Image by Marcos Xotoko

A lot of businesses make a very simple mistake as soon as they get their Twitter account. They ignore their audience. Without engaging with your audience, your Twitter account becomes one-way – and one-way accounts are more detremental to businesses than benefiial.

So how do we make Tweeting for business a success?

1. Monitor your brand (and respond)

What people say about you matters. Whether it is good or bad, you need to know what they say. Simple searches (I use a search column in Tweetdeck) that look for mentions of your name or keywords bring those tweets to your attention. You can then act.

Positive tweeters love to know you’ve read their message (thank those who RT you messages), while negative tweeters can be appeased simply through a quick response, even if it doesn’t solve their problem and simply says “Sorry you’re not happy”.

2. Dnt yooz txt spk (itz nt 4 proz)

Although Twitter only gives you 140 characters to broadcast to the world, make sure you don’t resort to text speak to save space. You’re communicating your message, but also your brand. Text speak is unprofessional and is cutting corners. Do you want people to think that about your business?

3.Be personal (but professional)

Another great deal for your service? Meh. You’ve changed your delivery charges? Yawn. How was my weekend? Well, since you ask…

Sales messages are all well and good (and deserve to be tweeted), but make sure you take a break with some personality. Is it someones birthday in the office? Did they bring cake? Let your followers know!

Your personality is part of your brand. Just keep this question in mind: Would I tell this in a meeting? Make sure it is always “yes” and you’ll add the perfect touch of personality to your tweets.

4. Keep active (but not too active…)

I once found out Paul Daniels was on Twitter. I followed him immediately (well, wouldn’t you?), keeping tabs on where he was and what shows he was doing. but that was the first 10 minutes. Throughout the day he must have tweeted about 50 times. So I stopped following him. Conversely, there are a few people I follow who hardly tweet so I haven’t forged a reationship with their brand (fittingly I can’t think of who they are!)

Ensure you don’t tweet too much and dominate your followers’ timelines. I find that 3 serious tweets (to a case study, news article or product update) interspersed with 2 more personal tweets (”wow biblical rain outside our office”) seems to work well.

5. Share information (even if it isn’t yours…)

Don’t be afraid to send your followers links that go somewhere other than your website. Twitter is not about driving traffic to your best landng pages all the time. It is about communication. By tweeting interesting links to other sites you are putting the follower first. You’ll then become a trusted source of information, which is great for your brand and for the long-term relationship with the follower.

So what are your tips for using Twitter in your business?

Photo by André Engelhardt

Twitter is a conversation.

Whether it be for personal or business use, it is fantastic tool to communicate with others. Twitter’s own ‘About Us‘ page says that the service helps “businesses and organizations of all shapes and sizes” to “stay connected to their customers.”

However, some businesses very much ‘get’ Twitter,  successfully engaging with their audience, whereas others think it is just enough to have an account and tweet about their products or services.

A quick moan about Virgin Mobile overcharging me for my phone bill got a sharp response from the Virgin Media account. I also gave a London restaurant a jab about dinner taking so long, they responded by sending over some free dessert. And it doesn’t just happen to me. Mick Dickinson recently monitored brand response times on Twitter for his Buzzed Up blog, and there were some very quick responses in there.

But there are those who don’t get it right. They see Twitter as a sales tool, a one-way broadcast platform from which to promote their products and services. All the while they are failing to monitor their market or respond to anything their audience is saying to them.

One such example are the guys at the Bristol Hippodrome (@BristolHipp). There is a comedy show coming to Bristol that I really want to see, but there is no info on tickets, so I sent them an @reply. No response. I sent them another. Still nothing. I publicly called them out about it. Nadda. Someone else had to tweet a link to me! (Thank you @Ninja_lynneja)

A quick look at their Twitter timeline shows that they don’t reply to anyone! They just plug and plug and plug. It is obvious that they don’t get it. It isn’t just a way to communicate to your market, but it is also a way for your market to communicate with you. The Bristol Hippodrome has a phone number, but I doubt they only call people and let it ring out when someone calls them…

Being ignored promoted me to write this blog. So now the Bristol Hippodrome is taking a word of mouth dent as they  constantly ignore their audience while happily tweeting about the best seats for an upcoming Oaklahoma show…

Businesses who are getting in to Twitter need to remember: Be social with social media. Interact with your audience.

Tweet me a word. Any word. First one that pops into your head…

And they did. I wanted to see what was on the mind of my followers on one specific day.

