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How are you? We’re winding down to the end of

You can reply to someone’s Tweet simply by putting the @symbol in front of their name. This makes the tweet stand out to them as it appears in their reply column or page instead of in the general Tweetstream. It is a very useful way of starting conversations with people in order to build relationships. Simply comment on one of their tweets. Tweetdeck has a feature when you hover over the user’s avatar to put their name and reply symbol straight into the posting area.

Retweeting

People appreciate retweets and it is a good way to get noticed by others. All you do is put RT in front of the @username. Using Tweetdeck, hover over the user’s avatar and it will put the whole thing in the posting area. Separate their tweet from your comment if you have one. I usually put two pipes, which is holding down the Shift key on the \ character. This will produce || which clearly shows the end of the other person’s tweet and your reply or comment.

If other people retweet your tweets, make it a habit to thank them. It’s common courtesy. Simply tweet @username Thanks for RT and send.

The Big Decision

It is probably time now to make a big decision as it will affect the way in which you use Twitter considerably. That decision relates to quality versus quantity. If you are into marketing, then quantity of followers will be important to you. It’s like building a list. But if you want to keep things personal, then quality of followers will be what you need. Either way, the next step will be to find some people to follow.

Gaining Followers

You need to first be aware that rushing out and following a heap of people can make you look like a potential Twitter spammer. Build your following base slowly. As time goes on, if you are chasing quantity, then you will be able to add more at a time, but initially I would suggest you stick to 50 for a start. The reason for this is that when you follow people, they will most likely follow you back. Many people don’t do this automatically, although some do, particularly in the internet marketing space. Some people will actually go and look at your Twitter home page to decide if you are worth following or not in their eyes. This is where your profile and the settings that you took all the trouble to do will stand you in good stead.

Some Good People To Start With

Here are just a few people that you can start following straight away. They are included because they are great exponents of Twitter and you will learn a lot simply by watching their tweets. You will see their style of using Twitter and can emulate the good points and leave out what you don’t like in developing your own style. They will all follow you back too usually, so you will build your own follower base. All these people have large follower bases which they have built by being active, engaging and providing value to others on Twitter.

Ange Recchia aka @angesbiz
Ange Recchia here better known as @angesbiz on Twitter and many other Social Networks. I’m a Social Media and SEO Consultant/Coach for WebVision2020 Pty Ltd and write about Twitter at

Follow Ange at

http://socialnetworkingnewsdaily.com/ I also love to write about Personal Development at http://angesbiz.com You should follow me because I am on the most incredible journey of my life at the moment, I love to meet new tweeps and share interesting links while engaging in conversation. In other words, I like to be Social!http://twitter.com/angesbizRic Raftis aka @RicRaftis
I am a Business Coach, Internet & Affiliate Marketer and Web Designer who loves Twitter & Joomla. I am also a Cagora Community Partner in 5 Worlds. I am also a Geek! Follow me and I will follow back. Engage me and I will answer. I love to meet new people and make new friends and Twitter is a great way to do it. I also run the Help Via Twitter site at

Follow Ric at

http://www.helpviatwitter.com where you can get answers to all sorts of questions on the Forum where you aren’t restricted to questions of 140 characters.http://twitter.com/ricraftisMike Wesely aka @Mike_Wesely
Hello, I sure hope ur having a “Twonderful Day”. Mostly Smart People Follow Me!!! If You’re Not, You probably Wouldn’t Like Me Anyway. Also, if your Smart, you should go to and watch

Follow Mike at

http://TwitTalk.tv, were we teach people how to use twitter more effectively. Check Out the Achieved shows at bottom. If for some reason You get bored there, Liven up your day by going to http://VideOptin.com. Oh but most importantly, say hello to me using the @Mike_Wesely at the beginning of your post. I always try to respond. That is the Respectful way http://twitter.com/Mike_WeselyMichele Price aka @ProsperityGal
Twucess twith

