This is a post about those people.

Why They Do It

They do this out of ignorance (they don’t know any better), they have been told to do it (by an “expert”), or they just don’t care (all that matters are the numbers).

Call me old fashioned, but I would rather reach less people and not annoy others.

I have put together a list of 5 ways people annoy me on Twitter. And just to let you know, it isn’t just me either – I have been on Twitter long enough to see all of these annoying other Twitter users as well.

Please let me know if anything in particular annoys you on Twitter which isn’t listed here. I would love to hear them!

1. Auto-DM

Please don’t use an auto DM thanking me for following you, especially if it’s just a way to get me to your website.

What an awesome auto-DM you created. With a link and everything? Thanks for sending it. *unfollows*

— Tom Buchheim (@tombuchheim) May 13, 2013

What To Do Instead

I recommend thanking people for following you, but do it personally and manually.

2. Spamming My Stream

Okay, you want to “cut through the noise” and get me to notice you, and you thought a great way to do this is to post 5 or 6 tweets all at once, filling up my screen. Wrong! I scroll right over all of them, and then Unfollow you if you do it again.

What To Do Instead

Tweet relevant and awesome content consistently, and interact with people. Have discussions and conversations.

3. Not Having A Bio

Please fill in your bio. It’s really not that hard to tell me who you are and what you do – it’s only 140 characters!

What To Do Instead

Um, fill in your bio!

4. Linking to Facebook

Sending me a tweet or DM asking me to follow you on Facebook. I am on Twitter; if you want me to follow your Facebook account put it in your bio. Don’t keep bugging me about it. (This maybe just a pet hate of mine)

What To Do Instead

Link to your Facebook page in your tweets instead. Or, maybe use this opportunity to send me to your website or blog instead.

5. Trying Too Hard To Join In

I was reminded of this recently when a company wanted to drum up business by replying to a tweet I put out there about a local morning coffee meetup here in Brisbane.

While I don’t mind people jumping into the conversation, he just seemed a little too desperate to join in.

What To Do Instead

Tweets are public (unless you lock your profile down) and so I don’t mind people and businesses joining in the conversation, but make sure you can actually help or add something to it. It’s not about you – it’s about the other person.

There you have it. The 5 most annoying things people do on Twitter (according to me).

Do any of these annoy you too? Or do you have something else that bugs you?

The post 5 Ways To Annoy Me On Twitter appeared first on Baked Social Media.

Of all the social networks, Twitter seems to be the one that gives people the most problems. But once you “get it” it will be an indispensable tool for networking and letting people know about your small business.

This post is dedicated to getting you started with Twitter. If you don’t have a Twitter account yet, head on over to the Twitter sign up page and follow the prompts. If you already have a Twitter account then read on.

Become an Expert

To put it simply, you need to give people a reason to follow you.

This can be done in a variety of ways, but from a small business perspective you really want to become a person or business that people go to when they want information about your industry.

You want to be an expert.

But do keep in mind that this can, and probably will, take time. And by “take time” I am taking about 12-18 months, remembering that social media is a long-term investment.

It’s All in the Details

The first practical thing to do after signing up for Twitter is to fill in all your details. Put a picture up of yourself (I would recommend this over a logo as people like connecting with other people), and set your location.

The next thing to do is to find people to follow. Don’t just follow anyone though. You want to find people who share your interests and that of your business.

How to Find Followers

There are several ways to do this, but depending on your business you could use Twellow to find people in the same industry, use Twitter’s (newly upgraded) search, Tweepz (use their advance search features), Justtweetit, Wefollow and there are many others as well.

I would also recommend using Twitter Lists.

The best way to do this is to have a look at someone you follow – preferably someone who has been using Twitter for a while or is a power-user – and click on the “Lists” menu option in the upper left-hand side of their profile. You will then see all the lists they have subscribed to and are a member of.

You can then click through to those lists to see if anyone else in the lists would be worth following as well.

