Change the Tune of Your Tweets

by Melissa Crawford

You can't go anywhere without hearing about Social Media Marketing, Web 2.0, and SEO. What is the buzz, er, uh, tweets, all about?

I think I am finally getting it. It's all about creating a virus - spreading the word about your business, your services or your product, in a less obvious way, and catching your customers nearly by surprise. It's insidious, but oh so effective! It's about dominating your sector in every way possible - on facebook, on linked-in, through twitter, getting search engines to pull up your company every time, and allowing people to "follow" you or "subscribe" to you.

As a business owner, what are you supposed to blog about anyway? Well, as it turns out, not your business! It's an indirect marketing tool. You want to capture the interest of potential customers, but not try to push direct sales through your blog. So, if you own an auto-detailing company, your blog could be about BMWs - but not how great your services are. Or, if you own a jazz bar, your blog could be about John Coltrane - not how good your food is. Or, if you own a hotel, it could be about travel - but not how luxurious your suites are.

Should you be tweeting about how great your new fall lineup is? No way! And don't just tweet once a week. Tweet several times a day. And follow as many tweeters you can in your sector, to get others to follow you. Tweet about where you are located, the project you are working on, or what inspires you in the moment.

It's about attention getting, not selling. So go home, and re-think it all. I'll bet your blog is a re-do, and you better change the tune of your tweets.