Follow Michele at

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/TwitterToday, you learn twit tip and we showcase Tweeps every week, who you are and what you do so you can build a strong networking well. I am a heartfelt business woman who shows you easy ways to connect and succeed, oh I cook a mean pot roast too, giggle. p.s. love to tweet inspirational quotes to get you to thinking in a focus that takes you where you want to BE. http://twitter.com/prosperitygalWayne Mansfield aka @WayneMansfield
After many years as a Internet Marketer I have come late to Twitter. My business is the staging of seminars in Australia, NZ, India and the Middle East on business and personal education. Twitter is someting else… there is a level of engagement on Twitter that allows the meeting new people. To get the best from Twitter, I always follow you back and try yo respond to your messages. Fun is Twitter and you will see the banter betyween myself and quite a few people. Real friendship are built on Twitter. Retweeting is the ultimate compliment to the posts of others – when you RT RT you are sharing inspiring words – great quotes are vitamins for the brain….I retweet good tweets all the time and enjoy a good quote or two. Make sure you say hello so we can get to know each other.

Follow Wayne at

http://www.twitter.com/waynemansfield

You can follow me at: http://www.twitter.com/rabealva

THANKS

Good day

Today, I want to share with you how you can use online forums as a part of your viral marketing campaign.

Forum marketing has been touted as a kind of free, organic, viralmarketing. But because so many marketers go into forums purelywith the intention of marketing products or services, their actionsand attitude unwittingly causes the exact opposite of the desired effect.

Forums aren’t marketplaces, but when used as such, the marketers’ actions become offensive and will only inspire the wrath of fellow members and marketers, not tomention moderators who can ban them from the site with the click of their mouse.

In order to be effective, this kind of marketing carries a certain degree of commitment, responsibility and respect.

The first requirement is to take a personal interest in the main topic of the forum. Not only does that mean visiting it regularly, but it also means developing a good relationship with both other members and the moderators, as well as taking an active interest in helping others. Of course, it also means abiding by and all rules that exist.

By doing this, you can develop a reputation and, since it is human nature to work with a trusted colleague, business will naturally develop from this.

This type of marketing has already suffered some abuse and because of this, many forums have recently developed stringent rules designed to protect their members from abusive or overly-aggressive marketing tactics. One forum grants .sig files only after a member has created one hundred valid posts and another has disallowed ads in sig files altogether.

Marketers must respect that the purpose of a forum is to be a platform to exchange ideas on a given topic. It is not there to advertise products and services. By focusing on the topic and posting questions and answers, your reputation will grow and this creates the potential for sales naturally.

That’s it for today’s lesson. In The Next lesson we will talk about taking your viral marketing campaign mobile.

See you then.

No not the one you get after a couple of cocktails! I’m talking about

a viral buzz.

I’m not sure if you have noticed or not but viral marketing has

matured quite a bit over the past few years. There

seems to have been a shift to the web not just being seen by

agencies and brands as another tick box for any ad campaign,

which is significant enough, but now being the medium where a

campaign is launched to create a buzz before a new product even

hits the market.

Have you ever noticed that before a movie is released you will see

clips and trailers which are used to generate excitement and

activity before the movie hits the theaters? That’s buzz.

Plain and simple buzz works! Just like it works for movies and big

businesses, it can work for small and start-up businesses, as well.

The planning stage of a viral campaign will set out objectives and

develop the viral theme for a buzz. There are three core

components to any viral campaign and businesses of any size can

use them.

They are:

1. The creative material: the viral agent that embodies the

message you want to spread in a digital format (image, video,

text, etc). The trick is to put together material that people will be

eager to share with their family and friends. Keep in mind when

you are creating your content that people are much more eager to

share something that is either fun, entertaining or informative

rather

than an advertisement.

2. Seeding: distributing and placing the agent online in places

that provide the greatest potential spread. Direct viral material

downloads or links on specialist viral third-party web sites in order

to create awareness and spread before users get to the

campaign destination site.

3. Tracking: Measuring the spread of the campaign to provide

accountability and prove success. It is absolutely vital that you

know what is or is not working. The only way to get that information

is to track the results of your seeding.

