To Tweet or not To Tweet (but if you do, do it well)

Every now and again, I feel the need to update my twitter rules of engagement. I say ‘my’ because it isn’t official of course but as someone who has been tweeting for a very long time and tries to keep up with twitter trends, I hope I can inspire by my experience.

Twitter evolves and while some have predicted its demise for a long time, I don’t see it going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, I think it is still getting stronger.

So here is my 2015 twitter rules of engagement or ‘Think Jeannie’s Guide to Twitter’.

·       -  Short and sweet in the name of the game. If you want to get a RT, you need to leave room in those 140 characters for the letters ‘RT’ and for your twitter handle to show (so at least space for 19 extra characters for a RT)

·       -  Make sure your tweet content is a mix of things. Try some RTs of facts & figures or interesting research. Throw in some personal tweets (bad lunch, family time, my rubbish football team lost etc). Other tweeters want to know something about the person/people behind the account.

·        - Never be too ‘salesy’ on Twitter. It is not a selling channel. If your tweets are interesting enough, you’ll get someone to your website where you should be selling like hell.

·       -  Please don’t send a DM to thank someone for following. That’s a waste of a DM and not the purpose of it. Thank yous should be done in a public tweet. You want to let your followers know that ‘you & I’ are worthy of following each other. It is not a secret society.

·        - Do use a DM if you are a business who has a genuine ‘twitter’ offer for following. For instance, if I follow a restaurant, you are more than welcome to thank me in a DM by sending me a voucher for a free glass of wine or discount. If you do that, make it a genuine decent (but easy to fulfil) offer.

·        - Make sure your twitter profile is creative & short (max 160 characters). Also make sure your banner is the right size (you don’t want pixilation). Remember only a certain middle bit of that banner shows on mobiles & tablets.

·        - And your profile shot should be either a distinctive, clear logo or your picture.  It’s a very important part of your profile.

·        - Say thanks to someone who has retweeted one of your posts and do it publicly (not in a DM).

·        - Hashtags are powerful but don’t overuse them. They are great when tweeting about trends or for an event you are organizing (communicate ahead of time to attendees what the event hashtag will be).

·        - Hashtags are also good when complaining or moaning about service (mentioning the ‘offending’ business name in the hashtag). A good business or organization will be on top of those # and respond accordingly. You can right a wrong by being responsive. So check often & then let the tweeter know you’ve heard them (don’t force a DM conversation – the complainer has been public for a reason).

·        - Automate as little as possible. Genuine tweets = genuine followers.

·        - If you don’t have the time to tweet regularly, yes that means a couple of times most days, then don’t tweet! If you’re a business, Facebook & LinkedIn may just be a better avenue for your social media.

·        - Do not swear or be rude. Having a strong opinion is fine but you don’t have to insult someone and everyone’s intelligence by using expletives.

·        - Don’t carry on with too long a ‘private’ conversation or joke in the public eye. Switch to DMs where you can chat away. And don’t forget, phones and emails still exist!

·        - Quality not quantity is the name of the game for followers. Clean up your followers list often (try Justunfollow https://www.crowdfireapp.com/ ) and get rid of those who look like spammers or those who haven’t tweeted in ages but are still following you (like those who have automated – see #13).

·        - To get followers you have to follow too (‘if you build it, they just don’t automatically come’). Look at terms that are of interest to you & see which tweeters come up. Never hesitate to follow someone that strikes your fancy – shyness doesn’t exist on twitter. All businesses are created equal on twitter.

·        - Remember twitter is not private – you may think you are speaking to a closed audience of your followers but you are not. And you may just lose your job over it (HR people now regularly monitor employee twitter accounts). Don’t call a sickie then talk about the great party you went to last night. Not clever.

·        - Weekends and nights rule. I used to say you could do less tweets during that time. That wouldn’t be good advice now. People spend more quality time on twitter on the weekends and evenings (who really has the time during a busy working day).

It may only be 140 characters but it shows the person or business who you are so use the opportunity and time well. Twitter can be such a powerful tool!

Working from Home – some ‘Home Truths’

27 February 2015

It has been 2 weeks since my last post – I must do better. Been busy but aren’t we all? I’ve needed some inspiration to write something compelling. I got it today – it was called ‘almost Spring’.

So what does ‘almost Spring’ have to do with working from home? Well lovely, sunny weather especially on a Friday is one of the best things about working from home. It means I got to plan my day around getting out for a walk and fresh air. Oh and had a nice lunch with a colleague and friend.

