How To Get More Retweets On Twitter

Microblogging giant Twitter has more than 400 millions tweets and retweets everyday. If you want to see retweet multiple times, you have to work on some factors. If you see a retweet, it means that one of your followers was interested to retweet your post and he has reshared it among his follwers. 

Here are some tips to get more retweets on twitter:

1. Retweet Request :

Twitter conducted a survey for promoted tweets and found that asking for a retweet increased retweets by an average of 311%. Every advertisement has to have some relevant action to make footprint on social media.

2. Leave Space For Retweet :

Always leave at least 20 characters of free space at the end of your tweet if you want any user to add comment. 

3. Tweet When Twitter Is Silent :

Millions of people tweet at the same time and here it is difficult to be heard. So choose a time when audience is less and less tweets are posted, that time id perfect for retweet.

4. Links On Tweets :

People retweet without clicking the link provided on a tweet. It means that they don’t really know what they’re forwarding to their contacts. Always provide relevant links to your audience.

5. Compose Your Tweets Properly :

You have space for around 12 words. So every word has to be carefully selected to make the good impact. You should provide a platform where it  should make them easier to read, use proper capitalization and punctuation and avoid anything other than the most common abbreviations. 

6. Short Username :

Make your username short, less than 10 characters and easy to read because it’s going to show up in every retweet. 

7. Post Original :

To increase engagement on Twitter, you have to post original content. Always keep posting useful and relevant tweets with shorten links so that users can get the link and can read the content.

8. Build Relationships :

Once you have a good amount of users which grow over time, your followers or the people you are following may have a ton of followers will be helpful to get retweeted your contents.

9. Use Hashtags :

Check out Trendistic to see what hashtags are being used right now and use those hashtags. People like hashtags while retweeting.

10. Retweet Button On You Blog :

Last but not the least, if you have blog then always add retweet button in your blog. While visiting your blog or website people may retweet your content over twitter.

Hope the above tips help to to gather some retweets. Share your comments so that we can get to know the progress as well.

Where Your Audience Spends Time Online [Infographic]

Do you know where your audience spends time online? Which Demographic Use Social Media? Yes, this is question every blogger asks because bloggers need follow the source where they get readers.

Facebook, twitter, pinterest or instagram, you have to do research to get your audience to your blog. Check out the infographic for more on the demographics of social media user.

Source : PR Daily

Where Should You Post Your Status Update [infographic]

A lot of popular social media platforms are there but where should you post your updates? Confused? Then here is a nice inforgraphic which explains the various conditions which can be taken into consideration while sharing your status updates. This flowchart will tell you how and where should you update.

Source : BreakingCopy

Social Media Specification Guide [Infographic]

Content designing is one the most important job in social media and when you design content you need to know the dimensions too.

Here is a nice infographic which explains the specification guide on social media.

Source : raidious.com

Do's and Don'ts Of Social Media

We use social media for sharing various information including official, personal, social and in one minute the social media encounters millions of posts. There are a lot of social media networks like like facebook, twitter, linkedin and we very often share and update some private (not to be shared) information on those sites unknowingly and get it publicly available. So we sometimes get involved in trouble without our consent. To avoid these type of mistakes, Dr. Steve Buckley has suggested few things which are stated below :

The History Of Social Networking [Infographic]

When was Social Media started? Any idea? Orkut? Facebook? Oooops!! Okay! Here is a nice infographic. It started with CompuServe and Arpanet back in 1969. A couple years later, the first-ever email was sent. Imagine a time when we didn't have email and you had to actually chat with people on the phone in person? It was a crazy time, to be sure.

But never fear, social media has evolved over the past few decades into a time-sucking but powerful tool for teachers, students, and everyone else. As you can see by this social media history timeline, there’s a lot that’s happened over the past decades. We can only guess what’s coming next.

