The Do's & Dont's for Using Twitter and LinkedIn Together

LinkedIn and Twitter recently announced that users who have profiles on both social networks will now have the option of pushing LinkedIn status updates out to a Twitter account or pulling tweets into a professional profile.

I read an informative article today on PCWorld by Ian Paul about the do's and don'ts of integrating these two powerful social networks with one another that I wanted to share. It is important for mom entrepreneurs to understand the pros and cons about setting this up before moving forward.

You have three options for integrating LinkedIn with Twitter:

1. you can rebroadcast your LinkedIn status updates to Twitter,
2. turn your tweets into your LinkedIn status,
3. or both.

To start integrating your tweets, you need to edit your LinkedIn settings by adding Twitter from your profile page or by clicking the Twitter icon next to your status on the homepage. Twitter integration will be rolled out to all LinkedIn users over the next few days, so you may not see the new feature right away.

Do's and Don'ts are summarized below:

• DO broadcast your LinkedIn status to Twitter.
• DO link multiple Twitter accounts to your LinkedIn profile.
• DON'T send all your tweets to LinkedIn.
• DON'T display your Twitter account on LinkedIn.
• DON'T forget about LinkedIn.

To read the article in its entirety, please click here...>

Early bird discount for May 20th teleseminar ends today!

Want To Learn Powerful Social Media Marketing Tactics and Information?

Then join us on Wednesday May 20th from 1:00pm - 2:15pm EST as Scott Bradley of Networking Effectively teaches us.

Scott is well known for helping author Mike Michalowicz of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur take his brand from obscure to well known in as little as five months.

On the call Scott will share…

• What social media is…and what it is not…and why if you aren’t leveraging it you are leaving a ton of $$ on the table.
• The biggest mistakes individuals make on Twitter and Facebook that do more harm than good;
• Why humanizing your brand on these networks is important, and how to effectively create your own branding strategy.
• How to leverage Facebook and Twitter to build high quality , highly targeted and effective relationships in minutes…not days.
• The one thing you must have set up for social media to effectively work for you.
  The mindset you must adopt if you want to be successful using this powerful technology for your business.
• Why building a social media platform is so important and what to keep in mind as you implement your strategy.
• Real life case studies illustrating to you the power of this technology as a marketing tool.
  The one question you should ask any social media expert before you decide to work with them.
• The 8 tips every social networker must know before using this powerful technology for their business.
  

He will also be giving away his entire outline for free for those who would like to have access to it.

Scott promises to provide attendees with tons of valueable information. To register for the $25 early bird pricing (ends at midnight EST today), click here...>

Fabulously 40 & Beyond

As I inch closer and closer to the big 4...0, I am searching for resources for connecting with other women online who are the same age.

Fabulously40.com is a social network for women over forty that taps into the same nerve that Elizabeth Gilbert hit in the international best-seller, Eat, Pray, Love: The mid-life woman's quest for self re-invention.

After forty, change either happens to us or we make the change happen. Increasingly, this website is where women turn to create their changes for solutions, strategies and tips on everything from money to love and, more than that, for emotional support from a community of diverse women. With a million page views a month, Fabulously40 is the place to go for help and inspiration.

A woman's 40th birthday long signaled change, mostly viewed as negative: encroaching menopause, empty nest. Women today have options their mothers and especially their grandmothers never had and cosmetic surgery and injections are the least of it.

Fabulously40 is the engine for connecting and supporting women in their quest for self re-invention.

The founder, Yana Berlin states "We are finally old enough to know what we want and young enough to do something about it."

Visit Fabulousy40.com and connect with like minded women.

Internet Marketing Forum to be held in Portsmouth, NH

Join The NH Creative Club

What:
Internet Marketing Forum

When:
Wednesday, March 11 - 6:00 - 9:00 pm

Where:
The Portsmouth Pearl - Portsmouth, NH

As a creative professional, you already have everything you need to successfully build a business through internet marketing - yet harnessing this information for web, print e-blasts, social networking and a myriad of other venues can be a challenge for anyone.

Join the New Hampshire Creative Club for a lively discussion about the far reaching potential of the internet as a marketing vehicle for your clients' businesses - and your own.

