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Welcome 3

Twitter b By the Numbers 4

Twitter Lingo 5

Anatomy of a Twitter Page 6

7 Steps for Using Twitter for Business

Step 1: Start Out on the Right Foot — Set Up Your Account and Pick a Goal 7Step 2: Tweet Like a Pro — Know What, When and How to Tweet 9Step 3: Build Your Network — Follow Others and Gain Followers 13Step 4: Search Twitter — Track Your Brand, Industry and Competitors 15Step 5: Harness Lists — Segment Users into Meaningful Groups 17Step 6: Connect Twitter to Your Website and Other Social Media 19Step 7: Kick It Up a Notch — Use Time-Saving Twitter Tools 21

Case Studies Riggins Construction — Santa Ana, California 23Naden/Lean LLC, CPAs and Business Consultants — Baltimore, Maryland 25Dr. Cynthia Haines — St. Louis, Missouri 26CityVet — Dallas, Texas 27Kooky Canuck Restaurant — Memphis, Tennessee 28

Advice from Experts in 140 Characters or Less 29

Next Steps 30

Copyright © 2011 Deluxe Enterprise Operations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Feel free to share this eBook or publish excerpts from it, but please link back to www.deluxesocial.com for attribution. Disclaimer: Twitter is a registered trademark of Twitter, Inc.

Contents

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Since its 2006 launch, Twitter has changed the way the world communicates. It has opened up a whole new real-time method for sharing public (and private) messages with friends, businesses, brands and new connections.

By asking people “what’s happening” in messages, called “tweets,” of 140 characters or less, Twit-ter mandates brevity. That conciseness and the ability to “follow” others — from Lady Gaga to the pizza joint around the corner — have driven Twitter’s rapid growth.

Yet for many, Twitter’s constant chatter and breakneck pace can feel overwhelming.

If you’re among the roughly 87 percent of Americans online who have yet to join the social net-work, according to a Pew Center Research study, perhaps you’re still thinking, “Why bother?”Or maybe you already have a Twitter account but worry about the time it takes or what to say.

If you run a business, though, you shouldn’t rule out Twitter too quick-ly. The stats show that what people are saying on social networks such as Twitter increasingly shapes opinions about companies and brands. According to Forrester Research in April 2010, Americans generated 500 billion online impressions on each other regarding products and services, more than a quarter of the impressions (or ad views) made by advertisements. And of the hundreds of millions of tweets sent per day, about one out of every five is related to some kind of inquiry or information about specific products or services, accord-ing to Penn State University.

If you ignore Twitter, you could miss out on a powerful channel for interacting with your customers.

The good news: It’s not too hard to get started. But it does help to have a game plan. This eBook is here to help, with seven steps for using Twitter. We’ve covered proper etiquette and pitfalls to avoid. And for a little inspiration, we’ve shared examples of small businesses making Twitter work for them.

Read, and tweet away.

Welcome

1 out of 5Tweets relate to inquiries or info about products or servicesSOURCE: PENN STATE UNIVERSITY

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52% Twitter users who follow brands and companies on the platform

26%Twitter users who have complained about a brand on Twitter

58%Twitter users who have praised a brand on TwitterSOURCE: ECONSULTANCY, 2011

TOP 5 REASONS PEOPLE SAY THEY USE TWITTER

1. To follow famous people2. To follow news3. To connect with friends and family4. To connect with new friends and people of similar interests5. To express opinions and make their voice heard

TOP 5 REASONS PEOPLE SAY THEY FOLLOW BRANDS

1. To keep informed of the latest deals, discounts and offers2. To keep up to date with the latest brand news3. Because they’re fans of the company4. Because the brand tweets interesting/relevant content5. Because they’re current customersSOURCE: ECONSULTANCY, 2011

95%Twitter users withmobile phones — halfof whom access theservice via their hand-held devicesSOURCE: PEW RESEARCH CENTER

25 to 34Ages of largest group on Twitter — making up a third of monthly usersSOURCE:·EDISON·RESEARCH,·2010¶

100 million Active Twitter users worldwide

250 millionTweets sent per day SOURCE: TWITTER, SEPT. AND OCT. 2011

Twitter By The Numbers

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#: Also called a “hashtag,” symbol used to denote a keyword or subject. Hashtags make it easier to find your tweets in searches. See Twitter’s guide What Are Hashtags?

