Twitter Training

I currently maintain and update a local companies website as an employee on the side of my actual job description, but am hoping to continue this maintenance on a freelance basis as I will be employed elsewhere. On average I spend 6+ hrs/week. How much should I be charging hourly or monthly for this service? I am also creating eblasts from scratch every other week (sometimes more frequently) as well as contributing graphics, photos, copy and marketing strategies along with updating facebook/twitter pages about twice a week. Keep in mind that I don’t have experience professionally as a website developer.

The rate can vary significantly depending on your expertise and demand for your services. This is an ongoing topic of discussion in the Web Design area at the about.com site. You’ll find quite a few articles there on how to go about setting your rates.

Since I don’t text often, I have the 250 txt per month plan with att. If I submit my cell # to Twitter, will I be able to txt a tweet to Twitter without getting any updates from other people. Can I just tweet but not have twitter txt me with updates the people I follow post? Will the txt still count as part of my plan or will it be a different charge? Hope my questions are clear.

Yes, you can text a tweet to Twitter without getting updates from those you are following. When you select to follow someone, make sure you select "Device Updates: Off".
This should prevent you from receiving updates via text, but should allow you to send in your personal update via text.

And the text should be apart of your plan.

I was wondering if it’s posible to sell a Facebook group? I’ve got a Facebook group with over 2,500 members in it. The group is about Twitter…

Someone who wanted to use it for marketing might want to buy it?

I doubt it…. and 2500 people is nothing tbh, I’ve seen groups with like 1mil plus people. Then MAYBE it might be worth something but even then, I doubt it.

a social network where you give updates on what you do an how you think about it. that is called a tweet

and ppl respond by retweeting .

Managing a brand is similar to building a reputation. It grows slowly, gaining trust and loyalty from its followers until it becomes established. Brand recognition and consistency in the marketing message builds trust which in turn leads to increased sales. However, consumers are fickle and are easily distracted by bigger, bolder marketing messages and shinier packaging, and trust is easily broken.

Like building a reputation, it is often much quicker to lose that reputation compared to the time it took to build the brand. It is therefore imperative that companies pay attention to their brand management and business reputation.

Building Brand Awareness Campaigns
Every brand is different. It takes a lot of understanding to get the message across. By using creative brand communication strategies it is easy to gain the attention of your consumer.

A great example of a company that has achieved this is Johnnie Walker. They have built the brand based on an emotional campaign. A difficult task, and one that works best when it flows from and reinforces a product truth. Their “Keep Walking” campaign produced good sales growth of 48% over eight years for what was an ailing whisky producer.

Here are four tips to build a campaign based on emotion similar to the Johnnie Walker campaign:

1. Tell a story – Bring to life the brand idea of “personal progress” that people want to aspire to.
2. Make it hard to copy – In the case of Johnnie Walker it is near impossible for another whisky brand to copy this campaign as it is based on the brand icon and name.
3. Consistency is key – Use one message consistently. In the case of Johnnie Walker the brand name is linked to the message and each advert ties back to the packaging or marketing material.
4. Execution is everything – Quality and attention to detail is noticed, from TV commercials to print advertising to website marketing. All material ties in with the primary message and campaign.

Managing your Reputation
Once you have achieved brand recognition it is imperative to maintain your reputation. Reputation management can be defined as the process of tracking an entity’s actions and other entities’ opinions about those actions; reporting on those actions and opinions; and reacting to that report creating a feedback loop.

Understanding this process and being part of it is the bare minimum a company needs to pay attention to in order to keep its reputation positive. Reputation management has come into wide use with the advent of widespread computing.

Five simple tips to manage your reputation include

1. Conduct a reputation audit – identify all the issues that could affect your company’s reputation
2. Analyse the issues to ascertain the historic influence, current landscape and potential future state of that issue
3. Effect change strategy options to deal with each issue and action them
4. Constantly evaluate your landscape
5. Be present, consistent and communicate your message persuasively

One thought leader that truly understands that consistency and communication are two of the key ingredients for brand success and is able to express this message effortlessly is David Taylor, world renowned expert in persuasive brand communication strategies.

Taylor’s guide to the essential steps of achieving persuasive brand communication can be summarised as follows:

1. Understanding the brand and setting objectives
2. Getting the team right
3. Keeping the brief and briefing tight
4. Getting the most from production
5. Brilliant brand activation
6. Developing and executing the campaign

How then do we drive sales through brand management?

Build Bridges between Marketing and Sales
There are positive and synergistic roles in both marketing and sales, and if each side agrees to the role embraced by their counterparts, the organization will thrive. Traditionally it was quite challenging to identify criteria for building the bridge between marketing and sales.

Traditionally a company would turn to the following five strategies:

1. Take a fresh approach to prospect development
2. Determine the pipeline requirements
3. Synchronize the marketing communications pipeline loading activities with the requirements of the sales force
4. Feed the sales pipeline with precision
5. Practice aggressive marketing to build the relationship

Marketing and sales were traditionally kept as two separate concepts whereby marketing paved the way, while sales closed the deal. With the advent of widespread computing the gap is being narrowed fast. Social media is the key to this outcome in the online approach.

