9 Advanced Twitter Tips and Tricks

In his book Tweet Naked, online marketing expert and Social Media Firm CEO Scott Levy provides the critical information entrepreneurs need to craft a social media strategy that will boost their brand and their business. In this edited excerpt, the author takes your Twitter skills to the next level by describing nine things you should be doing to up your Twitter game.

Do you want to be a rookie or a pro bowl veteran? The way you go about “tackling” your career is similar to being a rookie or a veteran. You can go through the day-to-day and remain average, or you can study, practice, train and try to find every possible advantage you can over your opponents.

For me, the following are simply things you must do to take part in everyday social media. To others, these might feel like advanced techniques and tactics that are at a higher knowledge level and maybe even desire level when it comes to doing social media. But if you want to elevate your game and get the most out of your investment (time and money) in social media, then take it to the next level with these nine tips and tricks.

1. Follow the leads. Twitter isn’t just about your tweets; it’s also a fantastic source for information on your competition. But don’t just follow your rivals–follow your rival’s followers. This will give you fresh insight on how to broaden your own following and what those people are looking for. It may even show you what your competition is doing better than you. With a small tweet tweaking, you may be able to get those followers to convert to your own company.

2. Save the sales pitch. Don’t get caught up in using Twitter as a selling tool. Instead, use it to increase customer loyalty and offer valuable information to your followers. Overmarketing will merely leave a sour taste in followers’ mouths, and you may even end up losing them if their feed gets too clogged with too many promotions.

3. Keep it small. Posting links and content is a fantastic thing, but Twitter users are all about brevity, so be sure to shorten your links by using a redirect service. bit.ly and is.gd are excellent ones to use, but there are other companies that offer additional services. Take a few minutes to do some research and find the best fit for your brand.

4. Answer with a period. Twitter filters allow users to only view answers if they are following each side of the conversation. But by starting off your answer with a period, the post won’t start with @–it will instead be viewed as a separate tweet and will be seen by all of your followers. Breaking grammar rules never felt so excellent.

5. Lose a few characters. Yes, 140 characters is the technical limit on Twitter, but all the cool kids are now only tweeting with 125 or less. Small, punchy tweets will grab your followers’ attention rather than getting lost in their feeds.

6. Twitter + & = ???. Lose the ampersand in both your profile and your tweets. Whatever the reason, Twitter doesn’t show the “&” sign correctly, so save your followers the distress of trying to figure out what it says and just spell out the word; it’s worth the extra two characters.

7. Cross-post to Facebook. Kill two birds with one stone by connecting your Twitter feed to your Facebook account. Head to your Twitter profile settings, then go to the bottom of the page underneath your bio. It’s an simple way to have your tweets post automatically to your Facebook feed.

8. A picture’s worth a thousand tweets. I can’t stress enough how vital pictures are in any social media platform, and Twitter is no exception. Use Twitpic to share photos as part of your tweets. Snapping photos on the go? Download the Twitterrific app to your smartphone to post pictures when you’re away from the computer.

9. Nobody likes a qwitter. Qwitter is a fantastic tool that notifies you when someone unfollows you on Twitter and even goes so far as to suggest potential tweets that caused them to leave. There are both free and “pro” memberships available, depending on how often you want information and how detailed you’d like it.

Social Media for Defense and Government Conference

The Institute for Defense and Government Advancement (IDGA) is pleased to announce its 3 rd Social Media for Defense and Government Conference : , scheduled for October 18 – 20, 2010 in Washington, DC.

Web 2.0 and Social Media strategies have been implemented throughout most of the government and the Department of Defense. But, simply having a Facebook page, Twitter
account, YouTube channel or Linked In page is not enough; organizations and commands need to be strategic in developing and integrating communications strategies using social media.

IDGA’s Social Media for Defense and Government Conference : will bring together key choice-makers who are advocates of advancing the use of social media for the DoD and government. Speakers include Dr.
Mark Drapeau, Director, Innovative Social Engagement, Microsoft U.S. Public Sector (Twitter: @cheeky_geeky), CAPT John Kirby, USN, Special Assistant for Public Affairs to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Twitter: @thejointstaff), CAPT David Werner, USN, Communication Integration and Strategy, Navy Office of Information (Twitter: @NavyNews), Charles J. “Jack” Holt, APR, Sr.

Strategist for Emerging Media, Office of the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs (Twitter: @jack_holt), and MAJ Juanita Chang, USA, Director, Online and Social Media Division, Office of the Chief of Public Affairs, US Army (Twitter: @juanitachang), among others.

Attendees of IDGA’s 3 rd Social Media for Defense and Government : will hear powerful case studies that support the use of new media strategies for achieving organizational goals through a comprehensive social media approach. They will learn ways to establish metrics to justify more quantitatively how new media strategies have and will positively impact organization’s basic goals. Furthermore, attendees will learn how to police organization’s reputation in the online community and ensure a consistent message of organization’s presence through internal and external new media campaigns.

Preserving The Titanic With Twitter

Social media like Twitter will soon venture where no tweet has gone before: underwater. On August 22, Expedition Titanic will dive to depths up to two and a half miles to revisit the wreck of the Titanic. Accompanying the archaeologists, scientists, and oceanographers, social media tools will enable the public to join in as well.

RMS Titanic, Inc., the company behind this mission, resulted from collaboration between Premier Exhibitions, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the Waitt Institute.

Christopher J. Davino, President of RMS Titanic, Inc., clarifies that the Expedition:

“will be using some of the most advanced technology available to make a portrait of the Ship unlike any that has been made before – virtually raising Titanic and sealing her current state forever in the minds and hears of humanity.”

More than just supporting further scientific exploration, Expedition Titanic aims to use modern technology to commemorate the legacy of the ship. Throughout the mission, the team will record the entire wreck site through a complete photomosaic and 2D and 3D video. The project aims to compile this expedition with information from past visits to the Titanic in order to develop an extensive record of the ship today.

From home, viewers will be able to experience the site as well. After traveling to the sea depths through a 3D-animated film, visitors will be able to explore the wreck site through near real time images and video, an interactive archeological map, as well as read updated messages from the divers themselves.

Once the mission sets out on its quest, updates will be recorded through a variety of social media tools. Flickr and YouTube will also allow the explorers to share photos and videos online.

With all the social media and digital technology components, Expedition Titanic represents a truly monumental approach to preserving archeological wonders of the world. The expanse of the project only proves the incredible capability of technology to record, remember, and immortalize monuments of today.