Following on from my last post which was all about the “do’s” of Twitter – I wanted to ensure you all know about the “don’ts”. Feel free to add more – especially if you have seen people do things on Twitter that annoy you!

Twitter Don’ts:

1. Don’t constantly tweet about what you are doing or links to YOUR special offers and YOUR blog – people are more interested in things that are useful to them. Twitter is not about advertising yourself, it’s about marketing and communicating in a helpful and friendly way. Instead, mix up your tweets with links to useful articles, retweets of other tweets, quotes, comments, and SOMETIMES – stuff about your blog and offers.

2. Don’t be an “egg” – ie leave the default picture thumbnail of the little egg and the default background. Instead take the time to upload a good thumbnail cropped picture of yourself (a person to person connection is what it’s about) and aim to have a customised background. Ask us if you would like one created for you!

3. Don’t just follow celebrities and journalist/news Twitter accounts. Instead follow people in your own field, suppliers etc. You can look for lists of these people on Listorious and look at who the people you follow are following, who they talk to on Twitter. Once you follow these people, then follow lots of other people.

4. Don’t go without tweeting for too long – Twitter takes commitment to work – although of course you are allowed to take holidays, you need to answer each tweet, participate regularly and keep tweeting! There are ways to schedule tweets and our favourite is Buffer.

5. Don’t swear – If you are using Twitter to market your business, it’s best to appeal to the largest percentage of the population – those who probably think it’s not professional to swear online! However there are many people who do swear on Twitter – some of whom have good success with it. I personally prefer to err on the side of caution!

Hope that is useful to you! Be sure to book into our Social Media – Can You Afford To Ignore It? seminar – this Friday!

I will be co-hosting a seminar overview called “Social Media – Can you afford to ignore it?” on the 23rd September with Tamsin Fox-Davies – small business marketing mentor. It would be great to see some of you there! Our last event was a great success and lots of fun too. Since the event we have been in touch with several of our attendees via different social media platforms and it is wonderful to see how they have embraced the social media habits so well.

Book into the event now – 23rd September

So, we are repeating the event for a new group of people. The venue will be the lovely “Seminars @ 38″ on Devonshire Street W1. If you know anyone who has in the past complained about things moving too fast, or feeling they arent getting a return on their time investment, then please share this event with them.

View below a few video testimonials from the last event.

Please share this post with anyone you think might be interested, and be sure to comment below!

Book yourself in at our Early Bird Discount

This is again for people who are using Twitter but aren’t entirely sure if they are doing it right. Have a look at the list below – if you feel like you already doing these things, then you may be ready for some of the “advanced” stuff – but we like to take things step by step – and the beginners stuff is actually where most of the magic of Twitter happens! If the words below seem like a strange language to you, comment below and I will answer with further explanations and definitions!

The real magic of Twitter comes from

• Answering the tweets which have your @name in it – you can check your twitter messages on the Twitter website by clicking on your @name on the right side panel – there you see mentions and messages too you. When I say @name I mean the part of the page with the @ sign and your Twitter username right next to it, eg my @name is @topleftdesign. If you want to try it, tweet me and say you have read this post – and I will reply and then we can take it from there!
• Follow people who are in the same industry as you as you will learn the most from them. A lot of people make the mistake of starting first to follow only celebrities and news feeds. This is fine but if you follow active twitter users who tweet regularly with a variety of different tweets, then you will be able to pick up the better Twitter habits much quicker!
• Speak to people regularly on Twitter (using 2 of the strange things I referred to earlier – “@replies” and “mentions“
• Try and promote others regularly too – using “retweets” or “RT“s and just generally being supportive and complimentary (if you mean it of course!)
• Tweet regularly, and continue to be relevant within your field – and try regularly tweet headlines and shortened links. I like to use Bit.ly to shorten my URL – see http://www.bit.ly – just copy paste a long URL into the box, click shorten and it will give you a short one! Check out the video below which shows you how.
• Follow people in different industries and group them together in Lists – as this will make it much easier to manage who you follow and to use Twitter more strategically.

Definitely follow me (@topleftdesign) as I try my best to practice what I preach. You definitely learn the most from observation. Once you have mastered the above – there is more strategic marketing stuff you can do – I am happy to answer questions as usual!

Whenever I train people on Twitter I encourage an open mind – the first few days/weeks or months will be about getting used to the different types of tweets and the lingo – @replies and RTs and hashtags.

Ideally, if you are using Twitter for business you want to start meeting the type of people who with support and help you to grow your business in whatever way you are hoping to.

It’s not necessarily about sales but really if you find and get to know the right people you will meet the people who will buy your product or service.

