Table of Contents

Praise

Title Page

Copyright Page

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 - An Introduction to the Social Media Landscape

So What Exactly Is Social Media?

Social Media, So What? Why Social Media Really Is a Big Deal

The Different Types of Social Media Sites—Content to Suit Every Market

A Closer Look at Microblogging

Introducing...Twitter!

Chapter 2 - What Is Twitter and Why Is It So Powerful?

Twitter and Its Successes

The Power of Twitter’s Immediate Feedback

Instant Access to Smart People 24/7

Chapter 3 - Getting Started the Right Way on Twitter

Signing Up—Does Twitter Have the Web’s Most Friendly Registration Page?

Who’s on Twitter? Your First Followers!

Create an Inviting Twitter Profile

Choosing Your Twitter Picture

Designing Your Twitter Profile

Designing a Commercial Background Image for Twitter

Choosing the Right Colors

Notices to Notice

Tweeting with Your Mobile Phone

Sending Your Very First Tweet

Becoming a Follower

A Word about Security

Chapter 4 - Building a Following on Twitter

Quantity or Quality: Choosing the Type of Following You Want

Quality: How to Be Intentional about Creating Your Own Network of Experts

Quantity: Seven Killer Strategies to Reaching Critical Mass on Twitter

Twitterank and Page Rank

Chapter 5 - The Art of the Tweet

Tweet Etiquette

The Benefits of Following before Twittering

How to Join a Conversation

How to Be Interesting on Twitter

How to Drive Behavior

Chapter 6 - The Magic of Connecting with Customers on Twitter

Identifying Problems and Soliciting Feedback

Discovering Your Top Fans, Promoters, and Evangelists

Your Micro Help Desk

Chapter 7 - Leveraging Twitter for Team Communication

Twitter for Virtual Team Leaders

Creating a Twitter Account for a Virtual Team

Building a Team with Twitter

Chapter 8 - Using Twitter to Help Build Your Brand

Create a Story

Portraying Your Brand with Your Profile

Tweet Style—What to Say When You’re Building a Brand to Create Value and How to ...

Reinforce the Core Message

Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

Writing the Tweets

Win Retweets

Create Hashtags and Run Hashtag Chats

Chapter 9 - Leveraging the Power of Twitter to Drive Behavior in Your Followers

Driving Followers to a Web Site

Promoting a Blog on Twitter

Twitter as a Resource for Post Ideas

Driving Followers to the Mall

Can You Put Affiliate Links on Twitter?

Driving Followers to Register

Tracking Results and Testing Strategies

Tracking Multiple Tweets

Making the Most of Twitter’s Trends

Chapter 10 - Quick Ways to Make Money on Twitter

Earn with Advertising on Twitter

Offer Specialized Services

Barter, Buy, and Sell Your Way to Profit

Chapter 11 - Beyond Twitter.com: Third-Party Tools You Will Want to Know About

SocialOomph

Chapter 12 - Building Powerful Solutions on Top of the Twitter Platform

So What Is an API Anyway?

What Can You Do with Twitter’s API? Automating Your Twitter Experience

Creating Your Twitter App

Chapter 13 - Putting It All Together

A 30-Day Plan for Dominating Twitter

Chapter 14 - Power Twitterers

Robert Scoble (@scobleizer)

Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee)

Peter Shankman (@skydiver)

Kevin Rose (@kevinrose)

Guy Kawasaki (@guykawasaki)

Michael Arrington (@techcrunch)

Wil Wheaton (@wilw)

Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan)

Shaquille O‘Neal (@The_Real_Shaq)

Justine Ezarik (@ijustine)

Rick Warren (@rickwarren)

Carrie Wilkerson (@barefoot_exec)

Pete Cashmore (@mashable)

Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk)

Tony Hsieh (@Zappos)

Conclusion

Directory of Twitterers

Other books by Joel Comm

Index

Praise for Twitter Power 2.0

“As a forward-thinking entrepreneur, it’s clear to me that Twitter is a must-use for any smart businessperson online. Joel Comm’s Twitter Power is the must-read guide defining how to leverage the power of this incredible tool to brand and increase sales in an increasingly competitive world.”

—Joseph Sugarman, Chairman and founder, BluBlocker Sunglass Corporation and author of The Adweek Copywriting Handbook

“Jam-packed with clever ways to leverage the Jovian social-networking power of Twitter. The ‘Twitter as Help Desk’ idea alone is a fiendishly simple, revolutionary idea.”

—Mark Joyner, #1 bestselling author of Integration Marketing www.IntegrationMarketing.com

“When Joel Comm speaks about anything to do with making money on the Internet, I listen. If you want to learn what you need to know for your business to profit from Twitter, you will find it in the pages of this excellent guide.” —Chet Holmes, Business consultant and strategist, and author of the

#1 business bestseller, The Ultimate Sales Machine

“For months I saw and heard the buzz about Twitter, but it wasn’t until Joel told me details about it that I fully understood its marketing implications. Now I can clearly see how this free site can help me further build relationships with my customers, and I am going to be ‘tweeting’ frequently! In fact, I have already started, thanks to Joel. So thanks for writing this book, Joel. It’s going to help a lot of people grow their business!”

