REAL Twitter Power

[alexshelton]

Hey guys,

Now some of you may still be a bit unfamiliar with the whole concept of Twitter and how it can benefit your business, which is totally cool. I just wanted to take 5 minutes to explain the real Power behind Twitters viral capabilities.

Today, I was at work doing my usual routine around the Social Media websites I love to look at. I happend to stumble over an article that really was pretty awesome to say the least, Located Here

So I dragged up Tweetdeck and made a REALLY simple Tweet to my following of around 8000 people or so. Over a 12 hour period I hope to get around 50-100 views to that page from my following alone, but this is where the cool stuff begins.

Today 9 other avid Twitter Folk decided to RT ( Re-Tweet) my Tweet, which means that the message you chose to brodcast has now been made viewable to their Twitter following.

I just speant about 2 minutes or so (because I'm sad, and wanted to test) totting up their number of followers, and it turns out that today an extra 35,000 people (estimate) will have that message broadcasted in front of them. Now this message may be ignored, but lets assume 5% of them check it out, that's 1800 extra visitors to that article alone.

Also, those that appear to be sharing good information tend to be followed more, which is pretty cool huh?

Okay, what am I getting at? Just a couple of things

Take a little extra time to tweet, I know it's micro blogging but you should still put the effort in, just like you would with a regular blog post.

Begin asking people if they'd mind RT'ing (re-tweeting), they'll do it anyway if they find it interesting, but if it's not, still worth a go!

How should I implement this to drive more traffic to my web page or article?

People LOVE great content, spend a little extra time putting together your articles so that you really stand out from the croud. Like I did, drag up Tweetdeck or some other platform and write a quick tweet, ask for feedback, comments and again if they could possibly RT.

Give it a go peeps! Just another great way to use a little tool

Thanks

Alex

[ploked]

yep, good stuff. i have something floating around today getting RT'ed and by not even asking anyone to do so....twitter is definitely a very powerful tool if used correctly.

[alexshelton]

I was just about to say in another thread, love what you've got going on over there at Ploked, Cool stuff!

[ploked]

Originally Posted by alexshelton

I was just about to say in another thread, love what you've got going on over there at Ploked, Cool stuff!

thanks alot man...we hope to add a lot more to the site

[alexshelton]

Hey NP! Good luck with it all, so has anyone else had some success with RT's?

[InternetMarketingCenter]

It's all about providing value -- then you make it easy for people to recommend your stuff to others.

Another great way to get your tweets noticed is to use "hashtags" = #example.

People use them at the ends of tweets to group their tweets in with a topic or event that a lot of other people are tweeting about as well. Then someone can go to Twitter Search and enter the hashtag into the search bar and see all the tweets that are a part of that. Your words and wisdom will get noticed by everyone else in on the discussion -- which can lead to both RTs and some new follows.

[Jason Moffatt]

The power of the retweet can be amazing. But there is some even better low hanging fruit to be picked that many don't pay attention to.

Until now I've been very silent about how I use Twitter.

Why?

Because I've been banking over $10,000 a month from it. And it's not the same old, same old stuff that everyone talks about. You don't need a bunch of followers, and you don't have to go follow everyone else.

It's much simpler then that.

Anyhow, while surfing this morning I decided that I'm actually going to show people what I'm doing. Most people talk about how to get a following, but seldom do they actually show you how to put $$$$ in your pocket.

Guess why?

Cuz they are seldom making any money from Twitter.

I've been interviewing all kinds of people with 20,000 followers or more and the money they actually make is dismal. Twitter is the most over-hyped money maker out there right now.

Truth is, very few are actually slaughtering it with Twitter from what I've seen.

Sure is a hell of a lot of fun though.

[Peggy Baron]

You are so right, Alex. Twitter is powerful and a great marketing tool.
But so many people don't "get it"; all their tweets are promotions.

I agree with InternetMarketingCenter about using hashtags too.

Thanks,
Peggy

[alexshelton]

Yeah you're right it is a lot of fun!

Care to share any more on that Jay?

Peggy where do we find out more about the Hash Tag approach, I've never really used it that much?

[ploked]

Originally Posted by alexshelton

Yeah you're right it is a lot of fun!

Care to share any more on that Jay?

Peggy where do we find out more about the Hash Tag approach, I've never really used it that much?

i am also curious as to if jay can shed more light on what he said

btw, alex, i put together a quickie blog post answering your question: Twitter #Hashtags Explained | ploked.com

[Peggy Baron]

Good blog post on hashtags, Ploked.