So, I have put together a list of ways you can be a “little” bit strategic and targeted. I am not saying sales – oh no – this is basically about being targeted with who you follow.

Before you start following people – ask:

1. Would they be the type of person who would recommend my business?
2. Are they using Twitter actively? (For tips on this – see the post “Are they worth the follow“)

If you have the “what to tweet” and “how to tweet” bit sorted – then check our these little tips on how to find people to follow.

1. Follow the people who follow the brands you think they would like. For example I had one client who’s main client was men in their 30s to 40s and who worked in media, PR, property and law. A bit broad but we went onto the Shortlist Magazine twitter followers and followed all the people who seemed to be using Twitter properly.
2. Follow back people who mention or RT you. – If they are your followers and have made a point to retweet one of your tweets
3. Look at Listorious and do an industry specific search – including the area – starting with your own industry. Then look at the “Lists” results. For example you may be a property lawyer and get referrals from other people in property. You may be based in London. So search for “Property London”and then click on the list – easiest thing to do then is click “View on Twitter” after that.
4. Use a tool called “Twollo” http://www.twollo.com which will automatically follow people who talk about specific things in their Tweets. There is a 4 day trial – and it could find some interesting people for you.
5. Have a look at “Nearby Tweets” and use this for finding people in certain areas talking about certain topics.
6. Use a tool called “We Follow” http://wefollow.com/
7. Check Twitter lists and follow the people who someone else has listed
8. Notice when people who you follow already talk to other people, and follow the people they talk to a lot – and @reply them both – sometimes together – in this way you are jumping in on their conversation and talking to them both – it’s like you are joining a conversation between two people at a party – and on Twitter – it’s allowed! The point of Twitter is to talk to each other.
9. Check Follow Friday or the hashtag #FF on Fridays – this is when people recommend  others to follow – on a Friday – if someone who you follow and you like recommends someone – follow them and then send them both an “@reply” say that you are following them based non their recommendation. The new person who you are following will be happy with the person who #FF’d them – because it worked! And the original followee will be happy – because you took their recommendation. Double happiness!
10. RT compliments (if you agree) Retweet anyone who has complimented someone else and you also know when you agree with the compliment, this again spreads the Twitter joy and makes the people who you have chosen to follow appreciate you just a little bit more!

Hopefully these tips will help you to build your own little twitter community of folks you can get to know better on Twitter!

My brother has written a list of 10 things he has learned about Twitter and I thought it would be useful to share.

1. There is too much information out there and Im guilty of perpetuating this just as much as the next twit.
2. People genuinely appreciate connection.
3. It doesn’t take long to make someone your friend on twitter.
4. It doesn’t take long to loose a friend on Twitter
5. Twitter is much much more than a tool to advertise your wares
6. The tweet with the smile wins
7. Twittering can take all of your time – if you let it. Keep a healthy distance.
8. Less is more – Tweet with clarity and intent. People will thank you for it.
9. You can never tell a persons facial expression from the font. Sarcasm is completely and utterly missed in text.
10. Every good list has ten things on it – if you only have nine – just say anything.

As some of you may know – if you are looking at my tweets – my brother Yariv Lerner has finally entered the world of social media and blogging.  He even tweets now! I asked him to write a blog about our dad’s latest movie Conan the Barbarian (starring Jason Momoa coming out this summer to a theatre near you) so he could practice – and it was so GOOD I had to include it here. Enjoy!

Here is what Yariv wrote:

I remember reading the original secrets from Atilla the Hun and thought that it was about time that Conan wrote his own book.

I live - Remember to live in the present. Its all you can live for. People truly appreciate it when you are there. I know it sounds redundant but be present – truly present when you are with people. How many times have you seen people out at dinner together both on their cell phones talking to others. How about people taking the time to see each other and then texting other people elsewhere. Why bother meeting up with them in the first place – why not meet the person you want to text or call?

I love - People love you if you love them. The Beatles aptly put it when they sang “In the end the love you get is the love you make.” There are people who follow out of fear and then there are people who follow out of love. When the s**t hits the fan – as it so often does – who do you want to take the brunt of the initial onslaught? Someone who fears you or someone who loves you.

I slay – Yes this does sound harsh at first but sometimes you need to be the heavy. There are times in life when the warrior mentality is necessary and the people you lead are going to respect and demand that you are willing to do what it takes. No one follows the meek – it is true that they will one day inherit the earth but they are going to have to fight for it.

I am not a Twitter snob – really – but there are some people who have been using Twitter and think that it’s just a matter of tweeting random musings and links to their own website – or feeding from their Facebook status updates! Those people haven’t gotten the point of Twitter yet. Really there is no point following someone if they don’t know how to use Twitter properly – unless you know them in real life and are planning to gently help them along the way.

