Think Twitter is just some silly Internet fad with no real impact on your business? Think again! With an estimated 75 million people  sending over 1.5 billion messages (or “tweets”) a month, Twitter is an increasingly important way to connect with your customers and prospects – one you can’t afford to ignore!

First things first – what IS Twitter, anyway?

You’ve probably heard Twitter described something like this:

“Twitter is a social network where users connect with each other by “following” 140 character messages from people or companies they find interesting.”

Ok… but what does that mean?!?

Well, you can think of Twitter like a mini press release service where you send out headlines to people who are interested in hearing from you. Adding a new item to your menu? Running a special deal for this weekend only? Launching a new website? Twitter helps you get the word out quickly, and makes it easy for your followers to keep passing it along to more and more people.

Great – how do I get started?

1. Create your account – head over to twitter.com to sign up.  Choose a name that will make it easy for people to find you, like your business or brand name. Be sure to add a few details to your bio, and use an eye catching picture for your profile – a unique picture will help customers pick your tweets out of the flock!
2. Set up some searches – your name, business name, products, website, and competitors are all excellent starting points. When you’ve set up a useful search, you can easily save it, add it to your RSS reader or use one of the tools mentioned below to have the results delivered via email.
3. Start following – your existing customers, prospects, and partners (you can even import contacts from your email address book to make finding them super easy!) You’ll also want to follow experts and peers in your industry, and check out who follows them, as they could also be interested in hearing from you (more on that shortly).
4. Get a feel for it – how often do people tweet? Which tweets get your attention? How do you fit enticing messages into the 140-character limit? Experiment until you find a pattern that suits your style and generates the results you’re looking for.
5. Jump in – you can ask and answer questions, or request feedback on your website, products, or services. You’ll also want to share information that helps build your credibility and establishes you as a voice worth listening to (and following!) – like links to relevant articles, helpful tips, or special deals exclusively for your followers.
6. Begin building your own following – invite people to follow you on Twitter by adding a link to your Twitter profile on your website and in your email signature. By far the most effective way to gain followers is by interacting with other people and following the ones that interest you. Often, when you follow someone, they will follow you back – give it a try!

Tweeter beware – Twitter can be addictive!

Once you tap into this rushing river of tweets, it can be hard to pull yourself away!  Fortunately, you don’t have to hang out on Twitter all day, or even read every message – there are plenty of free tools available to help you stay on top of things while you’re busy running your business!

Google Alerts now include results from Twitter. If you already have Google Alerts set up for some of your key terms, you may have noticed a few tweets popping up.

TweetBeep and TweetAlarm are like Google Alerts, only focused on Twitter. They will find tweets that match your search criteria and deliver them straight to your email inbox – either right away, hourly, or in a daily digest.

While not free, you might also consider picking up a copy of The Twitter Book by Tim O’Reilly and Sarah Milstein. It’s a quick read, and a handy guide covering the basics all the way up to advanced tips and tools for using Twitter to grow your business.

Lastly, if you’re considering marketing your business on one of the Twitter advertising services that have sprung up in the last 18 months or so, be sure to check out our list of the 15 best Twitter advertising services for you to consider (so far!)

Best of all, there is no wrong way to tweet – so go ahead, get started!

Let us know about your successes and any questions you have in the comments section. You can also follow me and ask me questions on Twitter (of course!)

(Editor’s note: many thanks to Karri Carlson for this guest post)

I must confess… I didn’t (gasp!) do keyword research before writing the copy for our website. And the truth is I should have. But better late than never. So let’s pretend we’re writing our website content today (maybe you are)… and then take it from there!

First of all, why is keyword research so important?

Search engines (i.e., Google) are the number one way that people find your website. Your job is to make it easy for them. There’s much you need to do to make this happen… but it begins with figuring out what words and phrases (keywords) your prospects use when searching the Internet for what you sell. Then you need to make sure your website content includes those keywords. Do it right… and your website shows up in your prospects search results!

Here’s how to get started:

1.  It’s all about your target customers. You really need to understand who they are, what they’re looking for, and why they’d buy from you in particular.