This can take a little time but it will be worth it.

image credit: Mariela De Marchi Moyano on Flickr

Now Down to Business

Once you start following people of interest you should be doing the following:

• Re-Tweeting their interesting tweets – this will make them happy and get you on their radar
• Tweeting your own relevant thoughts and comments – make them as helpful and precise as possible
• Linking to online articles and news stories related to your industry – make sure you add context and commentary to each link
• Comment on others tweets
• Always thank people for following you and re-tweeting your tweets

Consistency is Key

Always remember that you should tweet often and consistently.

That doesn’t mean you need to be on Twitter all day, every day – simply get yourself a third-party Twitter client (I use Hootsuite, but many others are available as well) and spend 15-30 minutes scheduling your Tweets throughout the day. Then simply check in every so often for replies, re-tweets, etc.

That should be enough to get you started. Please ask any questions you have in the comments section below.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter as well.

The post Getting Started On Twitter For Small Business appeared first on Baked Social Media.

I have spent years on Twitter and over that time I have followed a lot of people, and there is one main reason I follow someone: they have a bio which allows me to see who they are and what they do.

It stills baffles me why someone would join Twitter (or any network for that matter) and not fill in their bio. It’s about as helpful as joining a dating site and not writing anything about yourself.

Why Your Twitter Bio Is So Important

It’s a window into who you are and what you do. It also gives others a sense of the person behind the account – the more information you can give about yourself, the better.

Believe it or not people want to know about you.

They want to know what you have done, what you are interested in, and about your personality. They want to know if you are their kind of person – someone they should follow.

So, if you don’t include any of that information for them, they are going to assume your aren’t for them and move on – without following you.

And it’s the same with business accounts. You need to build trust and give clarity about what you do and what you have to offer people. Give them a reason to follow you right there in your bio.

What Makes A Good Bio?

A good description of you. This could include your interests, what you do, and what you have done – all in 140 characters.

What To Include

Some ideas on what to include:

• Where you work
• What other Twitter account do you tweet for
• Some keyword (with or without hashtags)
• Your interests

It’s really important to include as much as possible into your bio. And if you get creative you can cram a lot in there (as you will see with the examples below).

There are a few things you may want to consider including and they are listed below:

Work Disclaimer
Some people (including myself) place a disclaimer in their profile if they mention where they work.

This disclaimer basically says something along the lines of “These are my own thoughts”, and shows visitors this is your personal account and you are not speaking on behalf of your workplace.

I would only do this if you talk about your place of work, or talk about the same industry.

I think it’s important for 2 reasons:

• It says to everyone I’m speaking as myself and not the company I work for, and
• I do work for this particular company and so I may be biased or there may be a conflict of interest. It makes everything transparent.

To Use Hashtags or Not
A lot of people hashtag keywords in their bio. I don’t. But there is nothing wrong with doing so.

I assume when people do this they believe their Twitter profiles will come up in searches more often, but from what I have seen keywords are found by most Twitter searches whether they include a hashtag or not. Please yourself on this one.

Examples of Good Bios

Here are four examples of awesome Twitter bios for you to draw inspiration and ideas from.

Here is one by Valerie Joy Deveza, which is nice, clear, and straight forward.

This is one by a very famous social media guru and blogger, Jeff Bullas. You can see how easy it is to jam in a lot of information into your bio.

CIO White Papers shows how a business can showcase what they do clearly to attract just the followers they want.

This final example is from Jess Van Den, who shows how you can include what you do, plus showcase the multiple sites or projects you look after.

Examples of Bad Bios

Unfortunately there are always bad examples to go along with the good.

Our first one belongs to Anna Angel who has decided not to include anything in her bio at all! While she does provide a web address, not too many people are going to click through to it or follow her as they will not be bothered – a simple bio like the ones above would help Anna attract followers almost immediately.

This next one is for Amanda Lucas, who has gone very minimalistic with her bio. She could of elaborated on her bio by telling us who she writes for, any specialties she has, her skills and perhaps a little about herself.

Our final terrible Twitter bio is Sonia, who not only tells us nothing about her, she tells you she will follow you back if you follow her. Never a good reason to follow someone. Ever. In fact, if you ever see someone in their Twitter bio tell you they follow back, just ignore them as it is really a pointless exercise as you want to be followed by those who are genuinely interested in you or your business.