@: Used before someone’s username to direct a tweet to them. For example, @jo-eschmoe. By using the @ sign, you ensure your tweet will be displayed for the other person to see. Can be used at the be-ginning or middle of a tweet. Also called an “at mention.”

Blocking: Preventing someone from sending tweets to you.

Direct Message (DM): Private message that can’t be viewed by anyone else.

Favorite: A way to mark a favorite tweet — by clicking a star or “Favorite” link — so it’s easier to find and the sender can see it’s a favorite of yours.

FF: Short for “Follow Fri-day;” many Twitter users send tweets to their followers on Fridays suggesting other people to follow. These tweets usually include the hashtag #FF.

Follow: The act of signing up to see a person’s tweets in your Twitter stream.

Follower: Someone following your tweets.

Handle: Your username. Each one is unique.

Lists: Groups of Twitter con-tacts that can be organized by industry, geography, etc. If you are placed on a person’s list, you have been “listed.”

OH: Standard abbreviation for “overheard,” most often pre-cedes a tweet about something someone overheard in a public place.

Over Capacity: The error screen users see when the site is having trouble keeping up with traffic. The page features a car-toon whale, which Twitter users have dubbed “the fail whale.”

Retweet: The act of resending a tweet that you liked to everyone in your network. Can be used as a noun, as in, “Can I get a retweet?” Often abbreviated RT.

Trending topic: A top word or subject being tweeted; Twit-ter lists trending topics in the “trends” section on the right-hand side of the page.

Tweet: A message or update up to 140 characters long. Also used as a verb, as in the act of sending a tweet.

Unfollow: To cease following another Twitter user whose tweets no longer show up on your homepage timeline.

For more definitions,see Twitter’s glossary.

Twitter Lingo

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Anatomy of a Twitter Page

Type a username or term hereto search

View profile or edit your settings

Click Twitter logo to return home

Use tabs to see @mentions, RTs, searches and lists

Click to see direct messages you’ve sent or received, or to send a new direct message

Type status update here

Click for the latest tweets

Running list of tweets by people you follow

Twitter page navigation: If you need something from Twitter, you’ll find the links here.

Your tweet count, and your latest tweet

Number of people you follow and who follow you, plus latest added

Twitter suggests people you might want to follow

The top topics in your area

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First things first. To get started on Twit-ter, you need an account. It also helps to begin with a goal, even a loosely defined one.

You may not be sure how often you want to tweet, but securing an account early on can be a good idea. Unique Twitter usernames are available on a first-come, first-served basis, so some-one could easily snag the one you want.

1 SIGN UP AT TWITTER.COMTwitter doesn’t differentiate between business and personalaccounts.

CHOOSING A TWITTERBUSINESS GOAL

Twitter can help with your busi-ness goals. Start with one goal. You can always mix it up later.

n Branding: Claim ownership of your brand name. Identify and engage brand advocates.n Customer Service: Respond to questions or complaints in real time.n Public Relations: Friend journalists or bloggers in your area or industry. Share resources and articles.n Sales: Offer specials and cou-pons. Promote new products or services. n Marketing: Become a resource: Share tips, links or other helpful content. Gather testimonials. n Research: Monitor what your customers or competitors are doing. Poll others about new ideas, products or services. Search for buzz on keywords relevant to your business.n Network: Follow industry peers. Make connections who can help troubleshoot problems or answer your questions.

TOP 5 WAYSCOMPANIES USE TWITTER

1. Publicizing new content 2. Marketing 3. Brand monitoring 4. Gathering customer feedback 5. Customer serviceSOURCE: ECONSULTANCY, 2011

2 SELECT A USERNAME (A K A “HANDLE”)

u Keep it simple The ideal username is short, easy to remember and easy to spell.

u Stick to what’s logical For personal and corporate branding, it’s best to choose a username as close to your real name as possible.

1 START ON THE RIGHT FOOTSet up your account and pick a goal

STEP

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u What if your name is taken? n Get creative. Consider variations that touch on your per-

sonality, incorporate your industry or include a mean-ingful verb. Example: “eatatsues.”

n Nicknames, initials or abbreviations are OK. n Add a city or state. Example: “suesdinerTX”n You can also use a number or underscore mark, though

such names tend to look less professional, are harder to remember and are likelier to be misspelled. Example: “joeschmoe59” or “joe_schmoe.”

n If you think someone is intentionally hijacking your trademark or impersonating your business, report the violation to Twitter support.

