Helping Hands For Coaches

Most of you have probably at least heard of Twitter by now, if not – get ready! It’s an amazing Social Media tool that can really help you get connected to other entrepreneurs, experts in your field, and of course, prospects and clients! But, I must warn you – it is addicting! You’ll find yourself tweeting live events, while walking to meet with a client, and during your own teleseminars! But, this is what makes Twitter so unique – it helps you to be and stay on people’s mind, even if you’ve never met them. Take, for instance, I’ve been following Warren Whitlock co-author of the Twitter Revolution (with @coachdeb), for a while – but I didn’t think he would recognize me – but here we were, last Friday at the Social Media Conference in San Diego, and he said, “Hey, don’t I know you? I’m following you, aren’t I?” Wow! I was floored – and what floored me more was how many times it happened after that! Now, wouldn’t you like to be known before you enter a networking group? Would you like a room full of potential prospects to feel warm towards you before you spoke? Twitter can do that for you.

So, I know I’ve been holding back from my coaches about this awesome tool – but, I don’t like to promote something until I have a grasp of it myself. So, read further for my resources, and how to get started (you won’t believe how easy it is!)

To get started on Twitter, I recommend going to Twitter, sign-up for an account, add your profile photo (go to ‘Settings’ in the upper right to customize your profile), and then type your first post – just a 140 characters. I  then recommend you to start following people that automatically follow others, as John Chow suggests. He recommends that you get beyond the 100 ‘followers’ count  to be ‘socially proof’.  How do you know if they’ll automatically follow you? Just see if their ‘followers’ count matches their ‘follow’ count.

Once you hit the 100 followers mark, then you need to make your tweets interesting. Whenever I mention Twitter, the main question I get is “Why does anyone want to know what I had for breakfast?” Good point – they probably don’t! I think some ‘Not Dead Yet’ moments are fine (for instance, “Drinking some coffee with the hubby at my favorite coffee shop: http://theneighborhoodcup.com/“), but generally that’s not going to get you a huge following. So, before you post, notice if what you’re about to tweet is interesting to your potential following (yes, you should have a goal of who you want to have follow you – mainly your target market).

One issue that I came across when I first started tweeting was understanding other tweets! It’s like it’s in a different language – one that’s constricted by 140 characters! Thanks to my friend, Mari Smith, I was able to understand the @ symbol in front of people’s names, and the short hand that tweaps use.

Some musts to help you save time while using this great Social Media tool:
TweetScan – a ‘search’ tool for Twitter – find your target market easily
Tweet Deck – a desktop software that allows you to know what’s going on in the Twitter world, without having to go online
TwitScoop – find out what’s the hot topic right now and join the conversation
TweetLater – want to be sure a tweet goes out at a certain time but not sure if you’ll remember to tweet it? Use this tool to schedule tweets to post in your account.
BudURL – want to see if all this Social Marketing is working? This tool will take your URL, and track the results – who’s clicking from where.
SocialToo – allows you to auto-follow followers, and can let you know when people stop following you.

Some Free Resources on Twitter that I used to get started:
GeekPreneur Twitter Handbook
Guy Kawaski : How to Use Twitter as a Twool, and Looking for Mr. Goodtweet: How to Pick Up Followers on Twitter
Warren Whitlock and Coach Deb: Free Twitter Handbook
Duct Tape Marketing: Free downloadable eBook on Using Twitter for Business
Twitter Lingo: by Mari Smith
Have another resource you found helpful? Add a comment and the link! Thanks!

As Warren said last Friday, the main thing is – Twitter has no rules – you can decide on how you want to brand yourself on Twitter. So, have fun and Happy Tweeting! Oh, and if you liked this post, please follow me at http://www.twitter.com/rachelpradhan  See you there!

With the Presidential election drawing closer, our feelings and emotions are rising. You may feel the need to stand up and be heard. That’s what I love about America – you can voice your opinion on politics without being prosecuted! However, as business owners we also need to be a little wary.

Before you go ranting on a blog or forum, remember that as an entrepreneur you are a reflection of your business. And while my opinion is that we shouldn’t be silent – we should remember that the Internet is a permanent – even when you think it’s not.

You may be able to delete that twitter post or blog comment, but it will still be on their databases. So, stand-up for your beliefs, but just be a little objective. Think of how your customers or prospects would feel if they read what you wrote. Think of the possible consequences. Would you be willing to loose clients or turn-off possible clients to voice your point of view? Could there be a way to voice your opinion without being offensive? As a coach, do you think your target market would appreciate your voiced opinion? Or, should you remain a ‘blank canvous’ for your clients to reflect on?

Most of all, remember: no matter what you say on the Internet or around the water cooler – your opinion only really counts on Election Day! Rock the Vote on November 4th!