As a small business coach and entrepreneur, I love to read customer service answers to questions that a business’s customers actually ask. Here’s one that came to my inbox this morning. Question: Do you take orders over the phone? Answer: We can take orders over the phone, but we go through the same account creation process that you would go through yourself over the Internet. If you want to phone in your order, we will be happy to help you, but you can do it all from the comfort of your own PC as well!
Even though there are countless ways that you can use Twitter to build your small business, there are also some obvious activities that you want to avoid at all costs.
Not only will engaging in these activities hurt your business, they can even cause Twitter to suspend your account.
So, avoid these 3 Twitter No-No’s:
1) No spamming. Spamming consists of sending out the same message over and over again (especially if you are sending out your message to the same people over and over again.)
One common practice in Twitter is to send out an automatic Direct Message (DM) to all of your new followers.
I strongly suggest that you avoid this practice. The reason is fairly simple. Many of your followers consider the use of automated DM’s “spam.” Furthermore, people in the Twitter community are allowed to report you for spamming. If enough do, then Twitter can suspend your account instantly. And, once you’re suspended, it’s virtually impossible to get reinstated.
If you do want to welcome new followers, then welcome them personally in a tweet post.
Although public relations is incredibly accessible and simple, it remains the most underutilized marketing tools for today’s small business owner.
The main reason is that a large percentage of small business owners simply haven’t taken the time to learn the rules and regulations of this game called Public Relations.
But, here’s the good news. The public relations game isn’t very hard to play. Unlike the card game of Bridge (which can take a lifetime to learn and perfect), the game of public relations is relatively simple.
If you want to get into the PR game, here are three rules that you must understand:
There are five unbelievably powerful words that you must consider before you even sit down to write your website copy and other marketing materials.
These five powerful words are: What’s In It For Me.
You may have heard of this referred to as the acronym: WIIFM. It may sound harsh, but visitors to your website simply don’t care about what you do; they care about how what you do affects them.
Initially, at least, they only care about how you can help them get the results they seek, how you can help them solve their deepest and most painful problems.
But mostly they want to know how your products and services will change their lives, and it’s the job of your website copy to tell them exactly what they will gain from buying your products and services.
This short 1-minute video explains how you can use IdeaMarketers for marketing yourself via content. Promote yourself through articles, press release, books, ebooks, audios and videos:
When you write a press release it’s important that you submit a factual, professional and newsworthy story. If you decide to “bend the rules,” press release distribution services have the right to refuse to accept and run your press release.
Here are ten common reasons why your press release won’t be accepted and distributed:
1) SHOUTING AT YOUR READERS. Avoid using ALL CAPS or exclamation points anywhere in your press release (including the headline)!!! Capitalizing all of your letters or using exclamation points is unprofessional and literally shouts at your reader. (And, by the way, no one likes to be shouted at.)
2) Blatant Advertisements. Press releases are intended to deliver newsworthy stories to their audiences in an objective and non-biased manner. If you’re begging your readers to buy your products or services because they are “the best in the world,” you need to throw your release into the recycle bin and start again.
Active commenting is one of the first signs that a blog has some real life—with it comes more readers, so put in the work it takes to grow this important tool.
Small business owners can easily take advantage of this tool now that so many people know what it is and know how to interact, but…you can do a few things to stimulate this interaction and draw more conversation.
1) Ask for comments. Sometimes just creating a post and inviting your readers to add comments can be just what you need to get them flowing. Commenting is a habit that you need to help build in your readership.
2) Ask questions and seek opinions. From time to time, ask your readers what they think of something or what they have done that works or how they have addressed a particularly challenging situation. You don’t need to have all the answers.
Obviously, you want your target market to have plenty of opportunities to find your Twitter account and follow you.
Here are a few ways to promote your Twitter profile:
Your Email Signature. It’s becoming common practice to include your Twitter handle in your email signature. You probably already place your blog or website URL in your email signature, so why not add your Twitter handle as well?
Your Website. Obviously, you want to have a Twitter icon on your website so that people who visit your website have a chance to follow you on Twitter.
Your Blog. Your blog is a great place to promote your Twitter account because you are already reaching an online audience. You should take a two-step approach. First, place a Twitter icon in your blog’s sidebar and second, promote your Twitter handle in your posts every so often.
When you write a press release, it’s important that it becomes a powerful marketing tool for you and your small business. You certainly don’t want to invest your time writing and distributing your release, only to discover that it didn’t bring you any traffic, leads or sales.
To ensure that your press release writing efforts are not in vain, here are ten tips for writing powerful press releases that work:
1) Provide Newsworthy Content. Make sure that your press release is timely and relevant to your readers. You can accomplish this by tying your story to current events, recent headlines or social trends.
2) Write Like a Reporter. When writing your release, use third-person (he, she, etc.) and a reporter-like format. Take a look at today’s newspaper to reacquaint yourself with the way that journalists write articles.