Here are the 6 things to look out for

1. Have they filled out their bio? You get 160 characters to do so – and it’s often the first impression. If someone doesn’t fill this out then they aren’t giving you much information about themselves as a framework.
2. Look for @replies on their page. If they haven’t got any all the way down their Twitter stream – eg they havent talked to anyone on Twitter for days – perhaps they don’t know how to use this all important feature of Twitter – to talk to other people!
3. How long has it been since their last Tweet? And how often are they Tweeting? If they only tweet once every few days – well – we all know Twitter isnt an “occasional habit”!
4. Look for how they tweet links – do they shorten their urls? Do they use Bit.ly? Or an automatic shortener from the app they are using? (you can see a screencast of how to use Bitly here)
5. Are they RTing? Do they use both types of RT – the old fashioned way and the new “Twitter Retweet” button way? Use of the RT shows they know how important this activity is!
6. Do they use hashtags? Does it seem like they know what it is – if not, explain the rules of a hashtag to them – and let them know they should not be OVERUSED either!
7. What Twitter “avatar” or profile picture do they have? A close up of their face is best – but you may find they have a full length shot – this isn’t great as it only shows up as a thumbnail. So if they have a full length shot then they need to redo their Twitter avatar. And if they are an EGG (ie the default picture) – well – don’t bother! Or if you know them and they are nice you can do them a favour and say “don’t be an egg”

You can of course point them to this blog if you want to – as a way of giving them a little bit of guidance! If there is anything else which makes you decide NOT to follow someone – or if there are any points above that strike a chord – please comment below!

I regularly train people on the amazing tools available to businesses today – Blogging, Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin.

I wanted to share some general guidelines which all of you can use right away in order to make the most of these free ways to enhance your online marketing beyond just your website.

There are really just 4 points which I feel will “sum it all up”. Have a read, have a think and let me know if you agree!

Fill out your profile properly. This is your public persona, so– include a proper description of yourself. I am amazed how many people have signed up for Linkedin and haven’t uploaded even a picture of themselves. Fill in the bio on Twitter. Upload a good quality picture – I recommend a cropped head and shoulders as usually you will be seen as a little thumbnail!

Vary your updates. When you are blogging, utilize all the different types of blog posts you have, not just news, but interview, reviews, best of’s how to’s, think about things which will be useful to your audience, the type of things they would share around. When tweeting on Twitter mix it up – links to useful articles, replies to other people, RTs, mentions. On Facebook keep things visual but still varied.

Don’t sell. These are not sales tools: They are social, so they allow you to make new friends, contacts and connections. They are networking, so you can use them for business. And they are marketing, so you can use them to raise awareness. But you will do this best by being generous and sharing, not salesy.

Keep learning. Read other blogs, follow other people in your industry, read other people’s profiles on Linkedin and check out how people are using Facebook for business. A great place to start is on Mashable, the leading blog for Social Media. See what you can get from the information they post online, and try and make yourself look as good as possible by emulating the best. there is so much information out there – I have run full day courses on this and still not covered all there is to teach – and not even come close to covering everything!

Overall the idea is to not get overwhelmed – follow these basic rules – and you will see the magical things that can happen with social media! Please comment below if you have ANYTHING to say – even if you WHOLEheartedly agree with ALL your HEART – or if you want to add anything!

Cake at Pepper Crescent

When I moved to Cheltenham in April last year, I expected to find a genteel town on the edge of the Cotswolds, perhaps a bit touristy, perhaps a bit countrified, maybe even a bit fuddy-duddy. So, I was surprised when what I did find was urban buzz and a hotbed of creative talent, web designers, PR folks and social media aficionados…

It all started with a few friends on Twitter asking me how the move went, and what life was like in my new home town. So I tweeted back, saying how lovely Cheltenham was and how glad I was we had moved here.

Having mentioned the word “Cheltenham” in my tweet, I suddenly found my Twitter following swelled by lots of people from the local area. Every time I went on Twitter, I had been added to another couple of lists called “Cotswold business”, “Gloucestershire people”, “Chelt-Soc”, “Gloucestershire Tweeps” and similar.

“Oh, cool,” I thought, “I can get to know people in my new neighbourhood without even having to leave my desk!”

So I started following back and exploring some of my new followers’ lists and other connections. Soon I started chatting to these people on Twitter. And then, of course, there were the real-world gatherings:

• There’s the Cheltenham Social Media Café, organised by Rachel Pictor (@Pictors_Pen) and Chris Roberts (@solutionmania).
• Then there’s the Foursquareforum, organised by Jonathan Pollinger (@jonnop) who also gives talks and masterclasses on using Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare for business. More on this here.
• The #meet140 apparently started out in Cheltenham too, or at least it was started by @Chris_Hall1, who is based in Cheltenham. More about the story behind it here
• And, of course, Cheltenham also has its own Jelly, which takes place once a fortnight at the Norwood Arms in Leckhampton and is organised by Howard Moorey (@hojomo).