—Stephen Pierce, www.MakeRealMoneyOnTheInternet.com

“In the short amount of time I have had with Joel Comm, I can clearly see that this is a man who understands how to build profitable Internet businesses. Twitter Power is sure to set a new standard for those seeking to broaden their entrepreneurial vision to include the latest Internet technologies. I recommend you read it and begin applying it to your business right away!”

—Bill Bartmann, Billionaire Business Coach, www.billionaireu.com

“I was lucky. Joel Comm sat down with me and explained what Twitter is, how it works, and how I could and should be using it for my business. Joel knows more about using Twitter than any other human, and the proof is in his own massive success with ‘tweeting.’ You’re even luckier; in this book, Joel will teach YOU everything you need to know about Twitter—and you don’t even need to buy him lunch.”

—Dan O’Day, Radio advertising guru, www.twitter/danoday

“I’m amazed how many people are not yet using Twitter to connect with customers and associates. Once again, Joel Comm leads the way into the future by showing people how they can have increased success by taking some very simple actions. This book has inspired me to take my social media presence to the next level!”

—Christopher Howard, Wealth and personal achievement expert

“Social media has given online business the fuel to ride the next wave of the Internet for many years to come. If you want to be on the cutting edge of strategies that are being implemented by the most successful businesses, Twitter Power is a must-read. Joel has done a great job of demonstrating how a minor investment of time and energy can result in long-term payoffs. No wonder they call him the Social Media Expert!”

—Kristopher Jones, CEO of Pepperjam and author of Search Engine Optimization: Your Visual Blueprint for Effective Internet Marketing

“Joel Comm’s understanding of social media and its applications for entrepreneurs and the growth of their businesses is remarkable. Beyond his knowledge, it is his ability to communicate it effectively that makes him stand apart, while his humor in delivery keeps you coming back for more.”

—Jen Groover, A “One Woman Brand” and founder of Butler Bag LLC

“I’ve been a big fan of Joel’s ability and track record to keep up and explain the importance of new web-based communication tools and trends. I consider him to be at the front edge of the Internet and a sage guide to help you grasp and understand changes in the fast-paced online world.”

—Tony Rubleski, Amazon #1 bestselling author, www.MindCaptureBook.com

“Thanks, Joel, for this intriguing look at Twitter. You’ve proven that Twitter Power isn’t just about making new connections to generate sales. It’s about brand-building, focus groups, the exchange of ideas, and the emotion of debate. All conducted in real time via computer, cell phone, PDAs, and perhaps even TV by the time you read this. When you add in the incredibly viral nature of Twitter, the possibilities are virtually endless.”

—Dan Nickerson, www.YouMetDan.com

“I’ve been following Joel on Twitter for a while now and I’ll be frank—he annoys me. But in a good way. He always manages to grab my attention in Twitter, despite the limited words available within the microblogging platform. This clearly demonstrates that Joel understands how this new and powerful social media tool should be used. If you want to unleash the power of Twitter for your business, Joel is someone you should pay attention to.”

—Yaro Starak, www.entrepreneurs-journey.com

“I’m a twittering fool. Twitter is one of the most addicting things on the net. Besides the fact you get to update everyone and talk to people you’d rarely talk to, it’s a great tool for building an online buzz. Make sure you follow Joel Comm on this subject, because he’s on the cutting edge of this.”

—Matt Bacak, Internet multimillionaire, Atlanta, GA

Copyright © 2010 by Joel Comm. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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eISBN : 978-0-470-62541-5

Foreword

Every day 60 million emails are sent out around the world. MySpace alone has over 186 million users! Technology has given us so many ways of communicating, but are we truly connecting or just corresponding? Are we adding people into our lives who share our values or merely collecting a list of profiles? Are we deepening relationships or just maintaining them?

As much as we want to nurture every relationship, advances in technology have given us access to more relationships and less time to deepen them. And yet what most of us know, and what I have discovered working with more than 3.5 million people from over 80 countries, is that the quality of our lives is the quality of our relationships. And since life is relationships, relationships follow the rules of life—they either grow or die. Your relationships are as strong or deep as you choose to make them. If you spend quality time in your intimate relationships, if you connect with your families and your friends, those relationships will flourish. If you nurture your relationships with your clients and really meet their needs at a higher level, you build long-lasting connections. Conversely, if you don’t grow your customers, you go out of business. If you don’t reach your family or friends, those relationships get stripped of the substance and texture they deserve.

Ken Blanchard once described life as a game of Monopoly—no matter how many properties we buy or how many houses we build, at the end of the game “it all goes back in the box.” All we have ultimately are the relationships that we nurtured, the lives that we impacted, and the ones that have touched us. All we have are the experiences that we have shared. When two people meet, a third world is created. And with today’s technology, that world can grow exponentially.

Technology such as Twitter has the potential to give us more than just an opportunity to tell others what happened in our day. If we understand and appreciate what Twitter is capable of, we can use it to instantly share our lives with others, and we can use it to reach more people in a meaningful way. Imagine if you could share the magic moments in the days of your kids or family that otherwise you would have missed. Imagine if you had cost-efficient and fast marketing tools that met existing customers where they are and that also helped you acquire new customers. Imagine if you had the power to build a network of like-minded peers, a community of shared ideas and creativity.

