concepts on his blog.)

I opened 3 tabs in my firefox browser to do some research for his brand. I went to GoDaddy.com, Twitter.com, and Gmail.com. At each of these locations, I checked the availability of his name. I was unable to get a domain in his name. So, I tried adding "Dr" in front of his name. At Gmail and GoDaddy, I was able to secure DrRichardClayton at gmail.com as his e-mail and DrRichardClayton.com as his new web site.. At Twitter, I was limited by characters, so I chose http://twitter.com/DrRickClayton. These are similar enough to not cause branding confusion. And, it is much better than his current Twitter name of Captain Snack (twitter him and ask him the story from the old Air Force days. When he told me today that he was going to put his Captain Snack Twitter Address on his business cards, that's what sent me on this immediate and desperate task of setting up a professional brand for his office.

Having grabbed the Online Real Estate with his brand name, I moved along.

Step 2: Create a Blog

My husband recently relocated his office to a new location in Peachtree City, Georgia, so I had previously set up a simple blog with his new address and hours. I used Wordpress because I have advanced a bit in my blogging knowledge, but I recommend starting out with Blogger.com initially because it is so easy. You can follow my step by step video tutorials called "Setting Up a Blogger Blog in 2 Minutes" by clicking here.

Next, I went to my GoDaddy.com account to the area called, "Manage domains." Here I set up the domain to forward to the current blog address I am using. If you are using Blogger.com, your forwarding address will be http://(your blogger address).blogspot.com.

Step 3: Set Up Your Profiles

Next, I will set up his profiles with his branding image (no snacks allowed) using keywords that identify with his target market. I will take a photo of him that will be used on his gmail, twitter, and blog. I'll update when I have completed this part.

If you have any questions, please email me at blonde.affiliates at gmail dot com. (Why did I write it that way? To prevent robots from picking up my email address and spamming me. Simple tip you should begin using when posting your email on a website.)

How to Set Up a Blogger Blog in 2 Minutes

I've just set up a Blogger Blog in 2 minutes with a video tutorial showing you how to set up your own blog.

Visit my new blog at Beginning Blogger Bootcamp for the instructions.

Discovered New Widget for Social Media

I just discovered the coolest widget for badges for all my social media networking sites.

Go to Widgetbox to get your own. Best of all, it's FREE!

It's as simple as entering your ID names and then widgetbox makes the code and you copy and paste it on your website.

Look to the right at my box labeled, "Let's Connect" to see what it looks like. I did this in less than 15 minutes.

**Note: If you are using wordpress.com, it will not allow these scripts. So, you'll need to host your own blog or use Blogger.