So, from connecting to all these people on Twitter, real connections with real people soon followed.

And there is more – from special events to deals and freebies to be had through Twitter and Foursquare. For example:

• On 21st August 2010, the “Foursquarestival” was held – a treasure hunt where the different teams scored points by following a list of cryptic clues to identify different places about town and then checking in at these places on Foursquare. The weather didn’t play ball, but those who took part had a great time nevertheless.
• Cheltenham’s own Foursquare Superswarm attempt took place on 9th October 2010, to coincide with the Cheltenham Literature Festival. Slightly disappointingly, a team from London had pipped us to the post two days earlier in achieving the UK’s first ever Foursquare Superswarm, but, to their credit, the organisers of the London Superswarm did travel all the way to Cheltenham to join us for our attempt. We managed just under 120 people – not quite a Superswarm, but considering that Cheltenham only has a population of 110,000, that’s still over 0.1% of the population! There’s a video about the event here
• Then there is the #GlosBiz hashtag, invented by Adrian Malpass (@AdrianEXG), which is now being used widely to promote local businesses in Gloucestershire. And it’s also taken off in other parts of the world. Read the full story here.
• Finally, thanks to the efforts of just a handful of people, notably @jonnop, @hojomo and @Glos365, Cheltenham probably has the highest density anywhere in the UK of Foursquare deals at local pubs and cafés, from free coffee or cake just for checking in, to free steak dinners once a week for the mayor. And discounts or freebies are also often to be had simply by following local food outlets on Twitter or RT’ing competition tweets.
• Coming up this year, apart from the ongoing social gatherings already mentioned, is the Cheltenham Twestival on 24th March, which is part of a wider global Twitter event called Twestival, and will raise funds for the local charity, Grow.

So, in summary, the Cheltenham social media scene is great for meeting and getting to know real people in real life, socialising, finding local businesses, recommending local businesses – and even getting free lunches and discounted meals! What more can you ask for?

There are a multitude of options and ways to market small businesses on the internet. Nowadays it’s important to think about the whole internet as your “playground” – rather than just your website!
Most people are familiar with the concept of having a website to market their businesses but it’s important to consider social media and blogging as well. Read on for some tips on how to use each effectively. And please comment at the end! We like comments!

Social Media

There are 3 main social media platforms that each small business should consider.

All of them are FREE.

Twitter is great for all businesses – whether B2B or B2C. It’s best to be yourself on Twitter rather than a “faceless company”. There is a unique language spoken on Twitter so we provide 1-2-1 training to help people get used to it.

Linkedin is the most “respected” of social media platforms. It’s really a must for all professionals, as there is huge value in your existing contacts. The biggest mistake people make is not paying attention to their Linkedin profile and not filling it in thoroughly.

Facebook – if the business in question is retail, commercial or visual (eg a gallery, photographer, fashion designer) then Facebook is a brilliant way to market yourself. But you do need to be active regularly and post a variety of different things up there.

Websites

Our websites range from single page sites to small brochure sites to full sites with case studies, galleries, blogs and social media integration.

Each site is different but here are some things to start you thinking about your next website incarnation.

• A professional, well thought out design
• No more than 7 main navigation links – and sublink organised within these
• A clear homepage which draws people into the most important parts of the site
• Case Studies
• Testimonials
• A blog
• Link to your Twitter page
• Well written “plain English” text – and not too much
• A press area
• Newsletter sign up

If your business has a website you can be proud of and gives a great first impression, and if you are active on social media and blogging regularly, then you will really stand out.

Blogs and Blog websites

Blogs can be within the website itself, as in many of the websites we have created – or separate. It’s best to be very organised and plan your blog posts in advance. This means there is fresh content on her website all the time which means it’s a more interesting site to go and visit. You can also have  a feed from your latest blog post

Having a regularly updated blog on the site is also great for SEO. Each time you add a page to your blog, you create another page on the internet, and this means search engines are more likely to find your site when people search for you.

You can also create an entire website using “Wordpress” which is the system that blogs are built on. This allows you the ability to update all the text yourself without needing to know any special coding.

What do we do to help? If you want us to help just get in touch – we are very experienced with setting up and providing training on social media, websites and blogs. In January we will be holding an education session on blogging and if you would like to enquire about attending, please get in touch by emailing keren@topleftdesign.com or visit http://tld-blogging.eventbrite.com