Presenters:
Brett Houle, SendLabs
Email marketing - For your business and your clients

Sean Owen, wedü
New Tools for New Media - A targeted approach for maximizing response rates

Traci Bisson, Bisson Barcelona
Social Networking - To blog or not to blog

For more information, a description of presenter topics, bios and an agenda, or to register, click here...>

Price:
Members: $5.00
Non-Members/Students $15.00
Cash Bar

Directions:
The Pearl is located at 45 Pearl Street, just off Islington Street 2 blocks from downtown Portsmouth.

Off Route 95 -Take Exit 7 off the exit head toward downtown Portsmouth on Market Street Extension (a right headed north or a left if headed south). Just after passing the Sheraton Hotel on your right, take a right onto Deer Street. Take a left at the next light onto Maplewood Avenue. At the second light, take a right onto Islington Street. Pearl Street is the third road on your right and The Pearl is the last building on your right at the end of the street.

It is so quiet today

Every morning, I look forward to the usual chatter on my Google group discussion board of over 450 mom entrepreneurs.

But not today:(

Today it is very quiet!

Google is experiencing some major problems with their Google groups. I visited their help center and group moderators are posting comments almost by the minute that they have been locked out of their group, they can't send emails to their group, their group does not exist, etc.

Unfortunately, I am experiencing the same problems. I have posted in the Google help group, on Twitter and tried to reach Google in different ways. But I have heard nothing. They have not made any announcements anywhere that I can find that alert users to the fact that they are aware of the problem and are working on it.

All I need is a sign of life from Google that they are doing everything they can to remedy the problem.

The silence is deafening.

How to start socializing online

I am writing several proposals this week, and I completed one last week, for potential clients who are looking for my marketing and PR company, Bisson Barcelona, to assist them with getting started in the world of social media.

For those who have not ventured into this online world as of yet or want some additional ideas to maximize exposure, I offer 8 simple suggestions for helping you to get started.

1. Develop a list of keywords. Use a program like www.wordtracker.com to research words important to your target market. These words should be included in everything you write online, including your profile, blog posts, blog comments, news releases, articles, etc. Using these keywords increases your chances of being found by consumers.
2. Establish a professional email address. Whenever possible, use an email address that contains the name of your blog or website, i.e. traci@themomentrepreneur.com. If needed, you can have an alias email address point to a root address, i.e. tjbisson@gmail.com. This gives a more professional look and sense of credibility.
3. Create a tagline. A tagline should describe what you do/offer/believe in a short sentence or phrase. This is especially important if the name of your company does not describe what you offer. For instance, the name of my company, Bisson Barcelona does not say what I do. Therefore my tagline is: A Unique Image is Critical.
4. Create an email signature. Having a complete email signature is like running a free advertisement every time you send an email. Include your name, company name, address, phone numbers, website and/or blog address, tagline and a few social networking links (i.e. Follow me on Twitter). I also include a message at the bottom of The Mom Entrepreneur signature that says "Find a sponsor for your web site. Click here to get paid for your great content". This is a text link for one of my affiliate marketing programs.
5. Write a professional bio. Your bio should outline your experience, credentials and anything else you feel is important for your target audience to be aware of. This is especially important when trying to establish your personal brand. Use this bio, tweaking as needed for the different social networking sites, on your blog, website and anywhere else your profile appears online.
6. Create a blog and syndicate. Blogs have become everyone's publishing platform. Use this medium for informing, educating and keeping your target market updated. Establish yourself as an expert that readers turn to again and again for important information. Syndicate your blog through www.feedburner.com in order to reach a larger audience.
7. Connect through social networking sites. Determine which social networking sites you should invest your time connecting through. You want sites that reach your target market or that allow you to connect with peers for support. A good resource is the list on Wikipedia. Start with three sites and maximize your exposure. Don't overdo it or you are bound to give up because it will be too time consuming to keep up with.
8. Place well-written articles online. Articles rich with keywords and placed with online article directories are a great way to spread your expertise virally. Article directories are a great source of information for bloggers and others looking for content for their posts. Your bio information, included with every article, is now showing up in several different locations online increasing your chances of being found. There are hundreds of article directories to choose from. I suggest placing your articles with the top directories according to Alexa and page rank.

Once you have spent time perfecting your online image and connecting socially, there are dozens of additional ways to network online depending on your goals. There are also programs that allow you to simplify the flow of communication to your target audience like HelloTxt, which lets you update your status and read your friends' status across all main microblogging and social networks all at once. When you are comfortable that your online presence is established, you can begin cross promoting blogs, websites, profiles, etc. with widgets and RSS feeds.

