Never Have a Blank Avatar

The blank avatar space is filled with a Twitter bird or an egg shape. Neither adds anything to your profile.

• Add the profile picture you use elsewhere online. This helps people recognise you at conferences, networks, and meetings. It helps break the ice at such gatherings. People can easily approach you with, “Dawn?  I recognise you from Twitter.”
• Alternatively, use a logo. However, people prefer to see a face, as it helps connect the words you tweet with the personality followers will eventually get to know.

Add a URL

If you do not enter a URL in the requested space, those you follow have no way of telling who or what you are.

• Those who forget names easily may not follow back, or block you.
• The URL is a clue to how you may have already met in person, or demonstrate a shared interest. This will encourage followers, and is more likely to result in replies to any messages you send.

Complete the Profile

Avoid crypric fragments, that are likely to make sense only to you and a few in the know. This, combined with a missing URL makes you look flaky, weird, or just plain frightening.

• Instead add a brief list of your main professional roles.
• Alternatively, add a brief list of interests, skills, or specialisms.

Either tactic will help potential followers determine if you will have anything of interest to say, and encourage the right people to your profile.

Tweet!

Recently, I’ve used JustUnfollow to pare back my Following list. I’m also pretty particular about who follows me. Once a week or fortnight, I peruse the list of recent Followers, and remove anyone who doesn’t abide by the advice I supply above. I’m not interested in engaging with those with no name or interests.

• Surprisingly, I found that many Followers had a dull Twitter profile. They were mostly removed.
• A sub-set had an interesting profile, but simply did not tweet. They’re taking up space on my list, so they were removed. First, those who’d not tweeted for 6 months, then those who’d not tweeted for 3.
• A smaller subset again have a really interesting profile, tweet seldom,  but when they do, it’s not about their craft. They’re slowly being removed too.

I like to know who I’m tweeting with. And what they do for a living. And where they’re from. I like to find out more about them, from an online profile, a blog, or a website.

If you don’t supply these basic details, you limiting the amount of people who will follow back, and you limiting the meaningful exchanges you can have online.

What are your thougths?

Following a request from a group of business people in Omagh, we are holding a seminar in the South West College on 14 June.  This seminar has been run several times before, mainly in the Belfast area.  Comments are always positive.  Here are some recent responses:

“Had all relevant aspects explained and plenty of opportunity to ask questions.”  Kerry Smyth, Knowledge Transfer Centre, QUB

“I went to a Social Media Workshop run by Dawn from Sensei last week in Antrim. Dawn managed to condense a huge subject into a very simple, easy to follow and interactive presentation. There were people there who didn’t have a clue about social networking. There was a lot of excitement in the room and there were many questions about the possibilities. Dawn was very calm and professional and managed to keep people interested throughout. I would have no hesitation in recommending Dawn to run courses for my company or anyone else’s for that matter. Very pleased. (First published on Lookaly).”  Dean Langasco, I Love Mondays

Who Should Attend?

This session is for anyone who wants to gain a quick-fire overview of what social media is and how it can be incorporated into a business marketing and networking strategy.   It is most suitable for those who are new to online marketing, or those in the very early stages.

Results

This seminar will help you to:

• Understand the benefits and meaning behind the jargon and hype
• Know what to do to establish a professional online profile
• Access relevant industry information and local business assistance
• Keep in touch with your customers to encourage repeat sales
• Network more effectively with other SMEs

Thanks to South West College, Omagh, who are hosting this event.

A similar event will be held in Limavady.

Gordon Brown has this week pledged to spread excellence.  And, many Northern Ireland politicians are spreading promises of excellence via Twitter.  We shall see.  But just think, are you spreading your excellence across the web too?  Here are five ways you can use LinkedIn to Set Out Your Manifesto, just like the big boys and girls.  Except, they’re not using LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is centred around people you’ve worked with and for. Ask for recommendations.

If you miss this, you’re missing a vital piece of the kit.  People buy from people.  If you’re selling something, especially where you are the product for hire, personal recommendations are crucial.

• Recruiters, partners and head-hunters often check your qualifications, and it is becoming increasingly common to receive phonecalls and emails from people looking recommendations on others, before they ask them for a meeting.
• Ask for recommendations when you’re at the end of a period of employment or the end of a project with a client.  Remember, you can choose which to display publicly on your profile.

