What is Twitter. How businesses benefit from Twitter. Getting started with Twitter.

1. The Case of the Undiscovered Business Tool A Mystery Meryl K. Evans www.meryl.net @merylkevans

2. The Mystery How can a business stay in touch…

3. “You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.” -- Wayne Gretzky

4. The Unknown Subject The “Unsub” Who or what is ?!? [Cue theme] Sorry … :( Can’t play “Who Are You?” due to copyright laws… oops.

5. Don’t take “What are you doing” literally. Only 140 characters INCLUDING your ID. Meet the Suspect RT = Retweet. Repeating another user’s tweet.

6. Twitter? Business? Seriously? Seriously!!

7. “But … but … it’s for kids … “For reporting every activity you do… Showering, eating… Borrr-ing! “Nuh uh. “Well … maybe for some folks.” Wait! Stick with me…

8. Evidence: Exhibit A What age group do you think uses Twitter the most? Nope, not making it up! Straight from the Nielsen’s mouth

9. Evidence: Exhibit B Convinced? No? Hrm…

10. Making the Case: Picture This Clients Business Prospects Industry One way conversations = Old marketing Zzzzzz ...

11. Making the Case: How about this? Clients Clients Investors Prospects Business Contractors Employees Industry Bloggers You get the idea… Prospects That’s word of mouse in action! Media Clients

12. Proof! True Stories I swear! I promise! They’re real! Publicity Expertise / thought-leadership and RT (retweet) to share with others Word of mouth / mouse

13. Proof! True Stories More… Savings: Because of Twitter, I got a new laptop and saved money. Hire: Because @wpanswers solved my WordPress problem, I hired him for web site work. Pretty, isn’t she?

14. Proof! True Stories More… Problem solving Networking within industry I could go on and on …

15. Why Should I Care about ? Word of mouse wasn’t enough for you? I worked hard on that picture! OK, OK … you’re the judge ...

16. Connect with ... New people Potential clients, contractors, experts, etc. Current customers and industry, so they think of your business

17. Round out Marketing Efforts Build buzz with tweets. Manage reputation, crises and problems. Send traffic to your web site, articles, wherever … from Twitter.

18. Boost …

19. Search for business-related keywords. Discover Trends One way to get trends. Other search and Twitter tools available

20. Share Expertise and Resources Information Referral Experience / Expertise

21. Putting Human Touch on Your Brand

22. How Should I Use ? Let’s get the show on the road!

23. Basics: Where Do I Start? Good place, ya think?

24. Basics: @Name? Your name counts in the 140 characters when people tweet you. Note #1: Shorter is better. Use real name or business name for @name and add real name into “Settings.” Note #2: Real and business name. Note #3: Name change. If you change @name later, your account starts over.

25. Basics: Create a Cool Profile Nice pic, ya think? Rare! Click “Settings” to get here. No default image allowed! Uncool!

26. Basics: The Bio Share fun fact to help personality stand out. 160 characters Keywords: Industry, interests, business. Twitter tools like Twellow let people search by keywords.

27. Unwritten Rules Following & Followers Rule #1: You are NOT obligated to follow everyone back. Rule #2: Don’t follow everyone. Rule #3: Quality not quantity.

28. Unwritten Rules Who to Follow? Step 1: Study numbers. This is not good. Lopsided. Step 2: Much better! Check frequency of updates. Too often = overwhelming. Or never. Step 3: Guess who? @Oprah. Some folks have followers. Not necessarily good. Some rack up numbers by unfollowing. Take your time adding people to follow to avoid lopsided list.

29. Engage! Tweets add value. What’s in it for OTHERS not you. Link wisely: Don’t overdo linking period … especially your stuff. No original thoughts. Spammy and often links to own stuff.

30. Engage! 3. Quotes can be inspiring, but not if that’s all you tweet. 4. RT others (copy their tweet and add “RT” in front) Space an issue? Shorten as best as you can. Shows respect and shares with people not following @alferretti.

31. Engage! 5. Be yourself. Twitter users can detect fakery easily. Faking it WILL backfire.

32. Engage! 6. Customer Service 7. Crises / Reputation Management Respond ASAP even with “We’re working on it.”

33. Beyond Twitter Track and Monitor Spy on keywords, competitors, etc. RESOURCES Tweetbeep.com Twilerts.com search.twitter.com Keyword

34. Beyond Twitter Tools for Twitter Organize Mobility Group More features More control Many more! Just search! RESOURCES Tweetdeck.com Seesmic.com Ubertwitter.com - BlackBerry

35. Beyond Twitter Social Media Mix up social media = success

36. What’s Your Verdict on ?

37. Fin The End That’s It Back to work! Thank You Images: sxc.hu and flickr.com Presentation: Meryl K. Evans Thank you to Twitter followers for making this possible © Meryl K. Evans

38. Meryl K. Evans www.meryl.net @merylkevans