With social media spaces becoming more popular, salespeople and entrepreneurs all over the world are using LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites to discover new markets, meet prospects directly and forge profitable new business relationships. No lead generation, branding or cold-calling required. In a sense, many salespeople are becoming their own marketers.

The roles could be defined as follows: The sales role in social media networking is to initiate and develop key relationships. The marketing role in social media networking is to assist salespeople plan, execute and measure their efforts.

Regardless of the approach, whether online or traditional effective brand communication remains key to all strategies.

Jonathan Andrews
http://www.articlesbase.com/branding-articles/driving-sales-through-brand-management-753066.html

If you’re a business owner, have you considered the myriad of ways that social networking sites can help you in your hiring decisions? Given the number of individuals using social networks like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, it’s almost foolish not to do a little digging on such sites when you’re looking for prospective employees. In the past, many employers have entered prospective employees’ names into search engines, but social networking sites are a whole different ballgame. They encourage users to post personal information and have broken down the barrier between what is kept private and what is shared with everyone.

CareerBuilder recently released survey results showing that 22% of the respondents check social networking sites when considering adding a prospective employee to the candidate pool. And almost one-third said that information they had found on social networking sites caused them to release employees from the pool of candidates. Respondents said that information most likely to influence them included alcohol and drug use, poor communication skills, negative information about coworkers and employers, and inappropriate photographs.

Twitter, the newest of the highly-popular social networking tools, also offers employers a way to obtain information about employees. Twitter displays the time and date of each post, giving employers invaluable information when they read that Employee X is “sneaking away for an hour” while he’s supposed to be working on a project. Can you imagine how it will affect your hiring practices to know what your prospective employee has tweeted in the days and hours before her interview?

Social networking sites can play a huge part in your hiring practices. But what if you’re the one looking for the job? Keep these 5 rules in mind:

1. Be Picky About Your Friends. No matter how clean you keep your comments and your profile, you may have friends who post those photos from last weekend when you couldn’t even stand up straight. If you have friends whose discretion leaves much to be desired, at least request that they not provide compromising content about you.

2. Be as Professional as Possible. It’s fine to chit-chat with friends on your profile as long as you keep it to a minimum and as long as your banter is innocuous. Be careful about everything you post.

3. Ponder the Details. Part of the fun of social networking sites is adding interesting applications and updating your status. But think about how a person who hardly knows you will interpret your applications and updates. If it’s at all questionable, leave it off of your profile.

4. Use Your Time Wisely. If the social networking site you’re using has a time stamp, current and potential employers can quickly see how long you’re spending online. So minimize that time.

5. Check Regularly. You don’t need to check your accounts every five minutes, but be aware of what’s going on as much as possible. If a “friend” posts something embarrassing and you don’t notice it until three days later, a potential employer might have already seen it and made a decision based upon it. Likewise, if you have older accounts that haven’t been updated in awhile, delete them or update them. Potential employers should have the most up-to-date information possible.

Social networks are a great tool for getting “insider” information on potential employees, that information that you always wish you’d known before you made a hire. Don’t hesitate to use it to your advantage and weed out candidates before you have a chance to waste your time interviewing them. And if you’re really excited about positive information you find on a candidate’s profile, use that to guide conversations once you actually have the chance to talk to them. Social networking is an invaluable tool, so use it!

Seomul Evans
http://www.articlesbase.com/smo-articles/using-social-media-as-an-hr-tool-721110.html

Commercially speaking, Facebook, Twitter and even Yahoo Answers are being monitored by consumer brands. Facebook has the new ‘Like’ button which allows companies like Coca-Cola, Kit-Kat and Adidas to see what’s popular amongst certain demographic. I woke up this morning to see Yahoo Answers having sealed a partnership with Purina, the pet food franchise, and all I can think to myself is that Purina are using this service as cheap market research. Our ISP can see everything we search over the internet, our workplace has every website visited, and if connected to a local network can actually take control of our computers. CCTV denies us any privacy, there are 150 CCTV cameras from where I live to my main shopping complex and it’s impossible to leave your house without appearing on it.

Do you think we’re being monitored too closely? Do you think that we are being observed for our own safety?

well it could go either way. If our country remains prosperous and the political climate remains relatively stable, then these powers will be used mainly to "benefit" us, and/or advertise to us, obviously. I do think these technological advances could be used to control and confine us if things were to turn bad though…. as it has been with technology throughout history.

Commercially speaking, Facebook, Twitter and even Yahoo Answers are being monitored by consumer brands. Facebook has the new ‘Like’ button which allows companies like Coca-Cola, Kit-Kat and Adidas to see what’s popular amongst certain demographic. I woke up this morning to see Yahoo Answers having sealed a partnership with Purina, the pet food franchise, and all I can think to myself is that Purina are using this service as cheap market research. Our ISP can see everything we search over the internet, our workplace has every website visited, and if connected to a local network can actually take control of our computers. CCTV denies us any privacy, there are 150 CCTV cameras from where I live to my main shopping complex and it’s impossible to leave your house without appearing on it.

