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Wednesday 27 February 2013

10 ways to be fitter on Twitter - your bake sale treat tweets

Maybe because the 'new normal' is the nil growth and possibly triple recession in Britain at the moment we have returned to home treats in the belief I guess to cheer ourselves up.


Home baking is no longer the preserve (:-)) of the Women's Institute (WI)  but has now re-emerged as an activity with celebrities from stage, screen and sport  competing on TV in cake making skills and of course we mere mortals are doing the "baking making thing"

In particular cup cakes, muffins and the like have made a return.


"As  blogs are to cakes , so  twitter is to cup cakes"
In my local Starbucks they have a low calorie blueberry muffin so the treat does not have to blow the diet.

Here are ten tips for fitter twitter - your bake sale treat tweets


1.  Bake your own Twitter cakes. Home made is best

Company authored or ghost written twitter tends to be one way transmission. They lack the most important ingredient about twitter is that is a social medium.

When you write your own tweets they are akin to home baked cup cakes. Maybe a your 'twitter cup-cakes' are occasionally a little uneven, the icing not uniform or perhaps they are a little bit burnt round the edges. But they are made fresh each time.

 The thing is they taste better, smell better and much more appreciated from anything from the factory which claim they make 'exceedingly good cakes' which have to be a compromise with e numbers, preservatives,packaging and transportation.


2. Twitter Baking - Eating Sharing and feedback

Remember that when we Selling - Brits 'take tea' it is an opportunity for civilised business conversation beyond the water cooler gossip. Leave 'goss' for personal life. For business twitter Salespeople need to exhibit that they are trustworthy and can keep commercial secrets and buyer confidences.

Yet twitter does facilitate a 'conversation' where we can reply, re tweet and share


3. Don't moan and  be Bitter Twitter - Avoid Curmudgeonly Cup Cakes !

Although the buying side might like to express their occasional on twitter, salespeople need to be part of the solution not be part of the problem.

 Our tone needs to be positive, cheerful but realistic in the limits of 140 characters. Twitter is not suitable as a moan zone for the sales side.



4. Enthuse about others' Twitter baking

Enthuse about your colleagues' work. Praising and admiring your sales support team, the technical team, the operations etc. enhances customer's views of a genuine team approach of a supplier and help to build trust.

If you praise clients ensure it is justified praise rather than clumsy and toe-curling flattery


5. All work and no play makes your Twitter Bakery dull.

Don't just stick solely to your signature recipe.

Broaden out your perspective add variety and creativity in some of your tweets.

 If you have  found out about your clients' extra mural interests e,g. favourite TV shows, Sport , Hobbies do some tweets about the subject e.g. ask a question about a subject or issue. This can also help to increase your following.


6. Don't re- tweet praise about yourself.  Tweets of this sort are merely Twitter litter.


Combined with one way tweets this is the twitter equivalent of when someone says
 " That's enough about me, what do you think of me?!"
 keep this material ready for when references and proofs are requested stored in other media.


7. Learn to spell  - Your , You're etc.

In the world of Bake Offs on TV bakers' cakes are subjected to the criticism and feedback by the judges  Cake Doyen Mary Berry , Grand Inquisitor Paul Hollywood and comedienne Mel Giedroc.

There are certain things the judges look for, appearance , presentation but above all taste. So keep to the 'rules' of twitter as such as there are any.


8. Stick to the character limit and don't Witter Twitter.

Building a following in twitter require you to stick to the Character. The 140 characters is a good discipline. Overflowing the limit to a second tweet tends not to work.



9. Cutout the self help

A number of the specialist twitter consultants advise against too much new age self help

This is a lesson I need to work on. One definition of a trainer is someone with a bag full of quotes desperate to off load them or squeeze them into any old content!

If people are after Paul Coelho or his holiness the 14th Dalai lama they will as likely as not will be following them.( see links below)

Having said this I confess I like a good quote new or old on other people's tweets if they are relevant.


10. Hitter twitter .Don't turn your fans on your critics

Tempting as it might feel at the time the jury of the twittersfere court is a permanent record and what goes around usually comes around.

Related Links

I would highly recommend following Nicky Kriel @NickyKriel  on twitter

http://www.nickykriel.com/

Nicky has the wisdom and knowledge  twittersphere's equivalent to Mary Berry on Cakes with the in-your-face honesty of Paul Hollywood and the wit of Mel from the Bake off progs. She also runs twiiter and LinkedIn courses.

 Yuummy cakes  @SweeyToothfctry


Come taste and try before you buy   

Social media to improve your selling

Do consumers want to be talked through Twiiter and facebook?

Engaging socila media 


...Twitter in the skies John Keats

Twitter page for his holiness the 14th Dalai lama

Twitter page for Faulo Coelho

2 comments:

  1. Excellent tips thank you. I also recommend following Nicky Kriel. Nicky really does know her subject inside out. She gave a fantastic presentation to a gathering of FSB members in Guildford last night.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Amanda

    Yes Nicky is the Doyen of Social Media

    Hugh

    ReplyDelete