I got an interesting range of words – and here they are:

Click for full size

An odd concentration on food and animals (Griffin counts as an animal), interspersed with a few singular oddities like ‘Fractal’ and ‘Validation’. So, after analysis, my followers tend to think about rude thnigs, animals and food…

Thanks to the long list of those who responded: @atkirby, @stillawake, @Chutzpah84, @christianrt, @daniellewins, @emmaoperator, @lewiji, @stuherbert, @Shiiuga, @allifletcher, @lgladdy and @gavinlew. Also, thanks to the ‘Naughty List’ contributors who are @benrcole, @alex_newport, @jackfmbristol and @NukeSpoon.

However, a Brazillian design agency has taken that and turned it on its head – by creating vintage adverts for the big four.

Click for full-size

Sao Paulo based Mama Propaganda have designed these gems as part of the “Everything Ages Fast” campaign for fellow Brazillians Maximidia Seminars.

Click for full-size

Click for full-size

Click for full-sized

You can download the full high-resolution versions (in English or Portuguese) here.

What’s in a name?
That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet

Great words, great play. But, poor Shakey, I’m afraid those don’t ring true in the world of marketing and Twitter.

Your name, on Twitter, is your brand. Although I oversee the majority of the activity on my employers Twitter account, I have my own. And it is this brand I’m talking about. Personal.

Personal brand

Your personal brand can be considered more important than that of your employers, mainly because personal branding is, as the guys from Clear Thought say, “very important to long term career prospects, get it right and you’ll never be stuck for a fab job“

When I was about 13, I picked ‘jakemaster_j’ for my Hotmail account – my first email address. Once I needed to email important people, I signed up for ‘jakepjohnson’ on Gmail, as it seemed more grownup and serious. I wanted people to see me as a mature young man, so the change was needed. You’re more likely to do business with Jake Johnson than Master J, am I right?

Consistency

Consistency is key across networks, such as Twitter and LinkedIn. if you’re networking on both, but you have two different usernames, people are going to be easily confused and all your hard work won’t be as effective as someone doing exactly the same, but with just one, consistent username.

I’ve stuck with my Gmail ever since and the same name dominates my Internet profiles: Twitter, Flickr, Last.fm, football blogging, etc.

Business image

The name you choose for yourself can determine how potential business partners see you. Research indicates that businesses gauge how trustworthy you are based on something as simple as whether you supply a freemail (Hotmail or Gmail) or a personal domain for your email contact, so you’d better choose carefully.

It also needs to reflect who you are, with indication to your name. If your Twitter name is ‘Mr_Pink’, you will find two things; its hard for people to do business with ‘Mr_Pink’ (unless thats related to your busniess) and introducing yourself with your real will not link back to the personality they know on Twitter.

Work-life balance

It is also a good idea to keep yourself and your business separate identities when it comes to online profiles (even if your work-life balance leaves something to be desired!). Personality plays a huge part in people connecting with you on Twitter. If the research on picture vs no picture is anything to go by, then having a personal name is a sure fire winner over something like ‘DirectFloorsLtd’. Plus, you can take your name with you wherever you go. If you have a business-based account and move on, you have to start all over again at your next business…

So, to summarise, when you choose your Twitter name, consider a few things:

• Is it professional?
• Is it consistent?
• Is it personal?

If you can answer ‘yes’ to all three then you’re on to a winner!

Another Friday, another round of recommendations.

First up is @stillawake. I’ve recommended Joanna many a time and, while I try and steer clear of repetition, she always manages to comes up with a new reason to be included. This week: her ace snap of poppies outside the Bristol Council House.

Second up is my Gradwell workmate @Chutzpah84. He only used to moan about (and RT) all sorts, but now his moaning is interspersed with updates about his new-found love for biking. He is cycling everywhere and is a guy to follow if you like to bask in the glow of someone who has just found a new joy…

Thirdly, another of my Gradwell colleagues, @lgladdy gets a nod. He is always uncovering a bargain, delivering some very up-to-the-minute tech news or just giggling infectiously. Do me a favour, if you end up following him, tell him he doesn’t need that new gadget he is about to order…

Fourthly, @atkirby. Follows some very interesting people herself, so tends to RT lots of great links from a wide array of areas. She also chips in with her own tweets and is always happy to lend a hand to people in need. She likes her tea.

Lastly, @convoy104. Simply because of this.

I settled down wih my wife to watch The Sentienl on Film4. As with many things, I updated Twitter with my early thoughts:

Watching The Sentinel. Alright so far, but everyone is so damn serious…

A few minutes later I got an @ reply from Pete Brennan (convoy104), with the following:

@jakepjohnson could you fill me in please on the sentinel, missed the first 20mins? Would much appreciate it

So it appears that Pete came into the party late and wondered what the hell was going on. Amazingly he turned to Twitter and searched for ‘The Sentinel’ and found me. History was then made and Pete was caught up on the happenings of Douglas, Sutherland, Longoria and Basinger by myself:

#twitter is amazing. Just put film4 on, 20mins into film, searched for someone else also watching, @jakepjohnson just filled me in. BOOM!

