Twitter Power 3.0: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time

CONTENTS

Cover

Praise for Twitter Power 3.0

Title Page

Copyright

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1: An Introduction to the Social Media Landscape

What Exactly Is Social Media?

Social Media Really Is a Big Deal

The Different Types of Social Media Sites—Content to Suit Every Market

A Closer Look at Microblogging

Introducing…Twitter!

Chapter 2: Why Is Twitter So Powerful?

Twitter and Its Successes

The Power of Twitter's Immediate Feedback

Instant Access to Smart People 24/7

Chapter 3: Getting Started the Right Way on Twitter

Signing Up—Does Twitter Have the Web's Most Friendly Registration Page?

Who's on Twitter? Your First Followers!

Create an Inviting Twitter Profile

Building Out Your Profile

Checking Out Security and Privacy

Notifications to Notice

Tweeting with Your Mobile Phone

A Winning Social Media Philosophy

Sending Your Very First Tweet

Becoming a Follower

A Word about Security

Chapter 4: Twitter Setup and Design

Twitter Name

Twitter Setup

The Twitter Profile Photo

Twitter Interface Basics

Twitter Graphics

Now…What about TweetPages?

Chapter 5: Building a Following on Twitter

Quantity or Quality: Choosing the Type of Following You Want

Quality: How to Be Intentional about Creating Your Own Network of Experts

Quantity: Seven Killer Strategies to Reaching Critical Mass on Twitter

Klout and Page Rank

Chapter 6: The Art of the Tweet

Tweet Etiquette

The Benefits of Following before Tweeting

How to Join a Conversation

How to Be Interesting on Twitter

How to Drive Behavior

Chapter 7: The Magic of Connecting with Customers on Twitter

Identifying Problems and Soliciting Feedback

Discovering Your Top Fans, Promoters, and Evangelists

Your Personal Help Desk

Chapter 8: Leveraging Twitter for Team Communication

Twitter for Virtual Team Leaders

Creating a Twitter Account for a Virtual Team

Building a Team with Twitter

Chapter 9: Using Twitter to Help Build Your Brand

Create a Story

Portraying Your Brand with Your Profile

Tweet Style—What to Say When You're Building a Brand and How to Say It

Reinforce the Core Message

Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

Writing the Tweets

Win Retweets

Create Hashtags and Run Hashtag Chats

Chapter 10: Leveraging Twitter to Drive Follower Behavior

Driving Followers to a Website

Promoting a Blog on Twitter

Twitter as a Resource for Post Ideas

Driving Followers to the Mall

Can You Put Affiliate Links on Twitter?

Driving Followers to Register

Tracking Results and Testing Strategies

Tracking Multiple Tweets

Making the Most of Twitter's Trends

Chapter 11: How to Make Money on Twitter

Earn with Advertising on Twitter

Barter, Buy, and Sell Your Way to Profit

Chapter 12: Beyond Twitter.com: Third-Party Tools You Will Want to Know About

SocialOomph

Twitterrific

Twhirl

Twitterfeed

Trendistic

Twellow

TweetBeep

TwitterCounter

TweetDeck

TwitThis

TweetAways

Hootsuite

Directory of Recommended Twitter Members to Follow

Index

End User License Agreement

List of Illustrations

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Praise for Twitter Power 3.0

This book outlines, describes and creates a path to discover how to build your business and brand using the most publicly shared platform in social media today. As Twitter evolves so has this incredible book series into the third and most powerful evolution. Joel and Dave swung for the fences and knocked it out of the park on this one.

—Bryan Kramer, TED presenter, author of Human to Human and CEO at PureMatter, @bryankramer

"Twitter is the FIRE in our social media strategy, and Joel Comm's Twitter Power creates an inferno! It is the go-to resource for Twitter, and I would never ignite without it!"

—John Lee Dumas of EntrepreneurOnFire, @johnleedumas

If you want to understand how Twitter can help you expand your contacts and grow your sales, purchase and devour this book.

—Michael Stelzner, founder of Social Media Examiner, @Mike_Stelzner

"What I learned from @JoelComm: Twitter = Power! Twitter Power 3.0 is the triple threat!"

—Lori Ruff, Forbes Top 50 Influencer, @LoriRuff

"If, like Joel Comm, you seek a flourishing work and personal life, in the company of those you admire, then discover exactly how to leverage your Twitter Power 3.0, by reading Joel's updated bestseller. Comm is living proof that one can create a more meaningful, fun and profitable life with others by socially participating in Twitter with a mutuality mindset that proves you believe in creating opportunities with and for others. Like a legion of others, I have directly benefitted from his friendship, and I love his actionable insights in this book."

—Kare Anderson, TED presenter, author of Mutuality Matters, and Forbes and Huffington Post columnist, @kareanderson

"Twitter is undoubtedly the most powerful tool a business and brand can use to create meaningful connections with its customers. It's not about pushing out a message, but providing value, helping, and most importantly, listening to your customers on a direct, personal level, which ultimately builds incredible brand loyalty. No one knows this better than Joel Comm, who literally wrote (and rewrote) the book on Twitter. More than just about how and why, Joel understands and is able to teach others how to leverage the power of Twitter using advanced tactics and strategies that are applicable to individuals, small businesses, and big brands alike. Joel shows his knowledge and years of experience in an easy-to-understand, and immediately actionable format. Twitter Power 3.0 is required reading, and a must-have in any business's online toolbox."