A Final Note

You can be clever or funny or serious or factual (or all of those), but remember to be clever enough to tell people about you and why they should follow you.

Has this inspired you to update your Twitter bio? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

The post Boost Your Twitter Following By Simply Filling In Your Bio appeared first on Baked Social Media.

Facebook has introduced Targeting for your posts. You can now target your posts by the following:

Gender
Relationship Status
Education, Interested In (Men or Women)
Age
Location
Language

This is a very handy feature to have access to as you may be able to reach more specific sections of your fans and personalize the message even further.

There are several reasons you may want to target your posts, including being able to personalize your message, and allowing you to post more often without annoying any of your fans.

A great example of this is based around the location filter.

Say, you have a local event coming up and want to promote this via some posts on your Facebook page. You could target these posts only to your fans in your city, while posting something more relevant to all your other fans, making your page’s experience better for everyone!

Turning On Targeted Posts

Facebook doesn’t make post targeting available automatically, so you will need to turn it on first. Just follow these steps and you will be targeting your fans in no time.

Step 1: Log into your Facebook page, and click on “Edit Page” in your admin panel

Step 2: Choose “Edit Settings” and then click on the box next to where it says “Post privacy gating”.

Step 3: Save the changes using the Save button.

You will now be able to target your posts.

Don’t See It Yet?

If you cannot see the option above to turn on post targeting, then you may not have enough fans yet. Facebook doesn’t let you know the exact number of fans you need before being able to target, but I believe this is at least a couple of hundred.

So How Do You Target Posts?

When writing a post, you should see a little target icon in the post box (see image below).

Once you click on the target symbol, you will be presented with a link to click which allows you to select which filter you want to apply.

You can apply as many filters as possible in as many combinations as you like, reducing your target audience further each time.

For example, if you were a dating site, you could target single Brisbane women, aged 20 to 25, who are looking for men.

This sort of targeting could be a boon for certain brands. What about yours, would this be useful to your brand?

As you filter Facebook will show you how many people you are targeting on the right-hand side. The minimum number of people you can target is 20.

Do you think this would be useful for you? Let me know in the comments below.

The post Facebook: How To Reach Your Target Audience Better Than You Are Now appeared first on Baked Social Media.

I managed to capture some of Megan’s time and she agreed to answer some of my questions regarding her success on Facebook.

A really big thanks to Megan for giving me such awesome answers to my questions. She is a champ.

Q. You seem to have a very active community of fans on your Facebook page – what do you put that down to?

I definitely have an amazing group of likers on my Facebook page and I think it is probably down to a few things.

One is that a lot of them are customers that I deal with in real life regularly. The majority of my customers are repeat, regular customers so we chat at markets or when they’re collecting orders and we already have an established relationship in the ‘real world’.

For the others that may not have actually met me in person, I think most would have a good sense of who I am and what I am doing, purely because I’ve never really been afraid to be myself of my Facebook page. I’m a genuinely friendly, chatty person and I think that comes across in my Facebook posts.

I definitely feel like I ‘know’ a lot of the people on my page who I’ve never met because of conversations we have, so I guess part of it is actually responding to people’s comments and questions that they post. To me, each post is often the start of a conversation, rather than just putting something out there and leaving it at that.

In saying that, I consciously keep my posts related to my business also. I keep the random conversations for my personal page.

Q. Do you have a posting strategy? Or do you just post what you feel like at the time?

No – I have no posting strategy at all. I simply post when I’m inspired to share something which is generally because I have something to say or show that I’m excited about or when I realise I need to share information with my customers about ordering or special offers. It’s rare that I go a day without posting though.

Q. How have you found Facebook’s influence on your business? Has it increased sales and/or awareness?

There is no doubt in my mind that my business wouldn’t be as successful as it is without Facebook.

I started my business quite literally with no money, just a vision and my trusty old Kitchenaid, so there was definitely no money for marketing. And thanks to Facebook, I haven’t needed it. It is the ultimate word of mouth marketing, which I tend to think is the best kind. People trust their friend’s opinions and they’re very transparent on Facebook.

