One of the most popular techniques to get those followers in place is to start following others. There’s a tendency out there in Twitterland for those who’ve been followed to follow in return. That generous reciprocity can make it easy to build a follower list that will really turn heads.

That’s why following as many people as you can without setting off the “you’re probably a spammer or a bot” alarm is such a popular technique for new Twitter marketers.

There’s a problem with that strategy, though. It doesn’t work very well.

Yes, you get the followers. The problem is that you get a bunch of followers who aren’t really interested in anything you’re saying. They followed out of kindness, ignorance or because they’re not really a human being an they’re programmed to follow when followed.

When it comes time to market to that motley crew, you can guess just how effective it is. It’s like cold-calling the first set of numbers in the phone book or emailing random addresses. It’s not targeted and It doesn’t convert.

You best bet is to focus on building a truly interested and targeted social network. The results will be a lot better than what you get with the “big follow” technique.
Twitter Marketing Secrets - including MP3

Part of it was the simple fact that it’s a good product. It works and it works well.

There was something else at play, too, though. It was a collection of coders and fans who developed a massive array of plug-ins and widgets to increase the utility and functionality of Wordpress.

Today, twitter” rel=”tag”>twitter is following the Wordpress success plan. They’ve made their API available and now we’re seeing the creation of dozens of tool designed to make Twitter user easier and more productive.

Do you need the tools to use Twitter? No. You don’t need Askiment to run Wordpress, either. Those extras, however, make the tools more functional and a lot more attractive.

Twitter continues to grow. That’s definitely being encouraged by some great third-party tool developments.

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Twitter Marketing Secrets - including MP3

Here’s the scoop. The people trying for a quick score aren’t making money.

The only way to really use Twitter to your advantage is to use it the “right” way. You need to be a real user an a legitimate member of your (and others’) social networks. You need to contribute and you need to interact. If you’re there looking for a quick buck, everyone will smell you coming from a mile away and they’ll lock down their wallets before you get near.

Let’s say it again to make it clear: Real users make more money with Twitter.

That’s ugly news for the get-rich-quick crowd, but it’s great news for marketers with enough perspective and understanding to recognize a good thing when it’s staring them in the eyes.

Have you figured out how you can really use Twitter? Do you understand how that usage can lead to real business improvements? If you still have questions, you need to learn more about Twitter. Otherwise, you’re wasting your time.

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Twitter Marketing Secrets - including MP3

That’s if it’s handled the right way.

That same little text burst can cost you sales. It can make your business look bad. It can make people wary of working with you. It can cost you followers.

A lot of that has to do with your intentions when you’re making a Tweet. Sometimes, though, it’s merely a matter of composition. A poorly written Tweet or one that features an inadvertent error can come off the wrong way quite easily.

That’s especially true because of the space limitations. It isn’t unthinkable that someone could accidentally type “is” instead of “isn’t” while trying to stay within the limits. The consequences can be significant.

The solution? Make sure you’re posting with the best of intentions. And, proof-read your tweets before you send them out into the Twittersphere.
Twitter Marketing Secrets - including MP3

Well, hopefully you are. But that doesn’t mean that “John Doe” is really following you. There are scores of scammers out there building profiles and twitter URLs using famous and easily recognizable names.

They follow you, hoping you’ll follow them in return. That gives them the chance to pitch their links to you. It’s a pretty inelegant form of spamming (and it’s hard to think that it would every really work), but there’s a lot of it going around.

Others pick up celebrity names or recognizable industry monickers for the sake of playing games or making fun of the person whose identity they snag.

If Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie start following you, don’t expect to get invited to serve as a witness at their next adoption. You’re more than likely dealing with an impostor.

Sometimes, this can be harmless. In other cases, it can be a real aggravation. The people who are “losing” their names certainly can’t like it.

Although it probably won’t change the nature of your Twitter experience materially, you should be aware that there are Twitter fakes out there!

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Twitter Marketing Secrets - including MP3

First, you’re getting different audiences. Your blog is capable of generating search engine traffic in ways that your tweets” rel=”tag”>tweets aren’t. You also probably have some RSS subscribers and daily readers who may not have an interest in Twitter. You can’t kiss a good chunk of your readership and potential traffic goodbye by quitting on your blog.

Second, your blog offers more flexibility. You can handle denser subject matter because you don’t have that 140 character limit to deal with. There are things you can address and statements you can make with a blog that just aren’t going to happen with Twitter.

Third, we know what blogging can do. We’re still learning what being an active Twitter user is capable of generating. You started blogging for a reason, right? That reason was based on evidence about what blogging can accomplish. Unless you know something the rest of us don’t, there’s no reason to think that Twitter is going to capture those same advantages.

Feel free to Tweet away, but don’t give up on your blog in the process.
Twitter Marketing Secrets - including MP3

Here are few ways to lose on Twitter. These are common blunders that make the Twitter process a complete loss for participants.

Being too aggressive. If you hit the ground running at the full sprint with Twitter, you’re risking some trouble. For instance, those who suddenly add masses and masses of new people to the list of those they follow may be categorized as probable spammers or troublemakers. That can get an account closed.

Using Twitter as an afterthought. There are people who set up a tool that will announce their blog posts to Twitter. They combine that with an automatic message to new followers and they forget all about it. It’s not really helpful to have your Twitter account out there announcing new posts for the sake of traffic if you’re not an active participant. You become annoying and “fake” to most of your followers and you can damage your reputation more than you can help it.

Those are just two ways to be a Twitter loser. There are many more. The takeaway here is that it’s important to learn the right way to use Twitter if you want to make it part of your online endeavors.

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Twitter Marketing Secrets - including MP3

It happens on twitter” rel=”tag”>twitter, too. Eventually you’ll run into one of these heated exchanges. It’s even possible that you might come close to stumbling into one of them yourself.

Notice that I said “come close”. That’s because I’m keeping the faith that you’re smart enough to avoid a Twitter fight.

These arguments attract a great deal of the wrong kind of attention. They turn people off (you can lose followers), they smack of immaturity (there goes your credibility building efforts), and they brand you as the guy or gal who get into that “screaming” Twitter fight, which is not the kind of label you want to wear.

If a fight is brewing, walk away from it. There’s never a good reason to start mixing it up with someone online, especially in a social networking forum like Twitter where you really don’t want the world to think you’re a hot-head.

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Twitter Marketing Secrets - including MP3

If you’re just getting started with Twitter, it can be tough to develop a sense of the best way to use your newfound tweeting power. There is a dominance Twitter culture and a “way of doing things”. Getting into the flow and learning the rhythm of the site isn’t always easy.

Here’s one way around the problem: Follow a few people with big follower bases and watch them for awhile. Learn how they use Twitter and recognize the techniques they use to be a real voice in the conversation.

If you watch a few of the “big boys” doing their thing, you’ll soon figure out how you might be able to use the site effectively in order to meet your online goals.

Learning from the best isn’t a new idea. It works, though. And it works very well when applied to learning the lay of the Twitter land.
Twitter Marketing Secrets - including MP3

If that describes you, it might be time to adjust your thinking a little bit. They call it “social” networking for a reason. There really is a social aspect to the whole thing.

Twitter works because people want to make connections with other people. As such, a human component to your participation is actually going to make you more enjoyable to follow for many people. It also gives you a “flesh and blood” persona that is more magnetic than that of an automaton posting a series of links.

You don’t need to tell the world every random thought you’re having or to go into detail about the way that hole in your sock right above your big toe is bugging you.

However, it is a good idea to “round out” your self-portrait with some less professional and more personal Tweets. Let people get to know you. Be social!

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Twitter Marketing Secrets - including MP3