Using Twitter to Increase SalesOlympic Peninsula Tourism SummitOctober 14, 2009Keven ElliffWindridge Solutionswww.kevenelliff.comkeven@kevenelliff.com

Pssstt….I have a secret…People do business with those that they know, like and trust.

What is TwitterA tool to help spread your messageA tool to get people to know, like, and trust youPublic Instant Messaging140 character limit

Twitter TextTweet: a message on Twitter (140 characters)Retweet (RT): when you share someone else’s tweet@Name: someone’s “twitter name” – becomes a link.#Tag: a “hashtag” that helps you find topicsShortened links: save spaceClients: what programs people use to Tweet

Who Uses Twitter20% of 25 to 34 year olds19% of 18 to 24 year olds 10% of 35 to 44 year olds5 % of 45-54 year olds76% of Twitter users use the internet wirelesslyOnly 10% of those earning more than $75,000 use Twitter, while 17% of those making less than $30k use the service.

Who Uses TwitterPeople interested in finding travel tips, deals, information and connections, insider tips and recommendations

Who Doesn’t Use TwitterPeople who haven’t heard of Twitter…and teens.

Uses For TwitterBrandingCustomer serviceSoliciting/receiving feedbackDistributing newsGenerating trafficFollowing competitorsHiringLive-bloggingNetworking

How Do People Access Twitter?Twitter.comMobile devices (Tweetdeck/Tweetie)Helper sites (Hootsuite)Widgets on blogs and websitesDesktop applications (Tweetdeck/Seesmic)

How Do People Access Twitter?Twitter.com

How Do People Access Twitter?Mobile devices (i.e. Tweetdeck/Tweetie)

How Do People Access Twitter?Helper web sites (i.e. Hootsuite)

How Do People Access Twitter?Widgets on blogs and websites

How Do People Access Twitter?Desktop Applications (i.e. Seesmic or Tweetdeck)

Keys to Increasing Sales

Keys to Increasing SalesMake a planDon’t go rogue!Integrate with marketing and communications planMake sure you have the staffing to last 1-3 yearsIdentify your Vision/Voice/MissionThe Sales FlowCUSTOMER FINDS YOUCUSTOMER CONNECTS WITH OR FOLLOWS YOUCUSTOMER TRANSACTS WITH YOUCUSTOMER GIVES YOU FEEDBACKCUSTOMER BECOMES A FAN OR FRIENDCUSTOMER REFERS OTHERS TO YOU

Keys to Increasing SalesBe Authentically CreativeBoring doesn’t convertLet your passion shineBe true to your brand

Keys to Increasing SalesEngagementBuild relationshipsOnline hospitality = real hospitality…but it’s publicGive excellent customer serviceListenSearch for conversationsAdd valueReward loyaltyEncourage referralsFollow, return the follow

Keys to Increasing SalesFigure Out Your VoiceBe youBe real

Keys to Increasing SalesBe BeautifulIntegrate with the rest of your presentationLook excellentBe true to your brand

Keys to Increasing SalesMake a planDon’t go rogue!Integrate with marketing and communications planMake sure you have the staffing to last 1-3 yearsIdentify your Vision/Voice/Mission

Keys to Increasing SalesBe PersistentStick to your planBe patientBe realisticBe optimisticAdd value every day

Sites To Model: @SeattleMaven

Sites To Model: @PureMichigan

Sites To Model: @HotelMurano

Sites To Model: @WashingtonInn

Sites To Model: @OnoSushi

10 Ideas to Connect & SellBe a personal, identifiable voicePortray a character (Sequim Elk)Contests Publish a novel (twilight fan fiction + contest = winner!)Tweet recipes (restaurants)Scavenger hunt (parks)Twitter-only fundraiser (build engagement)Ask-a-… (you’re the expert)What could you do/change with customer feedback? (wall color? menu? hours?)Share your office music with the world

Tools to Help You TweetMonitter-geographic tweetsTwitpic/Yfrog-share photosSocialOomph-productivity tooltwtQPon-reward your followerstwtTranslate-habla tweet?Twitterfeed—get your blog on twitterFilesocial.com – share files of (most) any kindGroupTweet—your own private party or buyers clubWefollow-find followersTwellow.com-find followersBlip-fm: Share music

Now Get Out There!Go to twitter.com and sign-up. Pick a Twitter name that matches your company name or includes your company nameBuild up a level of tweets so other users will see you as credible and relevant Fill out your profile completely including a URL as most people will not follow anyone with an incomplete profileCreate a customized Twitter homepage (that matches your corporate brand as much as possible) to provide additional information about your company and products Getting your message outTry to tweet 1 to 5 times per day, and you should space them out throughout the day if possibleOnly 20% or so of your tweets should be related to your company or include a marketing or ‘advertising’ message - the others should be tweets about related topics that provide value to your followers or show a more human side of your company; people will stop paying attention to you if you use Twitter exclusively for self-promotionMost of your tweets should contain a link to something else Use HootSuite to schedule and track your tweets. Hootsuite also lets you include multiple users on the same accountFollowing peopleUse one or more of the Twitter directories to locate potential users to follow based on their interests and geography.Follow anyone who mentions your company or keywords that important for your businessPeriodically do a Twitter search on your or your company name@reply people to thank people or to just reach out to themRT or re-tweet posts that you think are worthy - generally these people will notice and start following youYou don’t want to grow your Twitter following too quickly - steady growth is better and a goal of growing 100 to 200 per month is a good start for most businesses

Using Twitter to Increase SalesOlympic Peninsula Tourism SummitOctober 14, 2009Keven ElliffWindridge Solutionswww.kevenelliff.comkeven@kevenelliff.com