I think it’s an amazing tool for businesses – you get to share so much of your business by having an ongoing conversation with your customers and of course, potential customers.

You can really share the scope of what you do, and what you believe in and what your vision is.

I’ve got many Facebook followers that have been around for a long time and are so truly supportive of the journey of my business as much as my product and this has had a real effect in terms of raising capital for my business. I have my amazing Facebook supporters to thank for a hugely successful Pozible project which I ran over a year ago which not only raised over $12,000 but also broke the Pozible record for fastest target reached ($5000 in 9 hours).

I also won a People’s Choice Small Business Suncorp $5000 Grant last year, which was kind of amazing because in terms of business size and even the number of Facebook likers I had, I was quite a small fish in a very big pond.

For both of those, Facebook was the only way I communicated with people and they were both amazing experiences for my business, not just in terms of the capital I raised, but in giving me the confidence that can only come from having so many people cheering you on and supporting your goal.

Q. You use Facebook a lot for getting feedback from your fans – how is this influencing your business decisions?

Yes – I do use Facebook a lot to ask for people’s opinions and feedback and I love it. As I mentioned before, a lot of the people who interact on my page are regular customers – they know my products – they’re the ones buying my products, so to me it makes sense to check in with them and ask what their opinions are. Facebook is such an instant and easy way to do this, it seems crazy to me not to do it.

Q. How much have you used Facebook (or other social media) for networking and has it been beneficial?

I definitely use Facebook for networking although I’m not sure it was intentional. I can honestly say that it has been one of the best aspects of it for me though, both personally and as a business.

We are very lucky in Western Australia (maybe because we are a bit isolated) to have some genuinely amazing businesses over here with amazing people behind them. There is definitely a spirit of generosity and mutual support that I have found through having a business page on Facebook and this has transferred to the real world.

I’ve made some great friends that truly keep me inspired, have been offered great business opportunities, and also found a lot of great products and services that I love through Facebook. I’m not so great at Twitter, but if anything it’s the networking aspect that I have found it useful for.

Bonus: If you could give a small business owner starting out on social media one piece of advice, what would it be?

I’m not sure I have just one, but here are a few.

1. Don’t stress about the numbers. Having a huge amount of Likers shouldn’t be the goal of a Facebook page – making sure the ones you already have know what your business is about and what your brand stands for is far more important in my opinion. Everyone always seems to be searching for more Likers – look after the ones you’ve got and the new ones will find you.
2. Don’t be scared to let a bit of personality shine through. Obviously it all depends on your business and your brand image, but remember you’re having a conversation with real people. They like to know you’re ‘real people’ too.
3. Don’t whinge. About anything. About Facebook changes, about someone stealing your designs, about bad service you got somewhere. Just don’t do it. Nothing puts me off following a page quicker than whingey, whiney negativity, yet you see so much of it.
4. There’s a meme that does the rounds that says something like ‘Be Yourself. Unless you suck.” I like it. I think that pretty much sums up my advice for using any form of social media.

I just wanted to say a BIG thanks to Megan for sharing her thoughts on Facebook and how a small business can spend nothing on marketing and create a business from home.

You can find Megan over on her Facebook Page and more about Littlesweet Baking on the website.

The post Interview With Megan From Littlesweet Baking appeared first on Baked Social Media.

Writing a blog post may be a daunting task for you, but there is a simple formula you can use to help you develop your ideas and assist you in writing that perfect post.

What follows is a 10-step, easy-to-follow, guide.

1. Start with An Idea

Before starting, and to stop you sitting in front of your computer with a blank look on your face, start with an idea about what you want to say. In other words, what do you want to write about?

Example: Say you want to start a blog on cooking, filled with your own recipes and cooking tips, and one of the first things you want to write about is how to make the perfect pastry.

2. Bullet Points Are Your Friends

Jot down three or four ideas about your idea in dot point form. Use a short sentence for each.

Example: You jot down the four secrets to how to make perfect pastry, writing down a brief sentence on each secret.

