Just like the song says, you gotta have friends. Friends are there to help seed your Farmville gardens and help destroy the forces of evil in your Mafia Wars. Friends are there to retweet the URL of that “not safe for work” Lady Gaga video you managed to sneak peek while the boss wasn’t looking, and you can always count on them to “like” your Facebook status every time you come up with a whimsically snarky comment about which Real Housewife of Boise is sporting fake…well, let’s say enhancements. In this age of social media, everybody has the potential to be your friend, even people you don’t know and may never meet in your lifetime.

So comes the dilemma as you approach your social marketing strategy: do you grow your Twitter or Facebook page following naturally, hoping that people you do know will recommend you and your business to others, or do you embark on the aggressive vaccum cleaner process of sucking in every profile in sight? If numbers are the only thing that concern you, there are ways to amass plenty of warm bodies. People sell services that strictly invite Facebook “friends” and mass follow Twitter users that automatically refollow. For as little as fifty bucks you could have the ears and eyes of thousands of people, but are they really paying attention?

Consider for a moment the pros and cons of the guerrilla invite. We’ve discussed this topic before, but it’s one worth revisiting as ideas on social networking change. If you don’t switch gears as you promote, it means you haven’t grown in your strategy, and it’s good to weigh all options. With the blind follow of Twitter users, for example, you could match your follow count to your followed by as many as six figures if you wish. If those followers boast the same volume, there is the likelihood your tweets are lost in a sea of other updates, but one can also argue that by following a good number of re-follows there is the possibility your message will be seen by people who wouldn’t otherwise follow you naturally. You had to find them first, then they become interested.

Same goes with Facebook and even LinkedIn. With the latter, there are groups solely designed to connect “open networkers,” people who will connect to you regardless of your industry. As a writer and social marketer, it might benefit me to network with as many people as possible because ultimately every industry will need marketing help, right? Gaining more connections increases my chances of finding work. However, for the niche business you might not benefit as much, unless one connection happens to know of somebody interested in what you do.

Where Facebook is concerned, triggers are in place to reign in your mass friending activities. Unless you know one of those magical loopholes to gain five thousand friends in one fell swoop, you might be better off approaching people slowly. To be certain, there are accounts created strictly to sell and spam, which won’t do you much good when you try to sell. However, in a sea of kelp you’re bound to catch a few fish.

So, how do you approach networking? Is it better to throw everything you have against the wall and see what sticks? Do you take out a thinner brush and draw out a more thoughtful plan? Look at what you’ve done to start, and if it hasn’t worked you might consider bolder measures. Experiment with different lighters to see what sparks the fire in your campaigns.

Kathryn Lively is a social media specialist assisting clients with social media writing and local PPC campaigns. Clients include Gainesville bed and breakfasts, European hotel search engines, global trade forums, and Virginia Beach web design firms.

In a show of support for the dethroned Tonight Show host, the Lamar Advertising Company arranged select billboards around the country to display words of wisdom (?) from @conanobrien. Whether or not the move contributed to TBS’s decision to offer Conan a late night slot is debatable, but one can wonder if we’ll see another marriage of social media and off-site advertising in the future. In fact, will such things become commonplace one day? If so, one must definitely take note that one day what happens on Twitter won’t necessarily stay there.

I hadn’t expected a reply to a recent tweet post made regarding cupcakes. In a moment of good humor, considering my recent weight loss, I posted to my account a link to a news story about pastry giant Cinnabon branching into the cupcake business. Given my weakness for cupcakes and the potential damage they do to my diet, I let forth a curt vent (“Damn you, Cinnabon!) followed by the link. Later that day, to my shock, I received an @replay from the official Cinnabon Twitter.

Just goes to show, people with brands do monitor what is being said, even in jest, and may be inclined to follow-up. While many of us can page the likes of Conan O’Brien, Demi Moore, and the host of other celebrities and bigwigs using this social network, the odds of finding a reply or – gasp – a direct message may be slim. As a business using Twitter to market products and services, however, you have a golden opportunity to reach consumers who share their feedback, or else put out feelers for information relevant to your company. Succeeding in Twitter marketing involves not only tracking those people, but communicating in a manner that doesn’t come off like a hard sell.

Tracking on Twitter

As you monitor the performance of keywords that bring visitors to your main site, it would make sense to track those same phrases on Twitter to gauge overall interest in products and services relevant to your brand. Whether you cater to local or national markets, you have the means to search what people are tweeting without necessarily refreshing Twitter’s search engine. E-mail, web-based and desktop clients allow for ease of researching multiple key phrases, and many of them are free.

