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The conversation moves fast on Twitter, and that makes it incredibly challenging to get your Tweets noticed and read. See, too many times, we talk only about what it takes to get followers. But the reality is that getting followers is only a small part of the battle. Getting your followers to notice you is the real fight.

So, what can you do to start getting more on Twitter?

• Repeat important Tweets at different times of the day—Not only do you probably have Twitter followers located all across the country or even around the world, but even your local Twitter followers get on at all different times day and night. If you have something particularly important that you’re Tweeting, try posting it a couple of different times maybe a few hours apart so that you increase its visibility and have a better chance of reaching more of your followers.
• Interact with followers on a one-on-one basis—When you’re sending out Tweets to your entire base of followers, most people probably won’t pay much attention to what you’re saying. But when you Tweet your followers individually, you can be sure that you’ll get that person’s attention. This is especially important if you’re trying to get noticed by influencers. Reply to their Tweets and try to start conversations with them.
• ReTweet key followers a few times—This is similar to my last point, but it’s more about stroking the ego of influencers time and time again to get noticed. People love it when you ReTweet them. It’s a sign that you think they’re saying something important. So, if you’re trying to build relationships with influencers in your niche, start by ReTweeting them here and there. Eventually, they’ll start to pay attention to you.
• Ask your followers for help—This is a smart way to get noticed. Ask your followers for help with something and request that they ReTweet it. For example, you might Tweet the following, “Does anybody know a good web designer? Please RT.” Many followers will want to help you, so they’ll ReTweet you, and in the process, you’ll get some attention.
• Be consistent—The most important thing to do is be consistent. It takes time to build your presence and to get people to pay attention to you. You can’t rush it. If you’re consistently sharing great content, interacting with your followers, ReTweeting influencers, and so on, you’ll eventually get people to notice you. And that’s how you’ll build strong, long-lasting relationships that help you for years to come.

What are some other ways you can get more attention on Twitter? Share your best tips below.

As social media becomes more and more entwined with daily life, it continues to change how we do business at virtually all levels. Most importantly, it has redefined marketing as we know it, and created an entire new segment of jobs (yes, I’m talking about you, guy running your company’s Twitter and Facebook accounts). Case in point—look what it’s done to press releases. What was once arguably the most bland part of a copywriter’s job, composing a third person release with the facts and nothing but the facts, has transformed into something a whole lot more complex. I’m talking about the social media news release.

Is There a Big Difference Between a Social Media News Release and a Traditional Press Release?

You betcha. Sure, they both provide breaking news, but the similarities pretty much stop there. Think of the difference between the two as the difference between the average guy working out at the gym and the meathead on steroids who can bench press your entire family. The social media news release is the meathead, with bulging biceps, protruding veins, and all.

Thought up by the brain of SHIFT Communications principal, Todd Defren, the social media release is built to appeal to and attract media reps online. It takes into account all social media-related tools at their disposal, and is put together in an easy-to-read, web-friendly format.

Beginning with a title and single sentence summary like a traditional release, it breaks the mold with things like:

• Eye catching photos.
• Bullet point facts to get right to the point, rather than long paragraphs that require reporters to dig for information.
• Links to social media accounts, information sources, and company blogs.
• Embed buttons to allow people to easily share your release.
• YouTube videos embedded for quick viewing.

With the recent hacks to Burger King’s and Jeep’s Twitter accounts, Twitter’s hacking problem has become clearer than ever. And as the linked article mentions, these aren’t the only companies to be hacked. Fox News, PayPal, and NBC News have all been hacked, and so have many other companies.

You might think that because you run a small business, you’re not in danger of being hacked. You assume that the hackers only care about taking down the big boys to make a statement, but you’d be wrong. Every business (and individual) that has a Twitter account is at risk of being hacked, and we all need to be on alert.

Getting hacked can cause serious problems for your company. It could cost you followers and customers, cause damage to your brand’s image, and cause false messages to be spread about your company.

What can you do to reduce the odds of your company getting hacked on Twitter?

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Social media influencers are those people whose Tweets and posts carry weight with a large audience of followers. When an influencer posts something positive about a product, his or her followers will notice and it can actually boost sales for that product.

Clearly, if you’re looking to build brand awareness and to get more from your social media marketing efforts, connecting with the influencers in your industry should be a priority. Favorable Tweets and posts about your company and products from influencers can put you on the map and help your bottom line.

Of course, connecting with influencers and building meaningful (and profitable!) relationships with them is a delicate, challenging task that most people are unprepared for. It’s not as simple as following them, Tweeting an introduction, and then barraging them with ads for your product. That’s not how it works. It’s a task that you have to approach wisely and carefully.

Most importantly, you have to avoid these major mistakes when connecting with the social media influencers in your industry.

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Did you know the average user spends almost 7 hours every month on Facebook? The average tumblr and Pinterest users devote 1.5 hours a month to each of those sites. All told, we each spend about 7 hours a month on various social networking platforms.
As a marketer, it can become very easy for us to spend too much time on social networking and social media marketing. More specifically, it can become very easy for us to not use our time efficiently.
Admit it, you’ve wasted time doing things on Facebook and Twitter that had nothing to do with your overall marketing goals. That’s time you could have spent doing social media tasks that could have contributed to your marketing goals or doing something else altogether for your business.
Hey, I’m not pointing the finger at anyone. I get sucked in too. I shudder to think of how many hours I’ve wasted Facebooking, watching stupid YouTube videos, laughing at ridiculous parody Twitter accounts, etc.
But with the new year comes a new resolve to stop wasting time and start getting more from my social media marketing efforts.

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