5. HalvorsonNewMedia.com 5
Use 140 characters wisely
This slide includes 140
characters, the upper limit of
a Twitter Tweet. Often
people wonder how 140
characters can say anything
meaningful.
Well, let’s get on with it. It’s time for you to open your own Twitter account and start Tweeting. As you begin, you may wish to do this in your personal name, rather than your business name, or take the plunge and open a business account.
If you’d like to start a Twitter account, go to Twitter.com and this sign-up page will walk you through set-up. The name you choose will ultimatley show up as @YourName, and you’ll want to choose carefully so that the name is descriptive, memorable and related to your business in some way. Or, you may choose to use your own name to promote your business, as a way of “branding” yourself as the person who speaks for that business.
When your account is opened, Twitter will walk you through to the Profile section, which you should fill out as completely as possible. This is not place to be shy.
When a person clicks through on your Profile, they will see your mini description. It’s important to include your website address here. Your Twitter profile will come up in Twitter searches and in general searches of the Web using any other search engines. Therefore it’s important to use the key words a person might use to find your business.
The way to build more content into a Tweet, is to have it lead to content on other sites by including a URL (a web address.) Often, however, a URL is very long and will take up all of your 140 characters! Twitter, however, shortens URLs for you, and there are many other online tools that will shorten a URL and help you meet the 140 character limit.
You will not follow through on your plan to post consistently unless you set aside time during your workday or work week to pay attention to your Facebook page. It is quite easy to let tasks like this slip through the cracks. You must view your Facebook posts as a business obligation, much like you would the need to answer a customer’s phone call or email.
We would love to hear your questions and comments about this social media course. Please email or call Educational Program Director Heidi Edwards Dunn using the contact information here.
…. Of course, you can also consult my website and Facebook business pages: HalvorsonNewMedia.com and http://facebook.com/halvorsonNewMedia I provide all kinds of consulting help to businesses struggling with social media, whether it’s Faceobook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn or blogging. I can create content or teach you how to do so. I can manage the sites for you, if you just don’t have the time or expertise. For now, I hope this webinar has given you a solid foundation on which to build your beginning Facebook presence for business. Thank you and please don’t hesitate to drop me a line using the email address shown above.