A sample TweetDeck search on "Virginia Beach"

TweetDeck, a popular desktop client that can collect the feeds of multiple social media accounts, may be set up to run feeds of a specific nature. Simply add a new column to the screen and program a search. Choose the keywords, and watch the results.

To receive Twitter searches via e-mail, TweetBeep offers the means to track the activity you want to browse. Similar to Google Alerts, TweetBeep delivers the information directly to your inbox. This is handy tool to use if you want alerts sent to your phone.

The popular web-based program Monittor presents up to three real-time feeds of key searches. One advantage to Monittor is that is permits for geotargeting – you can search tweets within a specific distance of any city, and RSS capability allows you to aggregate the results into your favorite reader. Twitter itself offers a similar method of tracking in its widget functionality, where one can create an ongoing feed of trending tweets, though geographical parameters cannot be set.

Once you’ve determined how to find potential consumers and clients through Twitter, there comes the challenge of approaching them. Just because a Twitter user does not protect his/her feed from public view doesn’t necessarily mean an invite to relentless hustling. If you see an opportunity to recommend your products and services to somebody who appears to want them, you don’t want to give the impression that your Twitter account is used mainly to distribute ad copy.

Engage the tweeter first with a question for confirmation. Are they looking for what you have to sell…are the specific designs or benefits they want? Would they be interested in a discount if they ordered online? Can you answer any questions they might have? Don’t let the distance of a computer screen distract you from the fact that behind that Twitter avatar is a human being who is social, and may likely use Twitter to recommend you in the future.

Using widgets and search clients to help with leads can cut your Twitter research time significantly, giving you more time to perfect your social media skills.

Kathryn Lively is a social media specialist assisting clients with social media optimization and travel social media services. Clients include Gainesville hotels, European hotels, and Virginia web design firms.

So it comes as no surprise to see people I know opting to post “sponsored Tweets,” data designed to offer the profile’s owner a kickback on click-throughs and/or purchases. Sponsored tweeting works similarly to pay-per-blogging: a business sets a budget to advertise products and services through a site that connects advertisers and Twitter users. Registered Twitter users then accept or reject the ad copy given to them, and post accordingly to their account(s). Depending on the company, these micro-bloggers may need to disclose which of their tweets are sponsored, and as people click through and/or take advantage of the deals the one who posted the tweet receives a commission. Whether or not one can get rich simply by tweeting is up for debate, but it does beg the question of whether or not the practice could risk your Twitter following.

Think about why you tweet, how you post, and what attracts viewers to your feed? What expertise do you offer that keeps people interested, and how often do you directly socialize with the people you follow on your profile? I mentioned earlier that I do follow a number of authors, all of whom have books and other projects to promote – naturally I expect to see links to online bookstores, blogs, and contests for book and prize giveaways. On occasion, I am known to unfollow a Twitter account based on saturation. If every post off the feed is a “buy my book” plea, offered every few minutes, I may find a reason to quit reading.

Personally, too, of those I know who are supplementing their income with sponsored tweeting, I find it isn’t too disruptive, and the profiles continue to offer data of value. As with any such venture you consider, for whatever reason, balance promotion with genuine socialization to keep those who came to you for a reason.

One thing to note about sponsored tweet programs: just because you use Twitter doesn’t mean you automatically qualify. An advertiser with money to spend wants to be seen, and if you’re a new user with only ten followers to your credit chances are you won’t fit the criteria, as opposed to the seasoned poster who organically grew a following.

Kathryn Lively is a social media specialist assisting clients with social media writing and tourism social media services. Clients include Gainesville hotels and European hotels.

Last week, in a dispute over eBook pricing, Amazon.com decided to pull all eBook titles by publisher MacMillan, thus removing thousands of titles for sale and angering  MacMillan’s authors, of whom many took their aggravations to the “streets” – namely their social accounts. Without Amazon.com’s support, MacMillian authors discovered Kindle users were unable to purchase their titles.

Though Amazon’s original intent was to convince the publisher to lower its eBook pricing from $14.99 to the retail site’s standard of $9.99 or less, critics saw the move as detrimental to the retailer and also logged onto Twitter and other social outlets to protest. Amazon.com has since recanted the action.