I find many people who have to work in an office are envious at the idea that I work from home. I can tell you there are as many negatives as positives and it is completely up to you to make it worthwhile.  Here are some highs and the lows:

Working from Home – 5 Good Things: 

• -          You don’t have to go on public transport during rush hour
• -          You don’t have to dress up in ‘work’ clothes every day
• -          You can have flexibility in the hours you work
• -          You will be home for ‘that delivery’
• -          You save money on lunches & coffee

 Working from Home – 5 not such Good Things:

• -          You’re always the one travelling to the meetings & rarely vv (travel is such a time-waster)
• -          You dress down a bit more than you should (and can sometimes work in your pjs)
• -          You tend to work too much and at odd hours
• -          You miss comradery, office gossip and just someone to moan to
• -          You are 'everyman' from boss to administrator to IT support to cleaner

Okay perhaps I don’t hear any violins yet but you need to make the best of what can be a lonely time. I often crave that buzz of the office with phones ringing and trays of tea being made by someone in the department every hour. It can be hard to concentrate with all the quiet – you can easily lose focus and start to fiddle with household chores.

The benefits of working from home should outweigh the negatives but it is up to you to make it work well. Working from home isn’t suitable for everybody. You need discipline, imagination and other friends and colleagues nearby to make your own water cooler moments (regularly). 

If you are a freelancer or consultant and one of your clients asks you to work in their office part-time, even one morning a week, then jump at the chance. It could make a very big difference to having the perfect work situation. I’m starting to do that now and I can already feel the difference. It makes the time I am home working much more enjoyable because it isn’t all the time.  

It’s the Content, Stupid

10 February 2015

Remember that famous slogan from Bill Clinton’s Presidential campaign? Allegedly it was “It’s the economy, stupid”.  The gist being he could talk about all the issues you can imagine but in the end, people would decide who to vote for based on what he would do for their wallets.

It got me thinking that it’s similar with Social Media. You can be good at all the tips & tricks of the Social Media channels but in the end of the day, it’s simply what you are talking about that cuts through. When I do a Social Media strategy for a client, I definitely focus on content and keywords but probably not enough. I intend on doing more.

It may sound logical but I’ve come across so many people who struggle with what to say in their tweets and posts. While lots rely on pictures to do the talking, which do make for engaging posts, I believe it is what you say with those images and how you say it that really counts.

I’ve noticed in recent months on Facebook that my personal posts, with short and ‘nice’ or funny stories, get the most reaction. I don’t post with an image and I often think at the time they are too long but I am amazed at the reaction. Seems I’ve either tugged at someone’s heart strings or I’ve told a funny anecdote that others can relate to and that’s what gets a response.

As with email marketing, a headline can make or break you. Funny, ironic, sarcastic or a little bit rude (just a bit) works a treat in getting people’s attention. If you don’t require a title, then a short intro sentence using those sorts of tones should work too. Just think about how you might react if you are in the receiving line.  How many emails do you ignore every day and which ones get your attention.

In thinking about content, I tell clients who are stuck for ideas, start with a calendar. Use an A3 sheet of paper and split by the twelve months and plot the usual big holidays first e.g. Christmas, Easter, bank holidays etc. Then do a bit of research to find out some unusual holidays (e.g. ‘National Cheese Day’ ‘Dogs go to work with owners Day’ and similar) and stick those in the calendar. Then consider key dates specific to your industry. If you’re in travel and tourism, think about the high travel season or type of holiday relevant to the time of the year e.g. beach, skiing, day’s out. Or research all the main industry shows and events. FAQs make great content. Keep filling in your calendar and suddenly you have twelve months of content, without much effort, planned.

Do think laterally too in terms of content. Don’t just talk about your own industry or business – figure out how you can take advantage of a totally unrelated topic and turn it into something relevant for you and your business. The Chelsea Flower Show may not seem an obvious connection to an Osteopath but if you just think about all those gardeners bending down and making their displays, well sure you can imagine there might be some very sore backs. Suddenly, you’ve got an interesting story with a link. And you can be sure the Chelsea Flower Show will be trending all over social media (don’t forget to use those Hashtags!).

Finishing off, I remember another famous saying ‘Content is King’. I certainly think so – in fact it’s true royalty!

Now Where do I Find the Customers?