The social networking world is endless and you can stay up all night exploring, researching and learning about all of the new fun tools and sites. Believe me I know. Just take a deep breath, start slow and be thorough in your approach. This will ensure a positive experience in cyber space.

If you have additional suggestions or ideas, please let me know. Thanks!

Diary of a Twitterholic Wannabe - part 3

This is the final post in a series of three about the phenomenon we call Twitter. If you missed part one, you can read it here and for part two, click here.

After everything that I had learned about Twitter, I now wanted to find ways to promote my tweets on my other social networking sites and expand my reach. First, I created a Twitter badge (or widget), which allowed me to have a live feed of my tweets on my Facebook and MySpace page as well as all of my blogs and company website.

I also discovered FriendFeed, a social aggregator that consolidates updates on social websites. Several of my sites feed into my public FriendFeed, including Twitter, my blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn and delicious (a social tagging site). My subscribers can now read all of The Mom Entrepreneur, Advice from the Media Mavens and Kids in NH posts and information in one place.

Then I found Widgetbox, which allowed me to create a blidget (blog widget) for each of my blogs. I installed the blidget for one blog in the other blog and vice versa (a great cross promotion strategy). I was also able to install on my website. In addition, my blidget was included in Widgetbox's public directory. Now others can install either The Mom Entrepreneur or Kids in NH blidget if they are interested in my discussion topics. So far 18 people have installed on a blog or website. This was a great way to buzz or spread my message.

Lastly, I located a program that allows me to post to many of my social networking sites, including Twitter in one location. Hellotxt lets you communicate with all of your networks at once. So for instance, the Twitter badge cannot yet be installed in LinkedIn, Pownce, FriendFeed and other places. So you enter your message into your Hellotxt account and it instantly appears in the social networking pages you associate with the program.

Twitter continues to evolve and grow and there is still so much to learn about how to use it effectively. One person who I rely on and follow loyally for his social marketing advice is Chris Brogan. To continue to learn more about Twitter and the social marketing trend, follow The Mom Entrepreneur on Twitter and follow Chris Brogan. Chris is #28 on the Twitterholic list...and maybe someday I will make the list too!

Happy twittering!

Diary of a Twitterholic Wannabe - part 2

This post is number two in a series of three about the phenomenon we call Twitter. If you missed part one, you can read it here.

After learning how to use Twitter Search, I decided to search-out and listen-in on conversations that mom entrepreneurs were having on Twitter. My goal was to reach out to them by following their tweets. When they decided to follow me as well, I sent them a direct message (private message between two Twitter users) through Twitter inviting them to join The Mom Entrepreneur Support Group. This social network very quickly proved to be a useful resource for finding and reaching my target market.

In addition, I registered my Twitter user name and some additional terms at TweetBeep (like Google alerts for Twitter) so that I could be more proactive in monitoring potential opportunities.

As my followers grew, I needed to find a way to engage them in conversation. I wanted to start that important dialogue that helps online relationships grow. I discovered Tweet Later, which allows micro-bloggers to send automated thank you notes to new followers. It will also allow you to automatically follow new followers if you choose to do so. Another nice feature of this program is that it allows you to schedule future-dated tweets so that you can be consistent with your posts. I decided to use the thank you note feature.

According to Dewald Pretorius, you must be conscious of best practices when using the automated thank you note feature in Tweet Later. "When writing your thank you note to your new followers, do not include any self-promotional text and/or links. It invariably leaves a bad taste in the mouth of your new follower. Think about it. Here you are, you've just decided you want to follow someone, and the very first thing they say to you is, "Hello, do you want to buy my stuff?" Not good. Send a very simple, warm, and friendly thank you note. The promotional stuff will happen over time."

I decided that was good advice. So I set up my automated message to read:

"Thanks for the follow. I am interested in learning more about you. Please introduce yourself."

With that in place, I decided to research what else I should be doing on Twitter. Since I own a marketing and PR firm, I needed to find media using Twitter.