Nonetheless, the weekend offered plenty of time for competitors to take advantage of #amazonfail, and thanks to the viral speed of Twitter in particular, word spread quickly. All Romance eBooks, a large online retailer of romance fiction, along with its general eBook vendor site  OmniLit.com, staged a spontaneous weekend sale in conjunction with popular book industry blog Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. Using a specific coupon code, readers could purchase any title from ARe or OmniLit for 50% off the cover price, while publishers and authors with titles listed on-site received their full commissions. ARe and OmniLit.com are able to accommodate owners of the Kindle and other eBook reading devices.

@SmartBitches heavily promoted the ARe sale.

This marketing campaign, tagged on Twitter and Facebook with the term #AReSale, kept author and publisher accounts active all weekend, and even inspired some publishers to offer select titles as free downloads during the promotion.

“Riding that social media wave can be tricky, but when you get it right it’s an incredible ride. The #AReSale blitz is a good example,” said Lori James, co-owner of OmniLit/ARe. ” A convergence of circumstance, timing, and a carefully cultivated supportive community. We’re still reeling from the response.”

Indeed, the viral effect of this one action in the eBook community continues to resonate.  Google Blog Search results for OmniLit.com display an impressive number of blogs that reported the half-off sale, and Facebook status updates repeated the time-urgent news with efficiency.

News of the ARe sale made the rounds on Facebook.

The immediacy of a news item, coupled with the ability to spread information via social media, created a spontaneous PR campaign that proved beneficial for one independent company. Social networks like Twitter and Facebook provide the opportunity for free advertising via word of mouth, and in turn allow others to receive residual benefits.

Of course, working in social media, I understand the frustration. As a writer, I use Twitter to promote my works, and as a Twitter user I follow certain businesses that advertise to me, and friends with whom I like to stay in touch. When Twitter fails, I may not receive a time-sensitive promotion in time, and I can see how that would frustrate somebody who uses social networks to sell. For me, the opportunity to promote is held off temporarily, else I can wait until Twitter is functioning again and I start a new campaign. Regardless of the reason you use this social platform, there are ways to survive the looming Fail Whale and continue your marketing.

Turn Your Focus Elsewhere – If you use Twitter, most assuredly you have a Facebook page as well. If you’re like me, however, the followers on Twitter may greatly outnumber your Facebook fans, but if Facebook is running well there’s no reason why you can’t market to that attentive audience more aggressively. If you have your accounts set up for Twitter to feed into Facebook, just directly post onto your page what you have planned. When Twitter is up and running again, simply post your FB page link and encourage your followers to catch up on what they missed.

Have a Back Up Plan – You may feel overwhelmed as it is to have so many social accounts for marketing – Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, and so forth. However, one will argue that securing accounts on minor sites helps solidify your brand. If ever you become frustrated with Twitter outages, Tumblr offers a nice alternative for imparting news. With a Tumblr account, one can post short notes, share audio and video, blog stories, and even integrate the social site with others, like Twitter and Facebook. With this account, you can connect with established friends on the other media sites and never miss a word.

When in Doubt, Retweet – Lately, I’ve noticed some users are retweeting themselves on points they really want to get across. They don’t do it consistently, maybe a retweet after half the day has passed, but as repetition is one tool used in marketing to get customers to recognize your brand, it’s not a bad idea if done properly. If you fear a Twitter blackout has swallowed your campaign messages, check your free and retweet the pertinent posts, the links and the sales. If a follower has to wade through a few hundred accounts, chances are he/she may have missed it the first time around even if it did get through.

When Twitter fails, for a minute or even longer, it’s not the end of the world. It presents the beginning of opportunity for thinking outside the box and finding another way for your marketing to work. Sit back, take a break from the Fail Whale, and see what other fish are in the sea.

Kathryn Lively is a social media specialist assisting clients with social media optimization, travel social media services, and Virginia web design. Her clients have ranged from Gainesville hotels to local PPC companies.

More examples of social media involvement in charitable efforts (including Haitian relief and other causes) include:

The Facebook Causes Application – This application allows non-profits to set up their own widgets which allow users to donate via Facebook. Supporters can join the application and list favorite charities and invite others to join as well.

Care2 – A social network geared toward promoting understanding of environmental and similar causes, Care2 utilizes their technology to generate interest in wildlife preservation, political change, and human rights. Organizations can start petition drives and encourage others to use “click to donate” badges to generate awareness.

ChipIn – This widget builder works with Paypal to allow users to collect donations online for any cause. A simple Flash application is then applied to a blog or website, or may be added to a Facebook profile, and promoted easily.