NOTE: After you secure a username, Twitter prompts you to start follow-ing people, brands or topics right away. It also asks you to search for your contacts on other accounts, such as LinkedIn or Yahoo!, to find friends on Twitter. But it may be best to flesh out your profile some and start tweeting a little first, so people don’t mistake you for a spammer.

3 UPLOAD A PICTURE OF YOURSELFOR YOUR COMPANY LOGO

This is an important step. A picture humanizes your tweets and helps people instantly identify you. (Without a profile pic, you’ll look like an egghead by default!) You can always change your image later by going to “Profile” at the top

of your Twitter homepage and clicking on “Edit your profile.”

4 FILL OUT YOUR PROFILEWhile in the “Edit your profile” section, fill out your profile as completely as possible. Add your location, personal or company name, a link to a website and a short bio of yourself or company (up to 160 characters). Use your bio to incorporate keywords that identify your business or what you want to be known for. All of that information appears in your public profile and search engine results, so it plays a big role in how searchers find you on Twitter.

5 CUSTOMIZE YOUR TWITTER BACKGROUND To add branding elements, change the colors of your Twitter page or upload a background image that tiles or extends across the entire page. In your settings, click on the “Design” tab. Cus-tom background images are typically 1280-by-1024, 1600-by-1200 or 2048-by-1600 pixels.

WHEN MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS OR TWEETERS MAKES SENSE

Single Twitter accounts are adequate for many small busi-nesses, says Hollis Thomases, author of Twitter Marketing: An Hour a Day. They are less work, and keep your audience central-ized. But multiple accounts can make sense for:

n Individuals who want to keep business and personal interac-tions separate, or segment the types of info they share.

n Companies that want to seg-regate social media by depart-ment (e.g., customer service), geography or revenue stream.

n Businesses that want to encourage a company-wide Twitter marketing approach.

TIPS FOR MULTIPLEACCOUNTS OR TWEETERS

n Consider Twitter handles with a common base name You can use the company’s name plus the individual’s name, such as “bobatsuesdiner.”

n Share a common look and feel Use a common logo and background or take profile pics against a common background.

n Pick usernames for divi-sions or different geographies served Example: “@suesdiner-bakery” or “@suesdinernyc.” This keeps clients in contact with the people who directly help them.

n Create posting guidelines Draft a basic policy for what’s appropriate to tweet about personally or on behalf of the business. Prepare responses to common questions, negative comments or crisis situations. Check out sample policies at socialmediagovernance.com or socialmedia.policytool.net.

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TWEET LIKE A PROKnow what, when and how to tweet2

After you’ve set up an account, it’s time to start tweeting. You can share text, links and multimedia. Twitter also has its own lingo. In this step, we’ll review @ mentions, hashtags, direct messages and retweets and offer additional ideas for what and when to tweet.

HOW TO TWEET

u Using the @ symbolWhenever you tweet someone’s username preceded by the @ symbol, that’s called an “at mention.” Whether or not they follow you, it’s a way of making your tweet show up on their Twitter page.

Examples:n Addressing a tweet to an individual

“@joeschmoe Thanks for a fabulous presentation today!”n Addressing more than one person

“@joeschmoe @suesdiner You guys did a great job pull-ing together this year’s biz expo! Congrats!”n Mentioning someone in a tweet but more in passing

“Had the best time celebrating my birthday with@joeschmoe. Thanks for coming out!”

WHAT TO TWEET

Your tweets should relate to your business goals on Twitter and the audience you want to reach. Here are a few ideas:

n Questions: Ask for feedback on ideas. Seek recommendations on places, vendors or resources.

n Tips and answers: Respond to customers’ questions or is-sues. Link to FAQs. Offer helpful how-tos.

n Links or news: Share blog or website updates. Pass along community or industry news.

n Quotes, one-liners, jokes: Share observations or what inspires or makes you laugh.

n Say thanks: Acknowledge your best customers, vendors or new acquaintances. Thank those who follow you, mention or retweet you on Twitter. Example: “@joeschmoe, thanks for stop-ping by today. Hope to see you again soon!”

n Calls to action: Ask others to download, sign up for or retweet your stuff.

n Regular features: Host trivia challenges, offer Twitter-only specials or spotlight customers.

n Sales: Let customers know about sales and specials — at your business or elsewhere.

n Events: Tweet during events you attend or host.