Lessons have been learned, trends have been developed and

there is definitely some science involved in creating a buzz

successfully. The buzz technique is here to stay and, if used

strategically, it can make a difference to the success of your

business.

Just take some time and create a solid viral marketing plan using

the steps above and it won’t be long before you get your buzz on!

Look for another lesson soon! We will be talking about using

ebooks to really go viral.

Next thing we are going to do is fill out our settings and this is very important on Twitter. You will find the access to this at the top right of the screen, fourth link from the left.

On this page you will notice there are some tabs across the top. For the moment we will concentrate on the Account tab.

The information you entered on joining is already entered here, but now it’s time to pad this out so people can find you on Twitter and you also make yourself an interesting person to be followed. People will use the information you enter here to make that decision, but much of what is entered is also searchable on Twitter and through various third party applications.

One thing to note is that you can change your username at any time on this screen. You just have to enter your password to do so. Although it can be done, it can confuse your follower base, so I wouldn’t recommend doing it on a weekly basis.

First of all change your time zone to your own and then move onto the one line bio.Your Bio
You have 160 characters here to sell yourself. Take some time over it and do it well. Don’t simply enter a bunch of keywords as they appear totally uninteresting to people, although they may get you found. Use keywords by all means, but start your Bio with the words I am and then describe yourself. So you might put for example:-I am a keen gardener and hiker who also has a passion for the outdoors, internet marketing and affiliate marketing who also loves social media.

Now that description is only 143 characters, so you could still get some more keywords in the bio. No doubt you can see the ones that are there which are gardener, hiker, internet marketing, affiliate marketing and social media. Using these terms in your bio will have you coming up in search results when people are looking for other like minded individuals to follow. As you can see, it is worth taking some time to get the bio right.Balance of Screen
Enter your web site name or blog here if you have one. Make sure you include the http:// prefix to the address.

Your location is next and is also important so people can search and find others in their same area. It will also be important to you if you are chasing rankings on Twitter as users are ranking by their locations.

Protect Updates
This is included if you want to have a private account and you have to approve followers. NEVER turn this on if you intend to use Twitter to meet new people. They just couldn’t be bothered requesting permission to follow you unless they know you personally.

You can now save your settings, but note here that there is also a link to delete your account should you ever wish to do so.

Hello !

It’s time for your second lesson. I hope you found lesson one

informative.

In this lesson we will be talking about using email to achieve your

viral marketing objectives.

During this lesson I want you to keep in mind that the main

objective of an e-mail campaign is branding, in order to achieve

greater branding success and maximum exposure for your offer

you should do your best to craft your email message in a way that

it encourages your readers to pass it along to others.

Producing a message with a quality offer or an incentive for

passing it along is what viral marketing is all about.

Just suggesting that e-mail recipients forward your message to

their friends and relatives is not viral marketing. A message at the

bottom of your e-mail that reads “Feel free to forward this

message to a friend” is nowhere close to viral marketing at its

best.

On the other hand, if something worthy of sharing, such as a

valuable discount, vital information, additional entries into a

sweepstakes, an added discount or premium service, a

joke/cartoon, or a hilarious video, is included in the e-mail, viral

marketing happens naturally and quite successfully.

The bottom line is that your message must be perceived as having

value. Relevant or timely information, research, or studies are all

good examples of content that might be viewed as potential pass-

along material. Interactive content like a quiz or text can inspire

forwarding, especially if it is fun. Personality tests, fitness quizzes,

or compatibility questionnaires are all things that have been

passed on by many people many times.

Why? Because they are entertaining and entertainment has value.

A good video is always going to achieve some pass-along value.

After all online video is hot! It is a bit more of a time and money

investment but the messages have a great appeal and rich media

has the advantage of being new. The tech factor alone is often

enough for the message to be perceived as valuable.

Email is the ultimate “word of mouth” marketing tool. If your email

message is “viral” in nature, your customer can quickly and easily

forward it to friends and family, spreading your message to an

ever growing list of potential customers.

Look for another lesson soon! We will be talking about getting

your buzz going!

Again, I appreciate your joining me for this short ecourse.