Source: ZACHMAU

How Social Login And Sharing Affect Ecommerce [Infographic]

People online tend to share and like various posts and in this way the information is being distributed over the web. 65% or two-thirds of adult Internet users have an account on at least one of the following social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn and Yahoo. 68% of consumers consult their social network sites to research product information and more importantly product reviews. 

It’s no wonder why 2 out of 5 consumers prefer social logins vs. creating a new or guest account. Find out How Social Login and Sharing Affect eCommerce. Here is a nice infographic which shows how social login and sharing affect on Ecommerce.

Source : Monetate

China’s Social Media Equivalents [Infographic]

Chinese use different social networking sites such as Facebook for social networking, LinkedIn for professional social networking, eblogger for blogging purpose, Twitter for microblogging, WhatsApp for mobile chat, YouTube for sharing videos, Flickr for photo sharing and wikis for acquiring information related to various aspects.

Individuals in China make use of Spotify for streaming online music, eBay for online trade, Quora for quality and assurance( Q&A). Please find below the infographic which explains the Chinese Social Media Activities.

Source : graphs.net

Steps To Calculate ROI Of Social Media [Infographic]

To calculate social media ROI, you first have to have a bunch of metrics that you have gathered throughout your social media marketing campaign. Make sure you have the correct metrics since it will highly impact the end result. When you have it all divided into each social network, you can finally start calculating your social media ROI.

Social Media ROI can be calculated in terms of interaction made over social media websites. Below is a nice presentation where the social media giants facebook, twitter's statistics are shown along with memes, youtube streams, infographics and blogs.

Social Media ROI Calculator

The Impact of Social Media on the PR Industry [Infographic]

The infographic below only shows a summary of the findings, the actual results are much more detailed and in-depth as all survey questions not only had pre-determined answer options, but also open-ended questions asking for explanations, more details and opinions.

Nevertheless, the following infographic should still give you some food for thought.

Source : IllianaStareva

40 Social Media Tips for Your Business

No doubt Social Media has a huge impact in online business and its promotion so here are some 40 Quick Social Media Tips for Your Business.

General Social Media Thoughts:

1. Don’t talk about religion, politics, or sports unless you represent a religion, a politician, or a sport.

2. Keep your post 90% on topic in your business.

3. Don’t over sell, educate about 90% of the time.

4. Re-Post other material that would appeal to the audience you are creating.

5. Always ask yourself, “Would my audience find this interesting or informative?”

6. Update your Google+ & LinkedIn status daily.

7. Once a week schedule your posts in advance with TweetDeck, Hootsuite, or SocialOomph.

8. Fill out all your profile information the same on all your social media.

9. The naming of your social media handles should all match.

10. Offer Foursquare or other social media specials not found any other place.

11. Add social media buttons to your websites, emails, and product literature.

12. Register your Google Places, Facebook Check-In, Foursquare, Bing, etc. with your company’s address & phone number.

13. Write a press release on your business at least once a quarter. Tag it with keywords.

14. Add pictures to your business Pinterest page and link them to your website or blog.

Twitter:

15. Design a custom Twitter background with your company’s contact information.

16. Tweet at least three to four times a day.

17. Follow people that matter to your business or potential clients.

18. Welcome all new followers (SocialOomph is a great way to do this.)

19. Check your Mentions and Replies daily.

20. #Don’t #over #hashtag #everything #you #tweet.