I've been a bit quiet with this blog the last week. Some maybe betting I've given up already but I haven't. I've just been busy launching a new product.

The Antiques Day Trips is open for business. It is the next phase in the life of my company Wilson Picks and brings together a couple of my passions in one go - travel & 'vintage'. It was staring me in the face but it took me awhile to figure it out. I have now and the big uphill journey starts. Just how do we find the customers? Where are those antiques lovers?

Wilson Picks is now almost 2 years old. I really do love our eclectic collection of pre-loved china, glass, furniture and fabric items. The reality though is they just doesn't make enough money. It is back-breaking work setting up stalls, carrying boxes of china (inevitably you will break some each time) and then packing away for the next event or fair. Vintage items sell slowly online. They are mostly one-offs and are a subjective buy often triggered by already owning a pattern or just wanting that specific shape or colour. And they are a tactile sale. Customers want to touch, look over and stare for a few minutes before making the purchase. You obviously can't do that online.

We don't want to give it all up though - we just needed a different angle. So along comes our mate Tom Keane of Chiswick Auctions and television auction expert whose been playing a bit of a guardian angel over us and voila, an idea is hatched. Tom bought the fantastic The Swan in Tetsworth last year - 40-rooms known as Britain's best Antique Centre (with a claim to fame of having had Queen Victoria stay overnight within its 500-year old walls). It all made sense all of a sudden. We love antiques, we love travel, we love good food (the restaurant is fab), we love all those tv experts from the various Antiques Shows - so why not combine them all together and give people a day trip to remember. 

It never fails each fair we do, someone asks where we find our china and other items so we know people are keenly interested in learning more. Although many won't acknowledge it, Bargain Hunt is one of the most popular daytime tv shows. Then there is Cash in the Attic, Flog It and Antiques Road Show and Antiques Road Trip and the list goes on.  So many are hooked and so many are desperate to find that one special treasure which turns out to be worth a fortune. This trip is for all those people.

So where do you start marketing and promoting? We admittedly have a limited budget. Facebook, Twitter and blogging is where I've started (after the website of course). I need to work those channels hard. As it is meant to be one of my expertise, I've got to grow those quality followers and quickly. The blogging has also started in earnest and like this blog, it needs persistence. We also need to find other bloggers to do some shouting too. A simple brochure is being designed which we'll get out to hotels and other relevant spots where our potential customers may be. Instagram and Pinterest are on the list to do soon.

A lot of what needs doing is just good, old fashioned hard graft. We need to pick up the phone, send emails, send letters and direct mail and generally spread the word.  The world moves quickly now but I still believe some of the old ways are still the best ways. I'm determined to get these trips booked up. Wish me luck. Will be updating on progress as we go. How exciting!

It Was Staring me in the Eyes – that ‘Special Relationship’

20 January 2015

As anyone who has read any of the previous articles in this blog will know, change is on my mind. Having had a lot of time over the holidays to think, opportunities and ideas became clearer. Sometimes you just have to take time to get away from it all including the laptops, iPads and mobiles and even people. Once you get that space you get clarity that you couldn’t find before. It’s a bit like distinguishing those trees in the woods.

So a year of change is it. And over the last week, while I’ve still had a bit of space, I’ve come to realise a few more things. One thing that dawned on me, which was staring me in the face, is that I haven’t made enough of the fact that I am an American who has lived in London for over 27 years. I very much understand what the British want and what it takes to make it here. So why aren’t I promoting that to North American businesses who want to get into the market here?

What I have found very interesting is that looking at the stats of this blog, the majority of readers are coming from the US (double the UK).  I’ve been distributing the blogs through various Social Media channels including Google +, LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter (with Twitter & LinkedIn bringing in the most views). So dissecting that further, seems I have either more connections and followers from the US or more from the US have a propensity to be interested in what I am writing about. In any case, there seems to be more of an appeal from across the pond.

Next step is to fine-tune the message and then figure out how to get it across. The message is simple ‘Americans - let me be your go-to person on the ground here in the UK if you want business from & in the UK’. That isn’t very eloquent but it is the gist of the opportunity. How I tell them will mean first tweaking my Social Media profiles starting with LinkedIn and then getting a new website spelling out just what I can do. So giving myself more work to do but it will be worth it in the end.

My goodness – give yourself a little headspace and the ideas and opportunities just flow. Try it. You never know what you may come up with!