3. Tease Out Each Point

It’s now time to put some meat on the bones. Simply expand on each of the ideas you wrote down above. Start with the first one and give a little more detail, explaining what to do or how to do it. Think about the six basic questions: why, what, who, when, where and how.

Example: You take each of the four secrets and give more detail on what ingredients to use, how to roll it, what temperature the ingredients should be, and finally how to bake it successfully. (Editor Note: I am no pastry chef so please don’t laugh at my example)

You now have four paragraphs, each a dot point that can easily explain how someone can make the perfect pastry. Now it’s time for the trimmings.

4. The Conclusion

Write a final paragraph or two where you can add some additional extra details or simply sum up what you have written thus far. Either way, make sure to include a question at the end to entice people to respond.

Example: After summing up what you need to know about creating the perfect pastry, you follow up with a final question: Now you know how to make the perfect pastry, what delicious dish will you be creating first?

5. Write An Intro

Time to write a short paragraph or two on what this blog post is all about. Think about what you are trying to communicate in the bullet points above and sum this up in your intro. You could simply ask a question or create the desire to learn in your reader. This intro should lead into your dot points.

Example: Have you ever wondered how those pastry chefs really have amazing pastries? Well, today I want to show you how you can serve up absolutely delicious homemade pastries and be the envy of your family and friends.

6. Think Of A Title

This needs to be enticing and also contain some key words. Best idea is to be direct and to the point.

Example: Here are some ideas.

Serve Up Delicious Pastry First Time Every Time
Create Pastry As Good A Pastry Chef
How To Create The World’s Best Pastry In 4 Easy Steps

7. Walk Away

Once you have written all this, leave it for at least 24 hours and then come back to it and re-read it, editing as you go.

Trust me when I say this is a necessary step as when you come back after a while you will look at it with fresh eyes, and doing this will make you a much better blogger.

8. Check for Spelling & Grammar

If you are not using Word or a similar program which has auto spell-check and grammar-check then copy and paste it into one that does before you publish it. Just to double-check your post. There have been many times I have done this and Word has picked up the odd grammar issue.

9. Format

Make sure your post passes the scan test by creating bold subheadings and highlight those parts which you think are of extra importance. And don’t forget to add those dot points! Use this post as an example of how to format your post.

10. Post It!

Finally, once you are happy with it, press that post button!

Extra Credit

You may want to add an image or two to create a more visual experience for your readers. Best practice is to include an image that sums up what you are writing about at the top of the post. In our example, you could use an image of a hot apple pie or something similar.

If your blog post is a long one, you can always use extra images throughout the copy to break up the text as well.

Conclusion

While all this may look complicated, once you have written your first couple of posts it will become so much easier. In fact, all of this will become second nature to you, and you will be experimenting with other blogging formats before you know it, creating a content-rich website your fans will love.

So, what are you waiting for? Get busy writing you first blog post using this format. And link to it in the comments below when you are done.

Photo Credits: Sean MacEntee & Mike Licht

The post How To Write A Blog Post (Even If You Never Have) appeared first on Baked Social Media.

If you can write a Facebook post, you can blog.

There are no rules around blogging. Sure there are guidelines, but to hell with those! You want to stand out anyway.

Blog posts don’t need to be long. They just need to be informative. So, if you can tell a story or show someone how to do something in one or two paragraphs, then go for it.

It works for Seth Godin.

And just to prove my point, this is all she I wrote.

Image by Gliuoo

The post If You Can Write A Facebook Post You Can Write A Blog appeared first on Baked Social Media.

I came to this revelation while watching a fantastic Google+ Hangout by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch, who wrote Ape: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur-How to Publish a Book.

The Hangout was Guy and Shawn giving suggestions to a group of would-be and self-published authors on how they could improve their books and boost sales.

It was full of some really great tips for any author, but about half way through it struck me that Guy and Shawn were offering much more here than just their new book.

Sure they were marketing their new book, but they were also doing much more than that. They were creating value for those authors they helped and thousands who watched it. They were building value around their product, which is their book.