Just another great use of Twitter.

Photo by Rosaura Ochoa

After reading Mick Dickinson’s blog post “I’m so sad I monitor brand response times on Twitter“, it got me thinking: What do I use Twitter for? What purpose does it serve?

I use Twitter as:

• a personal communication tool with my friends and followers
• a source of news – much quicker than the likes of BBC and the other traditional news outlets
• a networking tool, to meet and converse with like-minded marketers and Tweeters
• a marketing tool for UK business VoIP provider Gradwell, conversing with customers and monitoring our brand
  …and finally…
• a tool to get freebies! Twitter has nabbed me a netbook from Infogroup, an interview with Teddy Sheringham, t-shirts and such from MailChimp and a cocktail from Giraffe restaurant amongst other things…

So, what do you use Twitter for? As a business tool, a personal service or both?

Bristol Harbour Festival – @BristolHarbFest
Every year, around my birthday, thousands of people, hundreds of boats and plenty of stalls and performers descend on Bristol’s harbourside for the annual Harbour Festival. Starting on Friday and finishing late on Sunday, the festival sees the centre of Bristol come alive with street performances, music sets and delicious food, as well as a few sailing-related things.

Loads of information about the activities and schedule – including the legendary fireworks on Saturday night – can be found at http://bristolharbourfestival.co.uk/

Joanna Papageorgiou – @stillawake
I’ve recommended Jo before, but she deserves another plug! If you want to find out more about Bristol and its great, hidden places to eat or you just want to view a pretty snap from around the city, this is the lady to follow.

Jo also has a blog at http://ephemeraldigest.wordpress.com, which is a good read. And she’s due some congratulations for becoming a new owner of a little belly-bump-being.

Bristol Culture – @Bristol_Culture

Another great Bristol resource for discovering more about the great city. Events, reviews, music, foodie hideaways – brilliant. And yet another great blog to go with it: http://bristolculture.wordpress.com

Giraffe Restaurant – @giraffetweet
Although they’re a chain with branches in Oxford, Cambridge, Reading and Manchester among others, the Bristol one was recently named the best! They make a mean Hot Thai Duck Stir Fry and also run a competition (#dinnerwinner) every Friday to win £40-off in any branch. Lastly, they just seem like nice people.

Dot To Dot – a day festival also held in Nottingham and Manchester  over the 3-day May Bank Holiday weekend – is a showcase of over 60 great bands held in 6 of the most popular venues in Bristol.

The event began in 2005 solely in Nottingham with artists such as Ladytron and The Rakes. After its success, it continued in 2006 with headliners British Sea Power and Mystery Jets, before it expanded to encompass Bristol as well in 2007. The festival continued to flourish and was expanded further for this year’s version, with Manchester joining the Dot To Dot locations.

As I’m a through-and-through Bristolian, I’ll be attending the first leg of the festival in my home town this Saturday, with the event moving on Nottingham on Sunday and Manchester Bank Holiday Monday. The South West will be represented by 6 venues incorporating The Academy, The Anson Rooms (Student Union), The Fleece, The Cooler, The Louisiana and the legendary Thekla – once pronounced “The KLA” by a visitor.

Google Map of the Dot To Dot venues

This years sees some big names gracing our stages, with the likes of Zane Lowe, Ellie Goulding, Blood Red Shoes, Los Campesinos!, Mystery Jets and The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster making an appearance.

There are also some lesser-known bands who should be making a name for themselves this weekend in the form of Field Music, Wild Beasts, Dead Confederate and Goldheart Assembly.

I’m also, personally, looking forward to the bass-driven exploits of Doorly and Jakwob in the later slots.

The event is a great way to get the ‘festival vibe’ without having to shell out 100’s of pounds for tickets, camping equipment and traveling. It also helps to promote great, live music. Before buying my ticket for Dot To Dot I had only heard of a few of the bands on the line-up, but after delving into a voyage of discovery, I am now a fan of many of the bands on the bill.

If you wish to undertake your own journey, I have created a Spotify playlist of all the Bristol-based artists on the bill (who are listed on Spotify). This can be found here. Happy discovering!

Should you be attending the Bristol leg of Dot To Dot this weekend, I have created a clash finder for you to use so that you can make the most of the 16 hours of music on offer: Dot To Dot Clashfinder (XLS format)

For more information about the festival, they have a Twitter account, Facebook group, official website and ticket shop.