Starting Over Again – I Can Try

15 January 2015

I’m getting back on to the original topic of this blog which is to chronicle my year of change ahead. Big clue is in the title ’56 years to change’ (yes I’m admitting my age – brave no?) Can’t avoid getting older but do I have to act that way?

Sometimes it takes a while to figure out what really makes you happy. In my case, it has taken a very long while. Life over the last years has gotten in the way of clear thinking about me – things such as family illnesses, some very bad business decisions and perhaps just going down a wrong path which at the time seemed to make sense. Over the holidays with lots of time to think, it suddenly dawned on me what I didn’t want to do and then with a bit more time started to figure out what I did want to do.

Change for lots of people can be a very scary thing.  But change when you’re older adds an extra layer of fear. The reality of changing your work or business at my age is the odds are stacked against me.  It is a young world out there and keeping up with all the latest trends, digital channels and, frankly, the time-commitment makes it a tough task. If you take the example of a job opening, say Manager of a Retail Shop, and there was one 30 year old with 5 years’ experience and one 55 year old with 30 years’ experience, I would bet good money the 30 year old would get it 90% of the time. Even taking into account all that experience and the potentially better work ethic and loyal attitude on the side of the older candidate, the younger-aged person wins it more times than not.

So I’m going to try my best to buck the standard on this one. Had a great meeting today to discuss moving forward with a number of new ventures and ideas. From my new Antiques Days Trips and new product line for Wilson Picks to getting into property and joint ventures with new business partners, I feel truly optimistic. There will be ups and downs and some of life’s issues haven’t gone away but I really feel like I can make the change and make a difference in 2015, my 57^th year.

One last thought. It was pointed out to me today that I use the expression ‘no spring chicken’ a lot. I apparently said it today and wasn’t even conscious of it. So one more resolution to add to the pile. Stop saying that Jeannie!

Its So Easy to Tweet When You’re Mad

12 January 2015

Made it back to London from New York this morning. I am amazed at how smoothly the flight went last night. It may astound a few but after 25 years in the travel industry, I will admit that I have a fear of flying (not news to my friends and family). Between the furiously fast tail winds from the various storms, the many nuts now terrorizing our freedom and just being scared, well, I am really pleased how easy it all went. The flight was empty and I had 3 seats to myself. There was absolutely no turbulence and that tail wind made our flight time very short at only 5 and a ½ hours. Wish each trip across the Atlantic could go like that.

Once I settled, I got back into work mode. Tweeting was the first port of call. I want to be more creative and engaging this year for both my own businesses and my clients and that takes time to research and write up. As I was looking around at interesting articles and information, I came across a very good blog about how to handle negative feedback onTwitter. Twitter makes it very easy to complain about and to businesses and organisations so, at some point, most of us will come across negative comments.  There is a reality and that is people will more quickly tell you what is wrong than what is right about what you do – it is the nature of the beast to moan. And being able to do so very publicly makes it feel all the more worthwhile. Admittedly I have done my fair share of telling off businesses but, to be fair, I also do compliment where one is due.

As I have knowledge of both sides (told off as well as received), I have good experience at what works in a reply and what doesn’t. That blog pretty much nails it. Ignoring a negative comment is probably the worst thing you can do for your business. Don’t reply that you will respond only as a DM. The conversation may go that way but let it happen and let the public know you care enough to reply publicly. You need to be real and respond in a natural and polite way. The number of times I have been given scripted replies on twitter (you can so tell) is ridiculous.

Each complaint is individual so treat the person that way. A major pet peeve is when the responder doesn’t tell you their name (first name). It is a clear sign there is a junior answering and working off pre-written standard tweet replies. Thank the tweeter for bringing up the issue and assure you want to deal with it fairly and quickly.

None of these points are rocket science. Twitter is all about a natural engagement. The public have now gotten off the phone and on to social media when it comes to complaining. You can’t stop that so use it to your advantage. I have had very good outcomes after tweeting complaints with businesses such as British Gas, Tescos and Santander to name a few. Their replies to start off with were pretty poor but the point is they took notice and quickly. Twitter complaining works but those companies need to get their twitter customer service working better too. The reality should be any publicity is good publicity but it is how it is handled that will determine the good guys from the poor performers. Get it wrong and you could easily have a catastrophe on your hands.

Twitter is still as powerful as ever. Big businesses are putting more money into servicing via twitter. It is though down to the quality of the reply that will ultimately count.  

They need to try just a bit harder.