21. Tweet out your new blog posts.

22. Consider a dashboard application like Hootsuite or TweetDeck to help manage your tweets.

Facebook:

23. Update your Facebook wall daily.

24. You best Facebook wall post times are between 8:30a-9:30a and 4:30p-7:00p Monday through Friday.

25. Your best weekend and holiday post times are 10a-12p and 4:30p-7:00p.

26. Cross “Like” other businesses whose audience would benefit from your product.

27. Be the last to respond to all comments on your Wall even if it is “Thanks.”

28. Insert pictures into your wall posts.

29. Consider adding custom tabs or contact forms to your Facebook fan page.

YouTube:

30. Keep your videos short. Best time length is 30 secs to 2 mins.

31. Each video you create should address one project or answer one question.

32. Mention your company name in the beginning of all titles, descriptions, and tags.

33. Brand the background of your YouTube channel.

Blogs:

34. Create blog at least weekly.

35. Whatever blogging frequency you start, you must stay consistent.

36. If you consider yourself a serious blog, host your own blog on your own URL and SEO each and every blog post.

37. Keep your blogs short between 400-700 words.

38. Start a blog post with a good picture.

39. Comment on other blogs in your industry and  add social media sharing buttons to the bottom of your posts.

40. Embed your YouTube videos in your blog posts.

4 Quick Tips To Appeal To The Users with Social Media Marketing

A lot of business owners forget that social media marketing is not the same as simply advertising. Instead, it is about building a relationship with the audience. In fact, social media is basically public relations, which is vastly different from advertisement. Business owners are encouraged to use the following tips to create mutually beneficial relationships with their audience.

1. Make It Personal

One difference between advertisements and social media marketing is that ads do not allow the audience to communicate back. Viewers often get the distinct feeling that there is a corporation behind the ad, not a real person. Social media, on the other hand, focuses on allowing the audience to feel comfortable communicating because there is clearly a person behind the messages on Facebook, Twitter, or other popular social media platforms. Ensuring the voice has some personality that the audience can relate to is vital to creating a positive relationship.

2. Keep Self-Serving Posts to a Minimum

Companies that are successful at social media marketing tend to offer helpful links and advice. Merely linking to their own website pages and advertising special deals will come off a spam, which readers do not tolerate. It is considered okay to occasionally sprinkle in some self-serving links or reminders, but the goal is to truly benefit the audience in some way. This is usually achieved through linking to articles and videos with useful tips, and by asking readers what they think so they realize their feedback is important.

3. Be Dependable

Viewers like consistency since it lets them know what to expect, so business owners are encouraged to post regularly. Social media with random postings will not gain a following, nor will they impress viewers. This is no way to build a good relationship with audience members. Businesses that rarely ever post may be ignored by the public, while those that suddenly stop posting much may lose their followers since they will feel let down at the sudden change in post frequency.

4. Be Honest

Advertisements are notorious for only portraying the best side of the business, while social media marketing is known for being a bit more honest. When site owners invite feedback from their audience, they should be prepared for some criticism from some. Even the most well-liked businesses cannot please everyone, but they are able to survive because they genuinely care about correcting their mistakes. Social media marketing offers the perfect platform for business owners to respond to critics and dissatisfied customers. This is why they should avoid deleting negative comments, and instead show their stellar customer service skills by publicly responding to the concerns.

How Can Social Software Get You Fired [Infographic]

Social media is fast becoming a major business expense. But are its human resources, marketing, and public relations benefits offset by its impact on the working day? As more people sign up for Facebook and Twitter, more people are bad mouthing their bosses online, wasting company time, and over-sharing their day-to-day lives.

Below is the inforgraphic which shows How can social software get you fired?

Source : Visual.ly

Twitter Crosses The Half-Billion Users

In a recent study conducted by social media monitor Semiocast, micro-blogging site Twitter has been found to have over 500 million users. It also said that Americans and Brazilians account for the most users in the world. The social media site crossed the half a billion users mark by the end of June, as the United States accounted for both the most users and largest number of tweets.

Source : Economictimes with Semiocast

Apple Approaches Twitter To Get Into Social Media

Here is a flashing news in social media, technology giant Apple has held talks in recent months with micro-blogging site 'Twitter' on the possibility of undertaking multi-million dollar investments in the network, a media report has said.

"Apple, which has stumbled in its efforts to get into social media, has talked with Twitter in recent months about making a strategic investment in it," The New York Times said yesterday, citing source.