I find the benefits of using hashtags to be:

Cuts down on your search time. You can find people in your niche who you want to follow and exchange tweets with. If I want to find people in the wedding niche I put #wedding in the Twitter search function.

Allows you to be part of something, especially when the hashtag represents a contest or an event. For example, #BBASH was Willie Crawford's recent birthday seminar and people who attended tweeted about #BBASH before, during, and after the seminar. They can click on the hashtag and find all the tweets on the subject. This helps them narrow down the noise and converse easily with others interested in the same subject.

You can make up your own hashtags. Let's say you have an informal coaching group. You can set them up with the hashtag so they can converse with you and each other. Yes, others will see your tweets but that helps set up your brand or you as the expert.

Use hashtags in your tweets so others can find you too! You'll gain new followers that are targeted followers.

Peggy

[alexshelton]

Awesome Ploked, really appreciate that!

[Nathan Hangen]

Twitter is pretty cool...I too believe that you don't need thousands of followers to be effective. Having more helps at times, but if you work your list properly, then there is no need for thousands and thousands of people.

I find that if you build a real relationship with people, then your stuff has a much greater chance of going viral.

[EndGame]

I wouldn't normally do this, but since this topic is covering twitter promotion strategies then I may as well come out and say this....

A couple of warriors have been VERY active on Twitter. To the point where all they seem to be doing is pushing one course aor another and using Twitter to do it. Thats fine, I can just un-follow them, and un-follow them I will, but it is slightly ironic since I have seen the very same people preach about quality content, moving the free line etc etc.

I don't have anything against promotion via Twitter, indeed if Jason is making 10k on twitter every month, I am very impressed because when you check out his twitter account, is not really obvious what he is doing to make that money and he doesn't seem to overly push or promote any one particular product. I get that from quickly looking at his latest tweets. Obviously Jason has found something that works.

Perhaps some of the warriors here who I find a little over-promotional have also found a sysem that works, and I respect that, we all want to make some cashola online and often using new networks and systems is an excellent way of doing it. I wonder though if being VERY promotional on Twitter actually is a winning strategy? I say this because, even with the automated systems available for Twitter (and the rumor is these may soon stop working once Twitter has done some tweaking) it still seems very hard work.

And if the automated third-party services are cut out by Twitter as is rumored, how many people will still use Twitter and be able to make money from it in the same way that they can today.

I rather like Perry Belchers take on social networking and Twitter. He treats the social networks like a party, he meets people, socialises, shares anecdotes and cool stuff they might like. If he successfully establishes a relationship or connection with them he does the online equivalent to inviting some one to his house by asking them to check out his blog, which makes references to his work and business, but is mostly personal.
Its a long term strategy which focuses on building relationships, trust and respect. He also uses it to try and leverage word of mouth marketing (it seems to have worked since I am talking about it). I think this is the ideal way to approach Twitter. Using it as a way to communicate with people and as a long-term branding vehicle, not just a quick opportunity to make some fast cashola.

Just my 2 cents.


P.s. Jason, are you ever going to share the tips, or will it be in an up-coming product?

[Nathan Hangen]

There are a lot of people pushing courses on Twitter, some in sneaky ways, some not so much. I promote my course, but maybe 5% of my Tweets or less.

Perry's strategy is nice, but he was well connected before he got on Twitter. That doesn't always work for everyone else that is trying to find their way to the top.

[EndGame]

Yes, he had a head start, but my point is that at some point, the use of automated services etc is going to come to an end, and is it really sustainable to preach about the virtues of quality content and then simply promote your product hard on twitter?

Okay, so take perry belcher's example. Instead of linking to a blog (his online home) whats wrong with just linking directly to your business? I say nothing. As long as you are not force feeding it to them. I list my site in my profile and if people check it out, great, if not, then thats cool too. And in fact, a lot of people do check it out, comment and write to me about it, I don't even have to post the link.

Twitter might be a sales machine at this time, but that well will dry up. Generally, when looking at things like this I constantly try and look at the endgame, or the long-term.

Your 5% of tweets strategy is an example (in my opinion) of branding or not abusing Twitter. But constant tweets imploring a person to check out a site where the person is selling a product in amongst a few other sporadic tweets and retweets just seems a bit short-sighted to me.

I don't see how using Twitter as a big promotinal tool will fast-track them on their way to the top though?

[Jason Moffatt]

Originally Posted by alexshelton

Yeah you're right it is a lot of fun!

Care to share any more on that Jay?

Sorry, I really shouldn't of even brought it up.

I've been trying to figure out in what capacity I can share this without it destroying the tactic for everyone. I'm thinking more then 20 or 30 people and it could be pretty saturated. Well saturated in this IM space, but there is a lot more niches out there.

