My Favourite Twitter Tools

Guest blogger Adam Thompson, the man behind our own social networking updates, shares his view on Twitter applications.

Twitter has hundreds of free applications each boasting its own features and benefits. Here’s a few that I’ve used in the past that can make life easier. This isn’t intended as a comprehensive guide or even a ‘recommended’ list, but simply to pass on a few tips to people new to Twitter or existing users that aren’t making the most of the available functions. You’ll have to make your own mind up as to what apps you find most useful.

• Tiny Url Rather than posting long links that use up your precious 140 characters use an application like this to shorten your url, there’s loads of them about
• Twitlonger If you’re struggling to fit everything you’ve got to say into one tweet this tool allows you to post tweets longer than 140 characters
• Bit.ly Some apps like this not only shrink your url but also provide you with real time click through results so you can measure how many tweeple have used your link
• Hootsuite gives you the option of scheduling your tweets in advance meaning they get sent automatically throughout the day. It also boasts a built in URL shortener.
• Hashtags (#hashtags) not an application but a feature of Twitter that seems to confuse people. Basically this enables you to tag your tweets making them easily found in searches. All tweets with the same hasthtag are grouped together which can be useful for people discussing the same topic or at the same event
• Mr Tweet recommends users for you to follow based on your common interests. All you have to do is follow Mr Tweet to get started
• Tweetdeck allows you to organise the people you follow into groups and add individual columns so you can view your @mentions, DMs and RTs easier. You can also update your Facebook and LinkedIn status using this desktop client
• Twitpic and Yfrog provide the option of uploading photographs and videos which can then be directly posted via a link in your tweet
• Twittersearch Very useful for finding out who’s talking about you right now and what they’re saying.
• Twitter for iPhone, Android and Blackberry. You can install Twitter apps onto your phone so you can view and post Tweets when you’re out and about. You can also set up alerts so you’re notified when you receive a message or @mention
• Tweetstats An interesting app which allows you to gather statistics on your tweets such as average number of tweets per day and reply volume
• Twitterscore This one’s just for fun and basically scores Twitter users out of ten based on friends, followers and frequency of updates. It also gives you a ranking to compare with your friends.

These are only a few of the many applications that you can use to improve your Twitter experience and they’ve all benefitted me in one way or another. Have I missed off your favourite? If so let me know…

Social Networking for business – opportunity or distraction?

Guest blogger Business Link West Midlands’ Knowledge and Information Officer Adam Thompson, the man behind our own Twitter updates offers his opinion on how businesses can use social media.

Ok, so these days everyone will tell you that you’re missing a trick if you and business aren’t clambering aboard the social media bandwagon. There’s no shortage of consultants that are screaming at you to embrace Twitter, Face Book, LinkedIn and numerous other online networking platforms. But are they really right for you? From my experience the answer is usually a resounding YES but you have to do things properly and for the right reasons. Here‘s a few points to consider that should help you decide whether it can work for you.

It’s all too easy to get caught up in the initial excitement of social networking and spend hours refreshing your screen awaiting your next @mention. And that’s fine right? Because most social networking sites are free...true. But don’t discount the hours you spent setting up your account, customising your profile and composing the 10-20 tweets that experts recommend you should send each day. Still think Twitter’s free? Make sure you work out the hours you’re putting in each month and be mindful of your return on this investment of time.

Some organisations just aren’t ready for social media and there’s still an element of fear that accompanies it. The potential benefits of chatting directly to your audience or target market are often outweighed by the fear that there may be some negative responses. I guarantee that will be the case, at some stage there WILL be some negative feedback but that’s exactly how you should see it – feedback. An opportunity to respond to a client and put right any wrongs. People often think that providing clients with a public forum to air dissatisfaction without being able to moderate it is crazy from a business point of view. I’d say you couldn’t be more wrong. Clients will always voice their dissatisfaction one way or another (and rightly so) if not directly to you on Twitter or Face Book then via some other means. At least this way you’re instantly aware of it and can take positive action. Make sense?

If you’re thinking of using social media as a direct marketing tool then think again, you’ve missed the point entirely. For me it’s about chatting with your audience, building relationships, cultivating a good reputation, having conversations, answering questions, raising awareness, creating an interest in your brand rather than pushing sales messages. Obviously we’ve all got a product or service to sell but subtlety is the key. Be careful how many promotional/sales updates you send, how many links to products or special offers you push. Eventually this can be seen as nothing more than spam. Finally, have fun. Make friends and build connections with like minded professionals. Remember platforms like Twitter weren’t really built for corporate speak so relax a little. See how the big brands do it and don’t be afraid to use some of their ideas.

There’s loads more I could say, that’s the beauty of social media, it’s all about collaboration and is still evolving. We’re still developing best practice every day and learning from mistakes we make. There’s loads more pros and cons so let me know what you think are the most important ones.