According to the daily, the iPhone maker has considered investing hundreds of millions of dollars, that could take Twitter's value up to USD 10 billion compared to its valuation of USD 8.4 billion last year.

However, citing a source, the daily said the two companies are not in negotiations at the moment but the recent talks are a sign that they may form a stronger partnership amid intensifying competition from Google and Facebook.

Both Twitter and Apple declined to comment on the matter, the daily added.

Apple has strongly sewn Twitter features into its phones and tablets, while Twitter has put more resources into managing its relationship with Apple, the daily said.

"...such a deal would give Apple more access to Twitter's deep understanding of the social Web, and pave the way for closer Twitter integration into Apple's products," the daily said.

According to the publication, Twitter with more than 140 million monthly active users has nearly USD 600 million cash in hand and does not need Apple's investment.

Moreover, the social network site is widely expected to pursue a public offering within the next few years irrespective of its deal with Apple, the daily said.

On Friday, Apple which tends to mostly buy small start ups, purchased a small mobile company for USD 356 million.

Latest Trend In Social Advocacy By Donating Twitter Characters

You can donate clothes, canned goods, old eyeglasses and even your rusty ’87 Yugo to charity. Now a growing number of causes are urging donors to chip in their unused Twitter characters, too.

Image Credit : Google

It works like this: send a tweet through special app, and any unused space is filled up with a public-service announcement like “Support injured servicemen and women” and a link to the charity.

Groups are using it to drum up support for Japanese earthquake relief, fair trade efforts and – this month – the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps injured veterans.

“Many people add a bumper sticker to their car or wear an advocacy bracelet to show their support of a specific cause,” said Pam Wickham, vice president of communications for Raytheon, which is funding the Wounded Warrior effort. “But stickers and bracelets only have an effect on people who are actually there to see them. Social media advocacy has no limits — and better yet, it gets people actually engaged in your cause.”

Last year an ice cream company used the concept to promote May 14’s World Fair Trade Day. A website counter showed a running tally of donated characters.

The Japan Up relief campaign took a more visual tack, posting a graphic of a tattered Japanese flag that was slowly restored as people donated characters.

The idea is to contribute “social capital” as a kind of free publicity, said Mark Wilson of the Boston Group, which designed the Raytheon campaign.

“You’re basically donating your influence,” Wilson said. “It’s a very powerful indicator of participation.”

The Raytheon campaign, called Hashtags for Heroes, adds mobile applications for the Android, Blackberry, iPhone and iPad.

The Boston Group built the app in-house over 3½ months, Wilson said.

The Apple app store took about a week to test and approve the iPhone app. Approval from the Android and Blackberry app stores three or four days, Wilson said. None of the stores asked for any changes.

Programmers also built a set of browser plug-ins and a website. Stephanie Schierholz, a former NASA social media manager recently hired by Raytheon, helped guide the writing of 133 standardized tweets for the program.

Ads in Defense News, Politico, and the websites of the Wall Street Journal, the National Journal and Roll Call urge readers to download the apps. A video available on YouTube shows users how to use them.

Raytheon launched the program on May 3 and collected more than 87,000 characters in the first week. The company has also built a microsite featuring profiles of veterans, interviews, slideshows and a counter showing the total of donated characters.

“I think we’re at the beginning of a trend,” Wilson said. “In this day and age, that’s what it’s all about – connecting with as many people as possible with as great a frequency as possible, so that people learn more about this cause.”

While there’s no receipt and you can’t write it off on your taxes, these twitter donations can be just as powerful as cash, Wickham said. “Awareness and advocacy are powerful motivators in any community, and the online community is no different. “We’d love to see not just thousands of characters donated, but thousands of new supporters of the Wounded Warrior Project That’s the power of social media.”