In Twitter Power, Joel Comm provides us with the tools, techniques, and benefits for growing our network of resources to create even more fulfilling connections. He shows us the powerful uses of Twitter for brand expansion, building a community that ultimately enriches us personally and professionally and allows us to grow and contribute beyond ourselves.

Joel explains the effortless ways we can make a contribution by being a mentor as well as sharing in the interests and passions of others. In Twitter Power, Joel teaches us how we can use technology not just to correspond, but also to connect. He shows us how the Internet can give us the freedom to experience the depth of relationships, and how it can help us achieve and sustain an extraordinary quality of life—a life of meaning.

With deep respect,

Anthony Robbins

Peak performance coach
Chairman, Robbins Research International, Inc.
Author of Unlimited Power and Awaken the Giant Within

Preface

Shortly after completing the first edition of this book, the tweets started to come in. Terrorists were attacking Mumbai. Having reached India by boat from Pakistan, the terrorists split up and proceeded to kill at least 173 people in shooting and bomb attacks at hotels, a railway station, and a Jewish center.

News of the attacks, which began on November 26, 2008, and continued through November 29, 2008, spread in real time not just on cable news channels and Web sites but through short posts sent by people who were on the scene and placed for anyone to read on Twitter.

Using their mobile phones, it was everyday Mumbaikers who were telling the world what was happening in—and to—their city.

At the time, it looked like a revolution in news delivery.

Reports were being sent not by professional journalists but by regular folk. They were coming in real time, not hours after the event, once producers and editors had filtered and edited them.

But most important of all, those reports were coming in the form of a dialogue. The people who read the posts on Twitter were able to ask questions, receive answers from people on the scene, and show their support and concern for the city’s residents.

It was clearly a huge moment: a tragic time for India and an incredible demonstration of the power of a system that allowed anyone to post 140-character messages that could be read anywhere around the world.

Although this is primarily a business book—a guide for entrepreneurs, managers, and business owners to making the most out of microblogging—I described the way that people had used Twitter during the Mumbai attacks in the preface to the first edition.

Little did I know then that Twitter would go on to be even more influential, helping not just to report the news but to make it.

The first signs came in April 2009. Activists in Moldova used Twitter, as well as other social media services, to organize their demonstrations against the government. But it was when the Iranian government appeared to have forged the results of that country’s June 2009 elections that Twitter’s power really became apparent. With mainstream reporters restricted to their offices and the government shutting down access to the Internet, Iranians used proxies and workarounds to get news of their protests to the outside world. They uploaded videos, posted pictures, and mostly they tweeted.

Dedicated hashtags allowed anyone anywhere to follow the events, draw attention to new video footage as it was uploaded, explain how to use proxies to hide Twitterers’ identities from the authorities, and deliver descriptions of arrests and beatings directly to the world.

So vital did Twitter become as a channel for Iranian protestors to organize and communicate that the U.S. State Department even asked Twitter’s founders to delay their server maintenance so that the demonstrators could continue their actions.

Perhaps none of this should have been surprising. Twitter’s growth in the months preceding the events in Iran had been incredible. According to Nielsen Online, a ratings service, between February 2008 and February 2009, visitors to Twitter increased by an amazing 1,382 percent from 475,000 to seven million. In the following four months, it grew even further to reach more than 10 million people.

As a result Twitter’s users have seen the number of their own followers leap skywards. In April 2009, Ashton Kutcher, one of Twitter’s most popular celebrity Twitterers, challenged CNN to see who would be the first on the site to reach one million followers. In a widely publicized contest, Kutcher won and went on to triple the number of those followers by August 2009.

And because one of the strengths of Twitter is the ability of its users to broaden its services and reinvent the way it’s used, Twitter has changed, too. Interacting with followers has been made easier with better menus and an improved interface. Search, once only provided by a third-party developer, is now an integral part of every user’s timeline and is even being promoted as Twitter’s main product.

And most importantly, companies have discovered all sorts of ways to turn their presence on the site into revenue.

At the end of 2008, when I put together the first edition of this book, Twitter was already showing signs that it would be a powerful player. Today, it’s become that powerful player, and it’s developed a strength and a presence that no one could have predicted.

INTRODUCTION

What Can Twitter Do for You?

Online marketing is a fantastic way to build a business. You can do it from your own home, at your own pace, according to your own schedule, and sometimes even without start-up costs.

Providing advice and promoting products across the Web has helped me to build a successful seven-figure company. It started in my bedroom and has since taken me on speaking tours across the country and around the world.

But creating an Internet business—even a small one—does require work, and part of that work involves staying up to date with the newest tools and the latest online innovations.

That’s not as easy as it sounds. Not every “next big thing” turns out be a giant. The Web is littered with links leading to services that promised a great deal, delivered little, and faded away. Part of building a successful online business means knowing which tools are likely to be useful revenue generators and which are going to be major time-wasters.

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!