I subscribe to The Publicity Hound newsletter and in one issue, Joan Stewart wrote about a wiki (a website that allows online collaboration) created by Harry Hoover entitled Twittering Journalists that contains a list of media people and media outlets using Twitter. Joan blogged about it as well. Bingo! I began following the media that interested me and found that many returned the favor. When the media post a tweet about a topic that relates to your expertise, you can send a direct message to introduce yourself. Again, you only get 140 characters so your elevator pitch needs to be perfected before doing this.

Watch for my next post, which will continue to inform you about the basics of using Twitter. In the meantime, let us know how you use Twitter.

Oh...and if you are already on Twitter...follow me at www.twitter.com/tracibisson.

Twit, Tweet, Twitter....Diary of a Twitterholic Wannabe

This post is one in a series of three about the phenomenon we call Twitter. Many people in The Mom Entrepreneur Support Group I run, and clients, have been asking about this form of micro-blogging. What is it? Why should I care? How do I use it? My goal is to answer these questions and more.

For me, Twitter started as an experiment in April of 2008. As with any new social activity one engages in that is unfamiliar, I played around to see what this tool was all about. I started an account, created a profile, uploaded my picture and started twittering (sending Twitter messages).

My first tweet (an individual message (or “update”) posted from Twitter) was:

"New to Twitter - not quite sure how this works but I am sure I can figure it out. Love this social networking stuff."

I could have very easily written...

"I am here, now what?"

That is the way I felt. I had already established profiles on Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Fast Pitch!, started three blogs, built a blogsite and was experimenting with Squidoo. So what did Twitter have to offer me?

Well, what ensued was countless hours of research and many late nights of playing, experimenting, connecting and fiddling. There is still so much more to learn, but I finally have a handle on this crazy and unique world of social networking.

Social marketing professionals will advise you to have a plan before engaging in different online activities and I agree. However, it is amazing what you can learn by just doing. This is how I approached Twitter.

Twitter has so many tricks, tips, resources and other information for helping you to understand how to use it. Probably the most useful resource at the writing of this post is the recently published Twitter Handbook. This 181 page PDF is chock full with information. It will seem overwhelming at first, especially if you have never used Twitter. So put it aside for now and keep reading.

Start by posting some practice tweets, which are limited to 140 characters. My second tweet was:

"Working on my blogging clinic, which will be offered for four sessions in April in Barrington, NH."

When the blogging clinic write up was ready on my website, I tweeted again about it and included a link to the page on my site. Now remember, you are limited to 140 characters. This can easily be used up with one URL; especially a blog URL. Visit http://www.tinyurl.com/ and turn your long URL into a short URL. You can even customize your URL so it is easy to remember.

After my third tweet, I began receiving messages in my email inbox that people were following me (subscribing to my tweets). Cool! So I clicked the links to learn more about these followers. They included other publicists, a few mom entrepreneurs, some colleagues and Barack Obama (he is probably following everyone - since he is the top twitterholic). Now I had followers. Did that make me a leader? Possibly.

I kept tweeting about different things, encouraging followers to click on my links and watching to see if anyone else followed me. I noticed that some of the posts from the people I followed included an "@" symbol and someone's user name. I had no idea what this was or how it worked. I learned that it was a way to have a conversation with other twitterers and respond to specific tweets. I was now gaining a better understanding of the interactive features of this social network. Not only could I tweet in response to a tweet posted by someone else, but by visiting Twitter Search, I could learn who was "talking" to me and about me.

At this site, I entered "@tracibisson" in the search box so I could see who on Twitter was responding to my tweets. Geez, there was a lot of people "talking" about me. So I "talked" back. Then I searched for "mom entrepreneurs". I discovered that several people were talking about this topic. Interesting. I had an idea.

Watch for my next post, which will continue to inform you about the basics of using Twitter. In the meantime, let us know how you use Twitter.

Oh...and if you are already on Twitter...look me up at www.twitter.com/tracibisson.

The Balancing Act...Social Networking

Balancing being a mom and an entrepreneur has always been a challenge...but I have never met a challenge I did not face head on.

Over the past several months, I have been researching the world of social networking in an attempt to understand all of the opportunities available online. Because of my mom schedule, I am usually up very late twittering, blogging or looking for friends and business contacts at MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn. Sometimes I can steal some time on weekends during nap time. Today however, my youngest does not want to nap so I will have to make this post quick:)

I have recently connected with some other mom entrepreneur groups through social networking. I will keep readers updated on other resources I uncover through these connections.