Source : Socialnomics.com

Leverage You And Your Business Via Social Media [Infographic]

Social networking sites like - Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google are without a doubt the most popular online networking platforms on the internet nowadays. They provide everyone from the casual internet user to the business expert with the ability to communicate, advocate and connect in ways that were never before possible.

Whether you’re a social butterfly, or you're apprehensive when it comes to vociferously communicating with others in a public space, there are some inherent rules to follow when it comes to social media. Not only will this help you enhance your social media skills by growing your base of fans and followers, but it'll also allow you to leverage the influence you build to eventually expand and grow the reach of your business within any industry or niche.

Source : Zintro:

How To Share Desktop Screenshots on Twitter

We know about other applications which let you share your desktop screenshots. But what about in Twitter? Here is a tool which helps you to share the desktop screenshots. TwitDesktop can be a great help while you share your desktop screenshot on twitter, which can be reviewed, voted and also shared other screen shots too. Additional to these features, you can share the wallpaper, icons and the theme of the screenshot to let people install your desktop style on their own desktops also.

Image Credit : twitDesktop

All the Twitter account holders are having a TwitDesktop account by default. So you have to login to TwitDesktop with your Twitter username and password. And if you don't have a Twitter account you can sign up for one for free at Twitter.com. If you want to upload picture using TwitDesktop, you have to login to TwitDesktop and go to the “Upload” page , and fill the upload form.

TwitDesktop is a completely web-based application. So you don't need to download and install it. Even there is no need to create an account either.

How To Use Twitter App for Windows

There are a lot of add-on tools available for the web browser to access Twitter. But if you want to use Twitter from Windows desktop outside the web browser then there are some Twitter clients available for Windows.

Image Credit : Echofon!

TweetDeck, Seesmic Desktop and MetroTwit are already popular on web as Twitter clients.

These are widely used but complex while using it and if you are looking for some simple to use that will consume less memory then obviously go for the new Echofon for Windows.

Image Credit : Echofon!

How to use Echofon Twitter App on Windows ?

Echofon can be considered as the flexible tool for accessing the Twitter website in Firefox browser. Here you will be able to get access to your Twitter lists, recent searches, @retweets/mentions, recent topics and direct messages in the same window. In case a tweet contains a picture, Echofon will also display a thumbnail preview of that picture.

Some keyboard shortcuts are given below :

Ctrl+K can be used to mark all tweets as read 

Ctrl+R can be used to check if there are any new tweets 

Ctrl+I can be used while tweeting new tweet with a picture in your message. 

Multiple Twitter accounts can be configured with Echofon.

How The Content Sharing Works On Facebook, Twitter and Google+

In case you want to spread your contents around the world web, it is essentially required to share that via a medium where people usually read the contents and this space is truly shared among three most popular social media sites – Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

Image Credit : Google

Everyday more than 200 million tweets are written by 100+ million users on Twitter and for Facebook? Yeah it is quite better than that. 800+ million users of Facebook like and share more than 2 billion posts per day while Google+ is now capturing the social media sphere at an gradually increasing rate with a small market around 43 million users. 

If you are a publisher then it is very much required for you to share your content across the media channels. But normally we don’t see which one of these media is most actively playing the role in content sharing and which one of these is attacking viewers of the shared contents. 

Here we will share a nice study and experiment done by Kevin Rose, founder of Digg. He shared the same content/article on his Facebook, Twitter and Google+ profiles at the same time and calculated with the help of bit.ly analytics. He observed the number of clicks coming from each of these social networks for the following two days and the results are not like what was expected earlier. 

	Facebook	Twitter	Google+
Number of Clicks	5815	11015	3623
Number of Followers	1.27m	261k	135k

He has 1.2 million followers on Twitter and they clicked on the link 5800 times. And 135k people have added Kevin to their Google+ circle, which made some 3600 clicks from there. Kevin’s 261k Facebook subscribers clicked on the link 11000+ times. 

So obviously here is a clear understanding that Facebook played the major role while it comes to CTR od the articles and the content sharing.