—Lou Mongello, Disney expert, author, podcast host, speaker, and entrepreneur, @LouMongello

Twitter is one of the major platforms I leveraged that got me my start for building an online business and Joel was one of the guys I followed to see how it was done. This is a powerful resource you'll wanna have!

—Lewis Howes, The School of Greatness Podcast, @LewisHowes

A huge Twitter fan, I have seen the power of this truly social network in building connections and igniting brand love. Whether it is your personal brand or your company brand, Twitter is a phenomenal tool for establishing human and authentic touchpoints and building brand advocacy. This book is a must-read!

—Ekaterina Walter, global evangelist at Sprinklr, author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller Think Like Zuck, and co-author of The Power of Visual Storytelling, @ekaterina

Social Media is great, but socializing is even better! Nobody does it more successfully than Joel. What he writes, you cannot miss reading … it's that simple.

—Ted Rubin, social marketing strategist, keynote speaker, brand evangelist, and acting CMO at Brand Innovators, @TedRubin

Twitter and social media are like having an ATM in your pocket. The power of building relationships, and engaging and networking with people at all hours of the day is enormous. And, does lead to huge dollars over time. We do an estimated $750,000 per year through social media and that's without any paid advertising. Some of the key strategies I have learned come from Joel and his brilliance about Twitter. If you are not engaged in social media, you are missing out on significant dollars for your business!

—Colin Sprake, CEO and business Sherpa, @colinsprake

Joel has done it again! In this book he once again reveals the latest tips and wisdom needed to successfully navigate the social media waters. Soak it in and apply his expertise as it is priceless.

—Tony Rubleski, bestselling author, MindCaptureGroup.com, @mindcapture

"Joel Comm is a sparkling ray of brilliance in the social media universe and Twitter Power 3.0 is your personal ticket to reach the stars. Grab this book now, so you don't miss the ride to the top!"

—Ken McArthur, bestselling author of Impact: How to Get Noticed, Motivate Millions and Make a Difference in a Noisy World, @kenmcarthur

Really since the beginning of the social" revolution, Joel Comm has been one of our thought leaders—and Twitter Power one of our business manifestos. I'm excited about the new release relevant to all the shifts and changes social has undergone!"

—Viveka von Rosen, @LinkedInExpert

Joel Comm did it again. This global pioneer on Twitter engagement writes yet another blockbuster that dives deep into the human psyche on how to masterfully engage in social media. Whether you're brand new to Twitter or have already attracted a large following, Joel's authentic and riveting advice will increase your Twitter influence and capture your heart, as well.

—Shawne Duperon, six-time Emmy winner, Project: Forgive founder, @ shawnetv

Twitter Power is pure marketing gold! If you are looking to finally get REAL results from Twitter-ville, this is a must read! Apply Joel's step-by-step how-tos and watch your business soar.

—Kim Garst, Forbes Top 50 Influencer, @kimgarst

"Social media is the most important topic of the decade. Twitter is the most cost-effective at driving new potential buyers to your website. And Joel Comm is one of most effective and consistently cutting-edge authorities on Internet marketing in the world. Twitter Power is a unique book guaranteed to have a dramatic effect on your business's bottom line."

—Brian Carter, digital marketing consultant, keynote speaker, @briancarter

I see tremendous value in the power of Twitter as an additional platform to connect, engage, and build authentic relationships. Joel Comm is brilliant at teaching how Twitter can be integrated into existing marking strategies to build a loyal following.

—Sue B. Zimmerman, captain of online branding, @suebzimmerman

Twitter Power 3.0

How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time

Joel Comm & Dave Taylor

Cover design: Matt Clark @TweetPages (another creative smile by ImageDesigns)

Copyright © 2015 by Infomedia, Inc. and Dave Taylor. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with the respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom.

For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Comm, Joel.

Twitter power 3.0: how to dominate your market one tweet at a time/Joel Comm, Dave Taylor. — Third edition.

pages cm

Revision of the author's Twitter power 2.0.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-119-02181-0 (paperback: alk. paper); ISBN 978-1-119-05007-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-05011-7 (ebk)

1. Twitter. 2. Internet marketing. 3. Business communication. 4. Online social networks. I. Taylor, Dave, 1962- II. Comm, Joel. Twitter power. III. Title.

HF5415.1265.C646 2015

658.8′72—dc23

2014044787

Foreword

I started on Twitter in August 2007 after exhortations from some friends. At first I didn't get it: Why do I care if LonelyBoy15's cat rolled over? The light went on when I started searching for my name, people I knew, and topics that interested me.

Seven years later, I've connected with people from all over the world. I have 1.4 million followers and have tweeted 132,000 times. Sometimes I tweet when my dog rolls over, too. Twitter has become a fantastic tool for me.