2.  Think about what keywords they’ll use when searching on Google for your products and services. (If you already have customers… ask them!)

3.  Then make a big list of all the keywords you come up with.

4.  Add qualifying terms to your keywords that help better define your market… such as your product features and business location.

5.  Boil your list down to the keyword phrases you’re going to use with your website content. These phrases should best reflect your product offering and be search terms your prospects will use often.

6.  Now write (or update!) your website copy with these keyword phrases in mind.

Simple enough?

For example, let’s say you have an Italian restaurant located in Long Island, NY. You want keywords that target customers will use to find your restaurant. The keyword “restaurants” isn’t specific enough. Maybe: “Italian restaurants”? Better for sure. But we need some qualifying terms to make it even more specific. How about “Italian pizza restaurants” or “Italian restaurants on long island”? Now we’re talking! Just include these keyword phrases as often as you can in your website content.

You should target 5 to 10 keyword phrases depending on how many products or services you sell, and the different types of customers you serve. Have lots of products and services? Then you’ll need more keyword phrases.

The good news is there are free tools to help:

• Google’s keyword tool makes it easy to come up with hundreds of keyword phrases to consider. Plus it’ll show you the number of monthly searches for each phrase.

• Wordtracker is another good keyword tool for generating ideas. And it will also show you the popularity of each keyword suggestion.

• Google Analytics is free web analytics software that gives in-depth data on your website traffic… including which keywords send visitors to your site!

Now it’s time for a few cautionary comments (sorry!)

Spicing up your content with good keyword phrases will make it easier for prospects to find you… and also make generic website copy more specific and interesting. But don’t go overboard. Remember, it’s all about making your website helpful and informative for your target customers… not about stuffing your pages with keywords for the search engines. (see our related post)

And the process of keyword research never stops. You need to keep an eye on what keywords are driving the most traffic to your website… since your prospects are changing how they search all the time!

Don’t forget to keep your keyword phrases handy. You’ll not only reference them for your website copy but also for your online advertising campaigns, social media efforts… and even your offline advertising (which also influences what people type into a search box).

Let’s get started with your keyword research!

Btw, did you notice the keyword phrases I’m using for this blog post? Let us know which keywords you used to get here. Thanks!

Don’t try to do the (almost) impossible. That is to get someone to buy from your website on the very first visit. It just won’t happen. Why? Because we consumers like to shop around, get familiar with your offering, and feel safe and secure in buying from you. Nothing personal, it’s just how it is. And it takes time… usually seven or more visits before we’re willing to pull out our credit card.

Instead, focus on getting website visitors to give up their contact information. More specifically, their email address… so you can start building an email list of prospects for your products and services. You can then market to this list again and again to get potential buyers comfortable with your brand and what you have to offer. Over time, this ever growing email list will become the heart of your marketing efforts!

Of course, website visitors aren’t going to hand over their email address for free. You need to promise something valuable in return. Coupons, newsletters, buying tips, and free trials are all good examples of content that not only gets prospects to “sign up” but also keeps them on your list… as you work to build a trusting relationship.

How to get started:

• Put an easy to see “sign-up” or “join mailing list” button or link on every page of your website. The upper right hand section of your site is a great location for it.

• Link to an email capture form that asks for your prospect’s name and email address. Sure you can ask for more but it’ll result in fewer folks handing over their information.

• Set up an “auto-responder” email that will automatically be sent to prospects after they join your mailing list. Use this email as a welcome and to let them know all the benefits of opening your emails!

Don’t worry if you’re not technically inclined (I’m not). Most email marketing companies offer tools that make it easy. Check out AWeber, MailChimp, iContact, and GetResponse to learn more and get started.

You’ll also have to figure out your content strategy. Meaning, what are you going to email to the prospects on your list at least once a month (or more!)? Make sure and send helpful information that they’ll be happy to receive such as newsletters and coupons. Otherwise, they won’t open your emails… or worse, they’ll ask to unsubscribe from your list!

Just remember to create goodwill with your email list. Your prospects will thank you… by taking advantage of special offers you send their way!