Twitter Tips: @replies…Include a Piece of the Previous Conversation

Twitter Tips abound, some more obvious than others.

One thing that I don’t really get:  doing @replies with no indication of the previous or relevant aspect of the original “conversation” or comment.

Be courteous and polite – be useful – include a brief summary or indication of what you are @replying to in your “tweet”.  This makes you more useful and it makes everyone a part of the “conversation”

Example Tweet:  @jamesatbuzz tweets “Love @pagliaccipizza and looking forward to their free comedy night – Pagliacci Pizza:  http://www.pagliacci.com/events/index.html

A terrible @reply:  none at all.  Just not replying, especially as a business, is a no no, but more than that, it’s a lost opportunity.  It’s like going to a social gathering or cocktail party and not socializing.  What’s the point?

A not so good @reply.  @pagliaccipizza replies “Thanks @jamesatbuzz – see you there!”

Your timeline / followers only see your reply and undless their following both of you (rare) and see in their timeline both posts and make the connection over a period of time (very rare) it’s not as relevant as it could be.  They don’t know what you’re talking about.

Recommended:  Either RT (Re-tweet) the original tweet and say “thanks” or reply with something like:

@pagliaccipizza:  “Thanks @jamesatbuzz for recommending our free comedy night every first Monday of the month at our Capitol Hill location:  http://bit.ly/TvMyU

The recommended reply 1.  has a link (always recommended) and 2. insights your readers as to what you’re replying to and 3. results in all of your followers, or at least the ones that see your tweet, knowing details about an event or feature of your business they otherwise didn’t know about.

What do you think?  Have you been off put by all the @replies that flood your stream, not knowing what they entail?

(new feature of Twitter:  unless your following both people, the settings automatically pre populate that you won’t see the @reply to people you aren’t following.)

Twitter for Local Business: Buzz Online Media updates

We have some exciting new features starting to unfold at Buzz Online Media…

Twitter, twitter, twitter, tweet!  That’s all we’re hearing about these days, both internally at “the company” and externally in the news:  national news, local news, blog news, you name it.  It’s all about Twitter.

Previously we had – at buzz online media – concentrated on setting up accounts and administering best practices for clients.  Filling an advisory role if you will.  Some clients we actually run Twitter accounts for.  It’s not ideal for the client, as the most successful Twitter accounts are run from the inside out, not the other way around, but it’s better than nothing and those companies are still of the ilk:  “we just don’t have the time”!  More on that later…

Our main focus has and always will be – never say “always” – the spirit and ‘mechanics’ behind a good Twitter presence.  There is a growing number of “tools” and peripheral units that aid in the various aspects of using Twitter.  We embrace some of these tools, disdain others, but still our main focus is on the fundamentals:  great tweets, responding to your users in a warm and authentic manner, having fun, not “selling”, employing and ingraining the adage:  “its not about you, it’s about them!” theory.  Those are our tenets and we’re sticking by them.
With that said there are a series of great and innovative tools out there, some better than others.  In that spirit we will be running successive and upcoming blog posts regarding the best Twitter tools (and Facebook tools…AND social media tools) for local businesses.

With that said – and in acknowledging that there are great “Twitter Tools” out there – and not so great ‘Twitter tools’ (pun and double meaning intended) – we hope that business focus more on the fundamentals and basics of Twitter than on the “tools”:  responding to users, engaging your followers, providing great content, thinking about what your posting, taking risks, sharing your personality and personalizing your presence, tipping your hat to great things competitors are doing, talking about your city, and updating people on the cool things your doing!  Running a promotion or two is definitely not a bad idea either.  In either case, we hope businesses keep the focus not only on the great Twitter tools that are out there, but on the content and spirit behind their “twittering” as well…

We look forward to these posts and your feedback.
What are the best Twitter tools you’ve found lately?  Why?  What has been working for you?  Seesmic Desktop or Tweet Deck?  What are your favorite iPhone applications?  Let us know…drop us a line!  (or a comment:)

Twitter for Breaking News

I was just driving down the freeway – I-5 southbound on my way to Ikea – another story. Anyway, as I was driving I looked to my right, catching glances of massive, huge plumes of black, sooty smoke breaking in the distance, growing taller and taller. Something was definitely on fire. My trusty iphone yielded nothing on West Seattle Blog. The radio airwaves were filled with sports and talk, but nothing on the fire. A few minutes later, I thought: ‘Let’s search Twitter’. I searched “west seattle”. Immediately two posts on the subject

@AlmostHandy posted: Meth House on fire in West Seattle – Listen Live http://bit.ly/SeaFire

@myscottydont RT @komonews: Seattle firefighters are responding to a building fire in West Seattle. Listen live online: http://bit.ly/KJt5T

So, definitely not a complete story, but it was more than anywhere else. I wouldn’t enter a conversation and say “In West Seattle there was a huge meth house that caught fire” because I’m not sure – factually and hard evidence speaking – exactly what is going on – but at least I have something!

Wow…Twitter really is cool.

Make your business the one stop (search twitter) stop for the most up to date, breaking news in your category!

When Considering Twitter: Don’t Take Yourselves Too Seriously…

I didn’t know how to break it up i.e. “Part 1″ or a more specific title, (I went with the more specific title) but I figure there are a few prominent notions to consider when jumping into Twitter / Facebook as a local or more “regional” medium size business.

One: jump in and don’t take yourself so damn seriously. Seriously! I have a lot of clients who think for days about how to phrase things for Twitter, how to “position” it, wording, what they should talk about, etc. At the end of the day, careful consideration is great, but just do it – it’s not that big of a deal. You can repost a similar response or ‘tweet’ later – most of your followers may not even see any given ‘tweet’ anyway, so don’t fuddle to much with specifics.

It’s about them, not you. Re-tweet, but not too much. Respond with @’s, but again, not too much. Provide useful links. Talk about things in your neighborhood or city, ingredients your using, purveyors you work with, who’s going to win: The Cavs or The Magic?, sports in your town – be real, be authentic and don’t take yourself too seriously. Have some fun!