Craft your profile carefully.  People will read it.

Pay special attention to the keywords you use when describing each past and current position.  Highlight achievements and passions.

• Avoid gaps; they create question marks in the minds of those viewing your profile.  If you left paid employment for 13 years to raise a family or care for an older relative, then state this.  Family Responsibilities/Caring Responsibilities is acceptable.  This also applies for those who have left work to enjoy a Sabbatical.
• Employ a copywriter if you feel your writing skills are not concise enough.

Join a group or three, not thirty!

There are so many!  Which do I join?  Unless you’re setting up or helping to promote a group, set simple criteria for making the decision to join.

Remember the more you join, the more emailed updates you will be trawling through.

• My new rule is, if the group has less than 200 members, I won’t join.  Yes, I sometimes break my own rule.  But, rules are made to be broken, n’est-ce pas?
• Think whether you’re going to engage with group members or not.  If not, it’s only taking up space on your profile.  This is like following everyone on Twitter, yet never replying to anyone or asking any questions.

Ask and answer questions.

Do you want to establish yourself as an expert?  Ask and answer questions.  Begin by answering a few, until you get used to the type of thing people are interested in.

• Don’t poke your nose into marketing unless you’re experienced in that area.  Keep on topic, and you will get known as someone who knows stuff.
• This takes a long time, and it must be combined with similar efforts offline, like public speaking, writing articles and papers, or informative emails, for example.
• And, don’t forget to answer messages sent to your inbox!  Treat the inbox like your regular email inbox – respond promptly!

Add your Twitter stream.

If you use Twitter for professional networking, marketing, market research or sales and support, display your status updates on LinkedIn.  You can also use a tool such as TweetDeck or Hootsuite to send one status update to multiple profiles, without having to log into LinkedIn each time.

• Avoid getting into the habit of sending every status update to every network; those who belong to lots of networks soon tire of seeing your update multiple times.  Choose what you want to use LinkedIn for, and tailor the status updates you send there to this goal.
• An advantage is that those on LinkedIn who prefer Twitter have an alternative way to keep in touch with you.  And, your Twitter profile may supply a different angle on what you do.

LinkedIn may seem like a stolid, static social network profile option.  It doesn’t have to be so static, however, by employing these simple strategies.  Keeping it fluid and up to date is the key to being remembered and found.  When people go searching for your profile, your name is not too far down their Updates list.

• Monday, at 15:05pm, when this post was written, my name appeared first on Google in a search for my name.  The first result was my LinkedIn profile.

This is type of the result you want!  Just make sure that when people find you, your profile draws them in!

Image credit: Coletivo Mambembe.

The Big List is a collection of useful web tools and resources, particularly for those who’re adopting social media tools for business, but feel like they may just have walked into a maze!  It will contain short descriptions of each tool and suggestions of how it might be used, to help you negotiate your way through.  It has been promised for some time, and is finally almost ready…

Initially, the first version will be made available to those who are signed up to our email newsletter, and updates will be sent periodically.  If you’d like to receive this new resource, sign up to the email newsletter here.  You will also receive emails on events and other useful articles.

Who is the big list for?

• Attendees from our social media and online marketing workshops.
• Anyone else who is new to social media and needs definitions of terminology and a simple explanation of what the online tools do.
• Anyone else who wants to learn and adopt some new tools that will help save them both time and money, in their marketing nad networking efforts.

All suggestions on good blogs, websites, Twitter tools, Facebook applications, social media tools, hints and tips, or mobile technology  are very welcome.  Add your suggestions – or questions – in a comment.

Image credit: Tim Green aka atoach.

Next week, I’ll be speaking at one of Legal Island’s Business for Breakfast seminars, at silly o’clock in the morning on the above topic.  If you are attending, please make any suggestions in a comment below.

When?  16 March 2010, 07:30 – 09:00

Where? Island Centre, Legal Island, Antrim

About what?

Twitter is celebrated as the latest online phenomenon in PR and brand-building. But what about meeting new collaborators and suppliers or developing meaningful ways of communicating with customers? Want to know more?

Click here to book your place.