STEP

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u Using hashtags (the # symbol)If you read a stream of tweets, you are bound to see a few words preceded by the # symbol. They’re hashtags. Twitter users came up with the hashtag system as a way of tagging, tracking and promoting topics of conversation. You can create a hashtag for any keyword.

WHEN TO TWEET

No hard-and-fast rules dictate how often or when you should tweet. Again, frequency depends on your goals and audience. For customer service, for example, you may want to tweet as fre-quently as your customers men-tion your product or service.

n Many social media experts rec-ommend starting out with three to five tweets a day.

n Businesses that get more into the rhythm of Twitter can pick up the pace and tweet once or twice an hour, or can even schedule tweets in advance (see Step 7).

n Because users are not always on Twitter — and fresh tweets can quickly bury previous tweets — it’s OK to share the same content multiple times a day. But it’s better Twitter etiquette to mix up the wording a little each time so your tweets don’t sound like a broken record.

n You can tweet any time of the day or week. Some studies have shown spikes in Twitter engage-ment around noon and between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. — when people are on lunch break or have just gotten off work.

Example:n CityVet in Dallas added #dog and #quote as hashtags to

one tweet because those might be broader topics people would search for. Note that #dog and #quote show up in blue because they are hyperlinks. Any time you see a hashtag in a tweet, you can click on it to see all tweets about that specific term.

Other uses for hashtags

n Events: Create a hashtag people can tweet before, during or after conferences, webinars, festivals or other events.

n Contests: Hold a contest for those who tweet a hashtag by a certain deadline; reward participants with a gift drawing or special offer.

n Build a customer community: Take ownership of a hashtag over time. Pick a unique one that won’t be ran-domly used by others.

General hashtag tipsn Hashtags should be one word without spaces. For longer

ideas, combine phrases or break words into separate hashtags.

n Keep hashtags short but understandable.n Don’t overload tweets with too many hashtags.n Generally put hashtags at the end of tweets unless you

can organically insert them elsewhere.n To find trending hashtags, search Twitter or websites

such as hashtag.org. Or come up with something clever of your own!

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u RetweetingRetweeting simply means passing along someone else’s tweet to your followers. To do it, just click the “Retweet” link that shows up when you hover over a tweet.

A retweet will be sent to your followers exactly as the original author typed it. But you can personalize it by adding your own insights. Copy and paste the original tweet, add comments and “RT” with the username of the author. (Remember: Using the @ symbol causes the tweet to show up on that person’s @ mention list.) If you trim the original tweet to make it fit within 140 characters, you can use “MT” for “modified tweet” instead of “RT.”

To make your own tweets easy to retweet, write them in 120 characters or less. This way, there’s room for people to add their own comments.

u Sending Direct Messages (DMs)Sometimes a Twitter conversation reaches a point that you want to make it private, say, if you are responding to a customer issue or complaint or you want to swap personal info. Then it’s time for a Direct Message.

To send one, simply go to the top of your Twitter dashboard and click on “Messages.” As with a regular tweet, though, you still only get 140 characters.

Note that you can’t DM someone unless he or she is following you. But you can ask a person through an @ message to initiate a private conversation.

Example: “@joeschmoe Please DM us your phone number so we can help you with that issue.”

Direct Messages also work via text messages. Link your phone to your Twitter account, then send a text message to Twitter’s short code (e.g., 40404 in the United States and 21212 in Canada). Type “d,” a space, the person’s username and your message.

Example: “d joeschmoe Give me a call at 555-1234. Thanks!”

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u Sharing links (URLs)Links are one of the most widely shared types of Twitter content. But given the 140-character tweet length limit, long links typically must be shortened. Twitter has an automatic URL shortener that reduces links to something that starts with “http://t.co/.” As you type, Twitter’s automatic counter tells you how many characters you have left.

Other link shorteners include bit.ly or ow.ly, which can track metrics such as clicks on links. Some businesses also adopt their own link shorteners to brand their content.

u Sharing multimedia (photos and videos)Tweeting with photos and videos can be a great way to feature customers, showcase new products or services and share something fun that’s happening with your business. Multimedia content shows up as clickable links in a tweet.