If you plan to give online, it is important to research where you plan to give. Clicking through a link on Twitter may take you anywhere – your Twitter feed client may not always reveal the source of a shortened URL, so it’s best not to provide your financial information immediately. If one social network account claims to collect for the Red Cross, check official Red Cross sites and profiles first for their collection sources. Check websites for the secure lock logo before providing credit card information, and avoid using bank debit cards online. The more you understand how social media can be used for charitable giving, the better for those who benefit.

Kathryn Lively is a social media specialist assisting clients with social media optimization and travel social media services.

The realist, however, will use these examples to affirm one more thing that isn’t really news: people like to gossip. People have gossiped for centuries. Hey, did you hear what happened to Eve in the garden? That we have access to something as unifying as social media serves to amplify our vested interest in such non-news.

That said, should one consider to be more responsible while using social networks like Twitter and Facebook? When we post status updates and share news, we essentially share with the world a taste of who we are in real life. Why do we post the words we choose to share? Some of us use Twitter to promote our projects and businesses, and inform clients and customers of new products and services. Some people use Twitter to vent or offer play-by-play commentary of favorite shows or sporting events. I couldn’t tell you how many people I follow watched the MTV Music Awards…actually, yes I can. Nearly everybody had a remark about at least one of Lady GaGa’s dresses.

Still, there are others who see Twitter, I think, as a means of obtaining some level of celebrity. The likes of a helium-voiced pre-teen named Fred and acomedian with a shoe fetish have proven it is possible to cross into the mainstream, and the Internet provides more avenues toward fame than reality TV. Already we’ve learned that plans are in the works to adapt a Twitter account into a sitcom (???), and if you ask me, I highly suspect that people are purposely dressing bizarrely so somebody will snap them for the People of Wal-Mart site.

Is there a fear that we might come off as vacuous or indifferent people, or does social media challenge us to be more interesting and entertaining – always “on”? Perhaps deep down we are all entertainers at heart – deciding if we can’t be in the spotlight, we should at least tweet about it.

That said, perhaps we should also take some time out of the day to post on news and items of social responsibility.  Remind friends to do a self-exam for breast cancer once a month, or retweet Amber alerts in your area. With the growth in smart phone use, one is likely to see news on a feed and do something about it. After work, when we’re ready to unwind, we can catch up on the gossip.

Believe me, there’s plenty to be read.

Kathryn Lively is a social media specialist assisting clients with Virginia Beach social media services and Virginia Beach web design.

The recent news implying that Facebook usage, among utilization of other networks, is responsible for global marital breakdown is fascinating, yet it is hardly an innovation. If a marriage has floundered before Internet use became a factor, one can’t necessarily place the blame on social media. While sites like MySpace, Bebo, Facebook and others allow old friends (and consequently old flames) to reconnect, it’s also a helpful communication tool for families. Fathers keep track of their children’s activities, married couples share photos and videos with friends, and often talk to one another. It may not be the ideal situation, and may fast be replacing the night dinner around the table, but social media can work as well in strengthening familial bonds rather than severing them. Anyone using a social network to expedite divorce could easily do the same with anything else – an obsession with sports or other activities, long hours at work, and so forth.

Social networks in and of themselves are not evil. To be certain, people have abused their better qualities for nefarious purposes, but as such stories are few and far between this should not deter a businessman or company from refraining from their use. For every new item of a threat posted on a blog there are more detailing how people have used social media to find missing children, obtain help for needy families, or reunite siblings separated for years.

How can you keep a positive focus on marketing through social media? Always maintain a healthy attitude when you post items of interest. Not everything you share needs to be company related, and it’s good to engage friends and followers in conversations that highlight a brighter side to humanity. Does your company support a specific charity or non-profit? Find links and articles that showcase the good they do. If you’ve hosted an event recently, share pictures and video. Social media is about making your own news – so make it good.

It is said that brevity is the soul of wit, and where social marketing is concerned it is also the heart of your strategy. As you consider each tweet and status update to promote your products and services, you must choose the words wisely, and tempt followers to want to click-through to the point of sale or conversion.

One solution for gauging interest would be to approach micro-posts as you would your e-mail marketing strategy. When you prepare a blast, it’s natural to want to achieve a strong open rate. Therefore, the subject line of your message is what will lead people to click through to the mail. One advantage to Twitter, as sometimes opposed to e-mail, is that certain words won’t be filtered as spam. If you have complimentary products or deep discounts to advertise, usage of the words free and sale won’t penalize you on social networks. However, it’s also important to note how often you push the hard sell. Repeated canned text could be a turn-off to followers. Check your analytics to determine how many referrals from Facebook, Twitter, and other networks lead visitors to your landing pages.