Do you think we’re being monitored too closely? Do you think that we are being observed for our own safety?

well it could go either way. If our country remains prosperous and the political climate remains relatively stable, then these powers will be used mainly to "benefit" us, and/or advertise to us, obviously. I do think these technological advances could be used to control and confine us if things were to turn bad though…. as it has been with technology throughout history.

I need some feed back, i know the grammer is rough but i need an honest opinion about the story, thanks.

I walked down the hall. Same as always the merchants trying to sell the exact same thing with a different voice that advertised. I slipped the strap of my rifle up on my back. I hated leaving. May, my wife for two years was only 17, I was 19. I married her because she was the only thing close to a girlfriend I ever had. She had long black hair, green eyes, tan skin and a beautiful body. After scavenger training, I remember my instructor saying,
"any woman you want and she has to and you have to as well," he said,
"you must carry on your name for the future scavengers of the Tower."
I never knew why our colony was called the Tower. I mean 80 years ago when the war happened a couple of students just hung around in a school. The school was big, but 7 stories isn`t exactly a skyscraper in my opinion. We were the best though, probably because we raided any place with military tech in it and used it. I came to the gate I could hear a bird twitter and the air hit my face, it was only then I realized the coldness of the tears on my eyes. I was crying to with my May, but I quickly wiped them away so the squad wouldn`t see me.
" Don`t, don`t… leave," she sobbed hanging on to my jacket.
"I`ll be back," I lied.
I knew every season we left to scavenge was another season four of my twelve men would die ( what if one was me?). She calmly slipped away while I mounted my super stealthy vehicle for the apocalypse, a horse. I joined my group while May and several other wives waited at the steel-reinforced gate. Right as the door closed she tried to yell "I love you," but before I could say anything back the gate slammed shut by the honor guard. Another week in the ruined mutant infested, cannibal populated, rival settlements populated wasteland. Another week in Hell.

You have some pretty good ideas, I’ll give you that.
However, you have a few problems. Grammar’s first, though you know that. You also need to add in more description of the setting, though take out some description of May. I think it would be better to describe her when she actually begins to take a part in the story. Also, only give us the most important details – for example, any unusual features. Maybe oddly colored eyes, strangely long hair, a different skin texture, or just an uncommon beauty. Remember, sight isn’t the only sense, and good metaphors give more meaning to your words. Oh, and you also need to develop a voice. Right now it sounds like a teenager talking about their life, skipping over details and focusing on ones only important to them, being more wordy than necessary (which I think is going to be one of your biggest problems). And the reader doesn’t get a good sense of your character, which is important. You’ll need to edit this a bit.

I need some feed back, i know the grammer is rough but i need an honest opinion about the story, thanks.

I walked down the hall. Same as always the merchants trying to sell the exact same thing with a different voice that advertised. I slipped the strap of my rifle up on my back. I hated leaving. May, my wife for two years was only 17, I was 19. I married her because she was the only thing close to a girlfriend I ever had. She had long black hair, green eyes, tan skin and a beautiful body. After scavenger training, I remember my instructor saying,
"any woman you want and she has to and you have to as well," he said,
"you must carry on your name for the future scavengers of the Tower."
I never knew why our colony was called the Tower. I mean 80 years ago when the war happened a couple of students just hung around in a school. The school was big, but 7 stories isn`t exactly a skyscraper in my opinion. We were the best though, probably because we raided any place with military tech in it and used it. I came to the gate I could hear a bird twitter and the air hit my face, it was only then I realized the coldness of the tears on my eyes. I was crying to with my May, but I quickly wiped them away so the squad wouldn`t see me.
" Don`t, don`t… leave," she sobbed hanging on to my jacket.
"I`ll be back," I lied.
I knew every season we left to scavenge was another season four of my twelve men would die ( what if one was me?). She calmly slipped away while I mounted my super stealthy vehicle for the apocalypse, a horse. I joined my group while May and several other wives waited at the steel-reinforced gate. Right as the door closed she tried to yell "I love you," but before I could say anything back the gate slammed shut by the honor guard. Another week in the ruined mutant infested, cannibal populated, rival settlements populated wasteland. Another week in Hell.

You have some pretty good ideas, I’ll give you that.
However, you have a few problems. Grammar’s first, though you know that. You also need to add in more description of the setting, though take out some description of May. I think it would be better to describe her when she actually begins to take a part in the story. Also, only give us the most important details – for example, any unusual features. Maybe oddly colored eyes, strangely long hair, a different skin texture, or just an uncommon beauty. Remember, sight isn’t the only sense, and good metaphors give more meaning to your words. Oh, and you also need to develop a voice. Right now it sounds like a teenager talking about their life, skipping over details and focusing on ones only important to them, being more wordy than necessary (which I think is going to be one of your biggest problems). And the reader doesn’t get a good sense of your character, which is important. You’ll need to edit this a bit.