You can upload photos from your computer to Twitter. Look for the camera icon below the box where you type a tweet. Click on the icon, and select your photo.

You can also link applications such as Instagram, yfrog, TwitPic and Flickr to your Twitter account.

For a video, simply share a link to one hosted on a site like YouTube, Vimeo or Twitvid or record a video straight from a webcam using a tool such as TweetDeck or Twitcam. When a video link is clicked on Twitter, the video is shown in Twitter’s sidebar so people can view it without leaving the page.

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BUILD YOUR NETWORKFollow others and gain followers3

STEP

Networking is one of the chief advantages of being on Twitter. But growing a Twitter network is not just about numbers. You should strive for quality connections based on your industry, customer base, location and, yes, interests.

As you build your network, you will discover that finding followers and identifying people to follow often go hand in hand. And remember, even if you’re not following someone or they’re not following you yet, you can initiate a conversation by tweeting an @ mention with someone’s username.

WHO SHOULD YOU FOLLOW?As soon as you log on, Twitter will offer “Who to Follow” suggestions. They’re based on accounts similar to yours, the way you interact on Twitter and other factors such as geography.

Twitter also gives you the option to find out which of your contacts on other accounts, such as Gmail, Yahoo! or LinkedIn, are already on Twitter.

u Other people you may want to follown Journalists or bloggers, especially those who cover your industry. n Local businesses. Search for other businesses in your community active on Twitter, or

follow competitors. (To learn how to track competitors on Twitter without them knowing, see Step 5 about Twitter lists.)

n Your customers. Ask them if they’re on Twitter, and follow them. Pay special attentionto your biggest fans or the ones who are most vocal on Twitter.

n People tweeting about your community and theregional topics you care about. See Step 4 onusing Twitter Search to learn more.

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u Other cool tools for finding people to follown Wefollow.com

Search by geography or keyword. Sort Twitter users by greatest influence or number of fol-lowers. Add yourself to the directory.

n Twellow.com Consult this Twitter account directory with hundreds of categories and a map feature. And add yourself.

n Followerwonk.com Search for people by their Twitter bios. Sort by relevance or follower count.

n FriendorFollow.comSee whom you follow that hasn’t followed you back yet and who follows you that you haven’t followed back.

u Other ways to tell people you are on Twittern Add your Twitter handle to business cards, signs presentations, invoices and ads. n Add a Twitter link or button on your company website or blog (see Step 6).n Add a Twitter link to email newsletters and other content such as whitepapers.n Consider Promoted Tweets. Rolled out in July 2011, Promoted Tweets are a form

of Twitter advertising that allows companies to pay for greater visibility at the top of users’ timelines. Promoted Tweets can target non-followers and geography.See Twitter’s FAQ on Promoted Tweets.

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Twitter Search has many useful applications for businesses. You can use it to find people to follow, track buzz about your brand and listen to conversations near you around a particular topic.

TERMS YOUR BUSINESS CAN SEARCH FOR:n Your company namen Products or services (as either you or your customers might refer to them)n Industry keywords or hashtagsn Your city or neighborhoodn Names of competitors

BASIC TWITTER SEARCHType terms in the search box at the top of your Twitter page. Searching for a term without the @ or # symbol in front of it will pull up all tweets including that term — whether part of an @ mention or hashtag or not.

ADVANCED SEARCH

After any Basic Search, you can refine your results with more robust parameters. Or you can go straight to Advanced Search. Learn more about Advanced Search operators.

u Keywords you don’t wantYou can tell Twitter which keywords to leave out of a search by typing them into the “None of these words” field. n Shortcut for Basic Search: Use a minus sign before a keyword. Example: “pets -dogs”

would bring back recent tweets about pets, excluding tweets about dogs.

SEARCH TWITTERTrack your brand, industry and competitors4

STEP

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u GeographyYou can search for tweets that originate near certain places by filling in the “Near this place” box on the Advanced Search page. Then specify a 1- to 1,000-mile radius. n Shortcut for Basic Search: Use the words “near:” and “within:” to look for tweets within

a certain proximity, e.g. “near:denver within:10mi.” (Note: Use quotation marks around location names with more than one word. Don’t use spaces after colons.)

n Geocodes: To be even more exact, use tools such as geocoder.us to find the longitude and latitude for your business address. For example, “geocode:38.922495,-94.778145,5mi” would return tweets originating within a five-mile radius of one Lenexa, Kansas, address.

u Sentimentn Add a filter to look for tweets with positive or negative attitudes or questions. n Shortcut for Basic Search: Add :) or :( or ? to Basic Search queries.

u Save your searches

If you want to save searches, simply click “Save this search” after running one. Your saved searches will then appear in the drop-down menu under “Searches” on your homepage.

u Track your brand via emailWhile not a search feature, another easy way to monitor your brand on Twitter is to set up email notifications. Find your account “Set-tings” by clicking your Twitter username on the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Then click on the “Notifications” tab.

