Archive for the ‘Ways To Use Twitter’ Category

Using SMS With Twitter

Twitter now allows you to follow someone on SMS if you don’t have a Twitter account. The tool is called “Fast Follow.” If you text “follow (username)” to Twitter’s shortcut of 40404, then you’ll receive that users updates in your text messaging.

When you are not signed in to Twitter, you can’t Tweet yourself. But some people may just want to receive messages from selected sources. And it may be a good way to send massages to customers and employees quickly and efficiently.

Do you think you will use Fast Follow? If so, how?

Twitter keeps growing and they are adding another service. Today they begin rolling out Twitter Location. Users will be given the option to give some information on their location. How specific will be the call of the Twitterer.

This service is expected to be worked in over the next week. Users in 65 countries will start to see the “Add your location” link below the Tweet box.

For those of you using Foursquare and Gowalla, Twitter has worked with both services to incorporate the location features with those services. And application programmers will be able to integrate the service into their applications. So be on the lookout for some neat apps that will soon be available.

During a recent thunderstorm, many Duke Energy customers reported their power outages via Twitter. In January of 2009 Duke Energy set up a Twitter account, @DukeEnergyStorm, to keep their customers up to date on power outage problems. Their primary mission was to broadcast outage information. Then last fall they hired Lisa Hoffmann to help manage their social media. She and other staffers do the tweeting during major storms. And they are monitoring the tweets people are sending to them.

Twitter postings are not hindered by power outages if the users are using smart phones or personal computers that run off of battery power. That allows Duke Energy customers the ability to keep up to date with power outage status without making unnecessary phone calls.

This is a classic example of how a customer service company gets time sensitive information to it’s customers. How do you use Twitter for customer service?

TweetDeck is a free application that you can download onto your computer. It monitors your Twitter accounts. It also allows you to post onto Twitter and Facebook.

TweetDeck lets you create all kinds of sorting and filtering that helps maximize your time monitoring what people are Tweeting.

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Download TweetDeck

Go to TweetDeck.com and download the software. Then create some lists to follow and make some postings. It won’t take long for you to discover what a powerful tool this is.

What Is Twitpic?

Twitpic is a website that enables users to connect images to their Twitter messages. Users are able to upload and post images in near real time. When you set up Twitpic, the system automatically uses the same username and password from your Twitter account.

To post a picture, log into your Twitpic account. Browse for your photo. Add a message to it. Then, you have the option to post it and the option to list the location. After you’ve made those choices click on “Upload Photo” and you’re done.

Twitpic Is Gaining Popularity

Twitpic was launched in February of 2008. Today it is growing by 30,000 – 40,000 per day!  It almost has 10 million users.

Listen to founder Noah Everett talk about TwitPic:

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A Great Video On Twitter

Here’s a great video with some wonderful tips on getting the most out of your twitter account. Invest four minutes and I’ll bet you learn something.

The basic concept of Twitter is to send short messages to individuals who elect to hear from you. What a simple concept. Twitter users have expanded that concept to paradigms that were not dreamed of when the tool was developed.

A Two Way Communication Tool

Too many people think of Tweets as one way communication. Those are the folks that think their word is golden and yours is not. We all know who they are. The real beneficiary of Twitter is the person who gets quick answers to urgent questions. Ask a specialized question and get an expert response.

People that are following you elected to do so themselves. They probably did it because they share some of your interests. So when a question pops up, odds are someone following you has some knowledge on that subject. When they see your request, they can respond to it. And the odds are pretty good that you’ll get a response.

The management of your business’s tweets to the public carries with it the need for someone with enough responsibility to represent the company. This is often a sales person or other member of the company marketing department that already interacts with the public. A good communicator is imperative.

Your marketing manager then needs to study what successful businesses in your industry are doing with Twitter. You may find there is a need to set up multiple Twitter accounts. One may be designed to notify existing customers of updates to their services. Another may be to offer free advice to the public in an effort to turn them into customers.

So if you haven’t done it, get a Twitter account set up for your business. Tie it into your blog site. Then send your postings to your followers. If you need help, contact us at Business And Social Media, or call Huck Huckabee 704-438-2910.

Businesses use Twitter in a wide variety of ways. Tell us how you use Twitter for your business.