You don't need to spend seven years and 132,000 tweets to learn how to use Twitter because Joel Comm and Dave Taylor have written Twitter Power 3.0: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time. Lucky you! I wish it had been that easy for me.

This book will give you a big head start toward mastering Twitter from two people who already have. So buy this book, read it, and then go forth and tweet up a storm!

—Guy Kawasaki, chief evangelist for Canva

Introduction

It seems like just yesterday that my publisher asked me to write the first edition of Twitter Power. With just more than 5,000 followers to my name in 2008, I was an early adopter of the now-ubiquitous social media site known for 140-character posts.

It thrills me that the first and second editions of Twitter Power have become the top-selling books in the world on the subject of using Twitter! I knew that Twitter was onto something, but I never imagined that it would become such a significant part of our culture.

The hashtag is now a part of our discourse and has influenced many other social media sites to include hashtag support on their service.

The Twittersphere's ability to discover and broadcast breaking news faster than any of the major networks makes every member a potential man or woman on the street.

The connection we feel with musicians, celebrities, politicians, athletes, and authors has never been greater because Twitter has allowed us to interact with some of the people whom everyone knows.

And businesses are discovering that Twitter is an incredibly powerful branding tool useful for engaging with prospects and customers, as well as providing top-quality customer support.

With more than 250 million monthly active Twitter members and a member base exceeding 1 billion accounts, the Twitter hashtag and well-known @username appear on television shows, in film promotions, on billboards, in magazines, and in a variety of other promotional materials.

Twitter is everywhere, and it is here to stay.

And although the 140-character limit hasn't changed, much has evolved since the release of Twitter Power 2.0 in 2010.

Lists for organizing those you follow, the ability to embed photos and images in your tweets, an official Twitter advertising system designed to help businesses engage and drive followers to take specific action, and a better understanding of how Twitter members like to engage are just some of the new things covered in this book.

One of the other changes to this completely updated and revised third edition is the addition of a coauthor, Dave Taylor (of AskDaveTaylor.com). A prolific author of many business and technical books, Dave has been a good friend of mine for many years. Because of his involvement in the social space, I thought it would be fun for us to coauthor this book. To avoid confusing you, the reader, as to who is speaking, we refer to ourselves in the third person throughout the book.

So, whether you are a seasoned Twitter user, someone who has dabbled in tweeting from time to time, or a complete newbie to Twitter, you are in for a treat. Dave and I believe this is the best edition of Twitter Power yet, and we're excited for you to jump in and discover how to make your Twitter experience as great as possible!

If you use Twitter to connect with friends or family, or if you manage a Twitter account for your own small business or as part of a large corporate team, the pages that follow are dedicated to helping you leverage the power of Twitter like never before.

Who knew 140 characters could be so powerful?

—Joel Comm

1

An Introduction to the Social Media Landscape

Once upon a time, anyone could be a media publisher. All you needed was several million dollars, a team of editors and writers, a printing press capable of shooting out a dozen copies a second, and a distribution network that would put your publication in stores across the country.

Unless, of course, you wanted to go into radio or television. In that case, things were just a little harder.

The result was that information came down from on high. We didn't talk among ourselves, and we weren't part of the conversation; we were talked to by writers, editors, and producers who controlled the conversation. If we liked what we were reading, we kept tuning in, and the publishing company made money.

If we didn't like it, we stopped buying the magazine, or we switched channels. Advertisers turned away, and all the millions of dollars the publication took to create disappeared.

Today, it's all very different. It now costs as little as nothing more than time to create great content and make it available for other people to enjoy. That low cost means that it doesn't matter if millions or even thousands do not read it if your target market is smaller or nascent. The rise of social media means you can profitably focus on even tiny markets—such as stamp collectors in Mozambique—and still find enough people to form an online community and profit through advertising and product sales.

The buzzword for this rise of small and micro communities, as Wired editor Chris Anderson coined it, is the long tail, and it's absolutely been rocket fuel for our Internet race to the moon.

But the lowered barrier to entry for publishing online has had another positive effect: We aren't being talked to by professional writers and publishers anymore; we're talking to each other.

Average folk like you and me—the kind of people who didn't study writing at college, who never spent years as cub reporters covering local court cases or high school sports, and who were never even very good at Scrabble or Words with Friends—are now writing about the topics they love and sharing their views and opinions online.

And they're hearing from their readers, too. The conversation is flowing in both directions.

Anyone can now launch a website or blog, write articles, share their thoughts and views on Facebook or other social media, or even create videos and upload them to YouTube. And anyone can comment on that content, affecting both its nature and the direction of the publication.

That's social media; it's a publishing revolution, and we're smack-dab in the middle of it!

What Exactly Is Social Media?

Social media can be all sorts of different things, and it can be produced in all sorts of different ways. Perhaps the best definition of social media, though, is content that has been created cooperatively with its audience.

Facebook, for example, is not a publishing company. It doesn't create any of its own content. It doesn't write articles or posts, and it doesn't upload films