2. You’ll save money on advertising costs. If you pay to post your job openings in the newspaper like “you’ve always done it” and it makes you feel better, than don’t post them for free on Twitter. Its reach isn’t near as limited as your local newspaper.

3. Your leisurely search in Google will be replaced with a knowledgeable human being. If you feel you’ve done your duty and finally learned to Google your questions, then stick with that. Spend your time sifting through results produced by a machine that has no clue how to LOL.

4. People will be overly friendly and helpful.Recluses who enjoy their polished anti-social behaviors should definitely avoid Twitter. They could become utterly overwhelmed by the everyday thoughtfulness of tweeps.

5. You’ll hear what people are saying about your company or brand. If you’re a business owner afraid of what might be said about you or your company, Twitter can be a scary place. People frequently toss around thoughts and feedback about their favorite brands, giving ample opportunities for those who aren’t afraid of Twitter to win their loyalty.

6. You’ll feel obliged to help people. Darn it! Twitter starts to rub off on the seemingly innocent people going about their selfish lives. You might be inclined to help someone on Twitter.

7. You’re going to find out what you never knew you were missing. This is the main reason Twitter is bad. From breaking news to philanthropy efforts to make our world a better place, Twitter loyalists feel compelled to share human interest stories.

8. You’ll be overwhelmed with how small of world we live in.Gain a few followers, start a few conversations, and you’ll be surprised that there are other people from all over the world with whom you have much in common. Venture toward Twitter too long, and you might get invited to a TweetUp.

9. You might partake in too much “Twittering”. Watch famous people try to assimilate and look intelligent, and you’ll hear them use ridiculous words like “Twittering”. Join Twitter and find out why that word is obnoxious.

10. You won’t get to wait until the 10pm news to find out what’s going on. If you look forward to learning about your local and world events on the nightly news; news stories that are selected and censored by the media, then by all means stay away from Twitter. It’s a cesspool of current events.

Need even more reasons?  Follow me on Twitter.  www.twitter.com/confessionsmom or Steve at www.twitter.com/stevegasser

• Where will the ideas come from?
• When will I have time?
• What will I write about?

Ideas are all around you each and every day. If you write about common everyday things such as a question from a customer, an experience on a project, an observation from your desk or an email you receive, the ideas will turn into great articles. Your customers DO want to read about these things, because they often address questions they are afraid to ask, observations they have made as well, and insight into doing business with you. You are an expert in your specific industry, and your customers trust what you have to say!

There are several methods that work great for capturing your ideas that pop into your head at inopportune times, and turning your ideas into great articles.

1. Remember those small spiral-bound Mead Memo Pads? They are cheap and fit into your pocket, purse, or the cup holder of your car. Keep a memo pad with you at all times and scribble your ideas down to refer to later.  One blogger I know uses her memo pad religiously and NEVER forgets an article idea.
2. Another option is using sticky notes. Choose a specific color for your blog post ideas and keep a pad at work, home, and in the car. Jot down quick ideas and stick them where they won’t get lost. When you sit down to write, look for your color-coded sticky notes with ample ideas. If you need to, stick them to the computer, TV, your brief case, or where ever you know you’ll find them.
3. Feeling particularly full of ideas? Write them down in a brainstorm list. I have certain times when I get tons of ideas floating into my head, so I write them in a brainstorm list. For me, key times are during business meetings when important, interesting, and inspiring topics come up. Another time I get inspired with blog post ideas is when I am reading books or magazines. I’ve been known to rip a page from a magazine I’m reading to serve as a reminder of what I want to write about. I simply set it on my desk.
4. Keep a clearly labeled folder of ideas near your computer. Slot ideas in the folder. I get ideas from junk mail, advertisements, newspaper articles, magazines, and even things my kids have written, said, or drawn.  It’s great to flip through your file for article ideas when you are ready to write.
5. WordPress offers the option of draft blog posts. Feeling particularly inspired or have some time on your hands right now? Write a few blog posts and save them for later.

Anyone can write great articles for blog posts, and every business should consider adding a blog to your marketing mix. The information, relationships, and business growth that result from blogs are priceless.

Consider the example of a small, locally owned coffee shop competing with a newly installed Starbucks. Here are a few quirky tips using social media for small business to make the local coffee shop seem like a much more interesting option than the popular chain.

• Offer free wifi and let customers Twitter their orders. Imagine it. Customers come into the shop to chat or work, and from their phones and laptops, can place orders without worry of losing their seat or disturbing the conversation. Regular customers stopping in on their way to work can Twitter their order before arrival and have it ready to go when they get there. Social media for small business offers convenience that the big chains simply can’t.
• Run a coffee shop blog and allow visitors to contribute. Set up a free blog with a guest account. Services like WordPress allow you to moderate posts before they go live. Encourage your patrons to post about the coffee shop, compose poems, or simply express themselves freely.
• Put a “secret password” up on Twitter every afternoon and encourage people to come in for a coffee happy hour. Those with the password can receive discounts, a free pastry or an entry into a happy hour drawing.
• Feature your favorite tweet of the day up on your menu board. Name a drink after one of your Twitter followers for the day. Enter each of your Twitter followers into a drawing to be the “Follower of the Week,” entitling them to one free coffee each day of their reign.

These are just a few quirky and creative ways social media for small business can be used to set the local guys ahead of the big brand players. These types of ideas can be applied to any type of local business. Take your time to think up a few ways that social media will allow you to offer benefits and services to your customers that the big guys can’t.

Caffeinated Conversations

Do you visit coffee shops as regularly as I do?  I think you will enjoy learning more about “Caffeinated Conversations.”  I met Jason from Caffinated Conversations on Twitter a couple of weeks ago and I have found his blog fascinating.   Striking up, facilitating, capturing, and collecting conversations at coffee shops, coffee houses, cafés, and other conversation friendly places.

What About Your Name on Social Websites?

Do you know if your business name, brand name, or personal name is available on the plethora of social media websites?  Many large corporations that are just starting to get involved in social media are hit upside the head with a big surprise.  They have lost their brand name in the top social sites.

On Twitter the name “McDonalds” is not owned by the famous clown – Ronald McDonald (www.twitter.com/McDonalds).  Verizon and Microsoft are also not owned by their brand name owners (www.twitter.com/verizon and www.twitter.com/Microsoft.)  Sprint and Google on the other hand do own their names on Twitter.

Impersonation Policy

Sites like Twitter do have an Impersonation Policy that says you cannot impersonate another person or companies brand.  That may not make it clear that someone other than you is representing your brand.  I could use the Microsoft name as my username to disparage the brand, as long as I disclosed that I am not Microsoft.  If you suspect someone is impersonating you or your company, here are a few places you can go:

• Twitter Impersonation Policy:  http://help.twitter.com/forums/26257/entries/18366
• FaceBook Policy:  http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/terms.php?ref=pf
• LinkedIn User Agreement:  http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=user_agreement&trk=hb_ft_userag

Most social media sites will respond to your inquires quickly; but you need to take action.

Should You Secure Your Brand In the Major Social Networks?

I think so.  But that can be time consuming.  So lets make it easy.  KnowEm (http://knowem.com/) checks the availability of your brand name, user name or vanity URL on 120 popular Social Media websites. It is simple and will tell you if your brand is being used by someone else.  Give it a try.

Got a comment?  Let me hear them.  I do respond to ALL comments.