This is not a new idea, but it is something that I wanted to share and focus on.

In this new social economy it is no longer good enough to just produce a product. Tweet This!

To get maximum impact, exposure and ultimately, sales, you need to offer more to the buyer (or prospective buyer).

Watching that Hangout convinced me to buy Guy’s latest book even though I thought his last one was just okay.

It helps that I am writing my own book at the moment, but there are plenty of books out there that tell you how to write a book. What Guy (and Shawn) did was to offer me more.

And it doesn’t have to stop at a simple Hangout.

You could do any number of things to add value to a product:

• Build a website or blog
• Host webinars
• Tour
• Supply additional information that didn’t make it into the book
• Write a free eBook follow-up
• Build a blog or even a business telling people how they too can write a book and get it published.

There are many things you can do to build value around you product.

You could get social too:

• Start a Facebook page or group so readers can get together and chat about your book
• Hold Hangouts so people can get to know the real you
• Do what Guy and Shawn did and help other would-be authors
• Tweet nuggets from your book
• Organise a Twitter chat about a particular topic in your book
• Create a Pinterest board around the various ideas discussed in your book – perhaps a board for each chapter.

And these are just simple suggestions – the possibilities are really endless. And it isn’t just for books!

All of the above ideas could work for almost any product or service.

Great marketing shouldn’t seem like marketing. Tweet This!

And it should offer value.

Think about your own products – what could you offer around what you sell? This could work with almost all products and services so don’t think it’s just for book launches.

What products could you offer additional value with?

The post Get Your Product Selling – How To Boost Sales appeared first on Baked Social Media.

If you have read any books on communication (and, I mean who hasn’t, right? ) you would know they all recommend you listen first. Stop talking and listen to others. There is a reason for this – it works!

For good or ill, social media has turned into this massive tsunami of information, where everyone is screaming to be heard. In this maelstrom it is best to simply sit and listen in.

When you take time to listen to the noise and to individuals, you will start discovering what people really want, need, and are having difficulty with; and then you can use this info to create awesomeness that will dazzle them, and turn them into customers.

It will also allow you to better connect and chat with them as you will talking about stuff they want to know about.

Listening also allows you to hear what others are saying about you and your business.

If you use social media for nothing else, use it to listen into what people are saying.

——————————–

Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else. – Les Brown

The post On The Importance Of Listening appeared first on Baked Social Media.

After all, it’s just about being yourself and delivering the best customer service (via social channels) you can.

Here are some ways you can keep it real.

Be a Real Person

Don’t type like you are a robot. You are real and so are the people you are trying to communicate with. So, talk like you normally would to a real person.

Don’t write like you work in PR. Public relations is the opposite to social media. PR is all about putting on a public face. Social Media, while you will decide what you want to share and what you don’t, is all about being human. About being real.

And that means warts and all. If you make a mistake, own up to it. If you are terrible at something, tell people. If you are behind in your deliveries because you are sick or you have had supplier issues, tell your customers – openly and honestly. People will respect it. And they are increasingly expecting it.

A great way to be real when you type is to pretend you are writing an email to a friend. Write your post like you would to that friend.

This will make the post sound natural and come across as it was written by a real person, which it was: you! And it will also allow you think about who you are writing your post for, which should be your ideal customer.

Another way to be real is to start using names – both yours and other peoples.

Using Names

Social Media Marketing is mostly about that first word: social. And one way to be social with someone is to use their name. They love it. You cannot get any more personal than that. At least in business. So start using their name everywhere, all the time.

Social networks realised early on how important it is to reach out to someone by using their name, which is why you can tag people in your posts.

When writing posts or comments to people, use their name. Don’t just say ‘How have you been this week?’, say ‘Hey John! How have you been this week?’ If you were John, which would you prefer?

Use your own name too.

If you have a social media account under your business name, then sign off each and every post and comment with your first name. Or a nickname, or whatever. Just so long as the readers see someone real behind the post.

After all, businesses don’t do business. People do. Be a real person to better connect with your customers.

The post Social Media Marketing Is About Being Real appeared first on Baked Social Media.