Do you engage followers on a regular basis? As you study your social accounts and gauge what interests people, try a direct approach. Address followers with links to specific information on your site or third-party affiliates. Using a URL shortening service like bit.ly can inform you if your target, and others, click through on your suggestion.

Utilizing the economy of words to relay your company’s message can improve traffic flow to your website. Where the Internet tends to foster short attention spans, use the most important words to your advantage and stretch interest from visitors.

Kathryn Lively is a social media specialist who assists clients with social media optimization and Virginia web design services.

As 2010 nears, now is the time to consider your Social Media Resolutions. Where will you concentrate efforts, and to what extent will online networks play a role in how you present yourself and your company to others? Now, perhaps, you have the Facebook fan page and Twitter account…what else is there to do next year?

Plenty. Social sites aren’t going away. In fact, as platforms like Twitter and Facebook and similar sites develop, they are becoming deeply integrated with established media. Watch a news network on television, and you’ll find they’re getting their news from YouTube videos. In order for your business to find customers, you have to find them through social media, and that means ramping up your campaigns.

This coming year, you need to resolve to:

1) Attract more followers. The adage of “I follow you, you follow me” may not always work in your favor. It’s not uncommon to look at a Twitter profile and see that person is following a number equal to his followers, but when you think about it, is anybody really reading the posts. Mutual admiration can soothe the ego, but at the end of day you want people on Twitter to read your feed because they WANT to read it, not because they feel obliged if you add them to your reading list. How do you attract more followers to any social network? Cross promote among your profiles, add URLs to e-mail signatures, campaign via established opt-in e-mails addresses. Above all else, produce the relevant content on a regular basis and people searching for it will find you.

2) Gain different perspectives and share them. Depending on the size of your business, either you are doing everything yourself, or you have hired a marketing person or firm to handle your social media. Both options are good, but when it comes to nurturing a fan page it’s important to keep the information current and interesting. Every post doesn’t have to be about the hard sell – get to know the people who visit your page. Converse, share information, and if you have the manpower working for you get employees to contribute socially. Mix up the perspectives on your feeds and present to consumers and clients a well-rounded image.

3) Broaden your horizons. Once upon a time, television was all about the Big Three networks. These days, it may seem like social media is all about another big three – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube – but don’t discount niche networks that could provide you with a new audiences for your products and services. Restaurant owners should take advantage of sites like Foodbuzz and Yelp and encourage patron interaction and feedback. Businesses seeking to grow gay/lesbian patronage can set up shop on GLEE.com, and Care2.com provides a great forum for people interested in environmental concerns.

The key to keeping strong social media resolutions in the new year, however, starts with producing relevant content. Grab readers, and they’ll grab you right back.

Kathryn Lively is a social media specialist assisting Virginia businesses with social media optimization and travel social media.

What does this mean for the business person who utilizes social media in his/her marketing plan? For one, every time one of your posts is retweeted, there is a chance somebody who doesn’t follow you will see your post, and perhaps be inspired to add you to a feed. Of course, this is based on the assumption that potential followers will use the Twitter site and not a special reader (or a reader that supports this function – as readers update this could become a reality), and that people will retweet your posts in the first place. In order to take advantage of this added exposure to your company, you must not only be social, but be interesting.

Recruitment of Retweeters

It’s not uncommon to see a request for followers to retweet a particular message, be it a sales notice or a call to action. Depending on the scope of your business, you can conduct Twitter-only discount codes for products and services, then request followers to spread the word. Adding incentive (i.e. choosing a random retweeter for a prize giveaway) may boost motivation.

Maintaining your Twitter account on a personal level, too, may encourage followers to spread your wisdom. If you were to constantly post repetitive information hustling people to your main site, you might find you lose more followers than you gain. Take care to nurture relationships with those already opted-in to your feed, and you can cultivate a larger following as you progress socially.

Kathryn Lively is a social media specialist assisting clients with social media optimization and travel social media services.

Social Media for the Retailer

Businesses with active Twitter and Facebook profiles are well advised to make use of both when courting shoppers to their online carts or brick and mortar locations, but other social networks also prove useful. The key to successfully utilizing social media to stimulate sales, though, is to maintain a high level of activity and sociability. As people pose questions on your Facebook wall or send messages via Twitter, answer promptly and offer links to your sites whenever possible. It may not be necessary to change up sales information via social networks, but it’s important to make sure the messages stay visible.