And I really don't feel like trying to turn this into a course, or charge a bunch of money.

So what I think I'm probably going to do is just offer it up as a bonus for Jeff Walkers PLF 2.0 and limit it to 20 people. And we all know only 5 of those will actually do it.

As for checking my past tweets for the strategy I'm implementing it will be very hard to see, mostly because I do operate some other Twitter accounts. But none of those have very many followers. Anyhow, I should be all over it but I'm just lazy. It does require HUSTLE! It's not a automatic, nor is it overly spammy.

It does require a wee bit of work. Fortunately, it's really low hanging fruit. Sort of like the right place at the right time.

[lindgren]

Endgame - I totally agree with you - Take the long term approach - let people get to know YOU - Brand yourself - Not your business.

[alexshelton]

Yup Alex is right, Perry has got a great strategy!

That's cool Jay, LOL aslong as ONLY 5 do , it sounds like a pretty cool bonus to me.

[sitywyde]

I am new to Twitter, but I can see it's power if harnessed correctly. I do agree that quality content rules everywhere not just on Twitter. I find Twitter a place to broadcast news snippets. You know.."Get the latest here!" like the old days where that kid on the street use to sell newspapers that way. That's what Twitter is, that newspaper kid. Sometimes that little bit of info headline, is all someone needs to buy the whole paper, but it has to be interesting! Just the fact that it's the latest information really works with the Twitter following. I guess building a huge following is definitely key with every kind of business, especially those trying to make money online. It's a numbers game, and the more numbers you can throw your message at, the better. With Twitter though, you want to give out a lot of info before you give them your offer. Make it subtle, and you will go a long way!

[stateless]

A great example of how content can go viral over twitter. Used incorrectly twitter offers little benefit, but if you offer something of value, a few people will usually pick up on it and it can lead to the type of exposure money can't buy.

[machinebearings]

Yeah, Twitter is about reach, not just followers (even though reach does depend on following).

I remember reading somewhere, it might have been the Twitips blog, that if you include "plz RT" or something along those lines in a tweet, the response of RTing is significantly greater. So for the important tweets, it actually helps to ask nicely.

[stateless]

Agreed machinebearings. Some people treat it as a pure numbers game, when really it pays to at least concentrate somewhat on a niche, people with certain interests.

[alexshelton]

Machine bearings you're dead on, it's something that's certainly worth including in tweets that are more centered around a link sending traffic to your website.

[adpablo]

I'm just starting on Tweeter, I'm getting some followers and I kind of "smell" a huge marketing potential for this platform. It's only matter of arranging a system to explode it the right way.....

[imburne]

There is a ton of people already profiting from twitter insanely. IMO the best way to go about it is video style tutorials on anything you NITCH in. Enjoy

[Shannon Herod]

Twitter is a fantastic platform to drive traffic, and sales. But, the most important thing about twitter is it allows you to build relationships that you never would have built before.

I have met people that I would never come in contact with if it had not been for twitter.

That being said, I still do not think there is anything wrong with promoting yourself and your products or services on twitter. If you are adding valuable content to the twitter network, why would it be an issue that you are also promoting your products and services.

Personally, I will only send out a promotional tweet once per hour. So, I can make 30 tweets within that hour, but only one of them will be a promotional tweet.

I think if I'm going to spend my time there, and add value to the community and to everyone that does follow me, I deserved to at least promote my website once an hour. I think that's a fair exchange.

Just like if you are at a socializing event, you would mention your website to other people. You're talking about what you're doing, how things are going, and it only makes sense to say this is where my website is as well.

So, I see nothing wrong with promoting yourself on twitter.

But, if all you're doing is sending out links then that is wrong. If you are doing that you're not accomplishing anything. But, like I said, if you are building relationships and actually socializing within the platform there is nothing wrong with promotion.

Talk soon,

Shannon Herod

[alexshelton]

It's interesting to see how people are using twitter in a variety of ways....

I personally think once an hour is too much, but hey if you're receiving good results that's totally cool!

[mysteryleaves]

Hi l use Twitter everyday and built up my followers to over 11,000, l offer them useful free tools which is great get a lot of response l also advertise a few of my sites and give my followers free stuff or a reduced membership cost,this seems to work great as my followers are increasing at about 1500 a month.My nich is make money on line followers
:0

[alexshelton]

That's great Mysteryleaves, I think offering reduced costs works very well with Twitter, maybe not all but a lot of the bigger more well known marketers are using this method.

It's great to see you're offering true value to your following, I guess it's just the same as anything else online, Good Job man!