Social Media for the Consumer

If you consider yourself a savvy online shopper, chances are you are following all the retailers you patronize the most, and have subscribed to all the right mailing lists and forums. However, social media can still optimize your shopping experience.

If you’re aware of a particular shop or restaurant in your area and are contemplating shopping there for a gift card or other item, Yelp.com can prove useful in making up your mind. This social forum, while on the outset a customer review site for dining, also accept commentary on local shops and services.

Similarly, Digg allows Internet users to find links on bargains as discovered and promoted by Digg users. A search on an item you wish to purchase for a friend or relative can yield information helpful in your search for the best deal.

Smart phones have an extra boost this year, with specialized apps available to assist in hunting the best sales.  Coupon Sherpa, a website known for providing sales codes for online carts, allows smart phone users to download coupons that are accepted simply buy showing the cashier the phone screen.

This holiday season, keep watch on your social feeds for the best shopping deals, and see how social media can save you money this Christmas.

This functionality, however, is not entirely new to the tweeting world. Users of TweetDeck, a popular social media client that allows users to keep track of Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace feeds, are able to retweet with ease. Those with the ability, who use Twitter mainly as a promotional tool, may wonder why retweeting is important at all, and does it really apply to them?

In truth, taking the time to share information parsed by the people you fellow can benefit your status with the social network. If you haven’t considered sharing third-party information via Twitter, now is the time to familiarize yourself with the retweet function as a necessary part of your social networking strategy.

Retweeting = Visibility: With the ability to integrate Twitter into other social networks, thereby allowing one to post once and distribute to many places, you benefit by maxmizing your social media marketing. Consequently, you also run the risk of having a network appear stale and robotic. Followers may get the sense your Twitter profile serves no other purpose but to drive-by with advertising. Taking the time to read the feeds of those you follow, and retweeting something relevant to your work (or not) aids in the viral nature of the medium. Twitter etiquette often calls on a user to publicly thank another for repeating their information, and this allows for more exposure of your brand. A Twitter user who follows somebody you follow, but not necessarily you, now knows you exist. He could be inspired to follow you as a result.

Retweeting = Authority: It’s nice to say you were able to scoop big news on Twitter first. It doesn’t always happen, however, and if you happen to follow users close to your business model you’re certain to find posts relevant to your work. Retweeting the news lends you status in the way that you establish the type of news you want to relay through your profile. If somebody searches Twitter for that particular topic, there’s a chance your post will show in results, and that may prompt users to follow.

Don’t think that refraining from repeating posts will hurt your standing in Twitter. Social media is all about socialization, and it’s important to approach the way your market yourself in a social manner. Lend your expertise through this medium and don’t be afraid to share the spotlight.

Kathryn Lively is a social media specialist assisting clients with Virginia web design and social media optimization.

The Bare Bones of Twitter Lists

If you are new to Twitter and social media altogether, you may already know that this site allows users to “micro-blog” data and integrate information into widgets for weblogs, Facebook, MySpace, and other sites. If you are unable to constantly update a blog or website with new information on your business, you can log into Twitter via a dashboard widget or your cell phone and keep the people who follow your feed of posts appraised of sales, events, and last-minute news. The idea behind Twitter lists, for seasoned users trying to grasp this concept, is to allow people group other Tweeters into specific categories, thereby allowing the list owner (if the list is private) or anyone at all to follow a set group of people just by reading the list URL.

As a personal tool, Twitter Lists are handy in allowing power users to group accounts into specific categories. If you use the social network as a primary source of finding news, you may wish to create a list that captures the posts of various outlets like CNN, The New York Times, the Associated Press, and others. Whatever the subject, or if you want to keep all your tweeting friends and family in one place, the list function is quite handy.

Social Optimization with Twitter Lists

How can Twitter Lists benefit your business’ social media optimization? Depending on the size of your company, if several employees use Twitter to promote goods and services, you can create a list of each user to provide as an overview of information for readers. While Twitter doesn’t yet allow for RSS capability for their lists, a simple online search will direct you to tools and widgets that can create a syndicated feed of the accounts. A simple RSS widget module on your site or blog will display the posts.

Creating a Twitter list comprised of users relevant to your business or subject – other professionals in the field, reviewers – can also be helpful if you make the list public. Twitter users can see on their dashboard if they have been added to lists, and this may inspire them not only to follow your feed, but re-tweet your messages and expose you to a broader audience.

Take the time to explore the potential of Twitter lists as a promotion tool. The more you use them, the better it could be for your social profile.

Kathryn Lively is a social media specialist who assists clients with social media optimization services and Virginia Beach web design.