You can get notified by email about:n Direct messages, replies or @ mentionsn New followersn Retweets, etc.

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HARNESS LISTSSegment users into meaningful groups5

STEP

As you grow your network on Twitter, using lists can help you organize your connections into more manageable groups. Lists can also help you keep up with people you don’t follow, and identify people or brands you do want to follow.

u Advantages of listsn You can monitor other Twitter users without following them.n Lists can be public or private (useful if you don’t want to publicly follow a competitor).n Lists are easy to delete. It’s faster to delete a list of people than unfollowing them one at a time.n If others have compiled lists, you can easily follow those lists.n There’s no limit on the number of lists.

u Types of lists you can createn Your employeesn Competitorsn Suppliers or other local businessesn Industry expertsn Local government agencies and officialsn Event or conference participants, e.g., speakers n Customers, grouped by geography or another traitn Journalists, bloggers, trade publications and associations

u How to create a listn Click on “Create a list” in the drop-down menu of the List tab on your homepage. n Name and describe your list.n Make your list public or private. NOTE: Anyone can see or follow a public list, so choose an appropriate name, e.g., not “prstooges”.

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u Add people to your listsn In a Twitter user’s profile or beside his or her bio on your “Follower” or “Following” lists,

look for the icon that looks like a person. n Click the icon, and choose “Add to list” from the drop-down menu.n Pick the list to which you want to add the contact.

u Follow other people’s listsn As you network on Twitter, check out other people’s public lists. It might save you the

trouble of compiling a list of industry experts, local media outlets or businesses similar to yours. Instead of reproducing the lists, you can simply follow those lists.

n To do so, simply click the “Lists” tab on other people’s Twitter profiles to see a drop-down menu with lists curated by them or lists they follow.

n To determine whether you want to follow a list, click on it and view recent tweets.Or click the “Following” tab to see bios of Twitter users on the list.

n To follow a list, click “Follow” in the upper right-hand corner of the list page. The list will then show up on your profile’s list tab.

n Search for popular lists using a site such as Listorious.

u Check out who has “listed” youn In the Lists drop-down menu, you may find “Lists following you.” n This could reveal your biggest fans or at least the people who deem you worthy of listing.n Consider following those users or including them in your own lists.

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CONNECT TWITTERto your website and other social media6

STEP

Twitter makes it easy to share content across many platforms. Hooking up Twitter with your website, blog or social media accounts can make it easier to gain followers, bring a wider audience to content (such as blog posts) and add dynamic content such as real-time testimonials to your various sites.

u Add a Follow button to your website or blog n This makes it easy to get new Twitter followers from the visitors to your website. n Start at Twitter’s Resources page — twitter.com/about/resources — and

choose “Follow button.”n Pick a button style, e.g., “Follow us on Twitter” or just the Twitter bird. n Copy and paste the code into your website’s code or ask your webmaster to help you do this.

u Add a Tweet button to a webpage or blog n This step allows people to share a link or blog post without leaving the

page they are viewing and makes it easier to spread your content faster.n Go to twitter.com/about/resources/tweetbutton.n Pick a button style and customize the text for people to tweet. Example:

“Check this out via @deluxecorp!”n Copy and paste the code on your website.

NOTE: Many blogging platforms, such as WordPress, have tools that simplify adding Tweet buttons throughout your blog.

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u Add a Twitter feed widget to your website or blog n This adds a scrolling list of most recent tweets — from your own

profile, a list you follow, a search query or tweets you’ve marked as favorites.

n Go to twitter.com/about/resources/widgets.n Choose the kind of widget you want to add. Adjust the size and

colors to match your company or website colors. Copy and paste the code into an appropriate spot on your website.

n The favorites option is great for showcasing real-time testimonials. l Hover over a tweet with a positive message about your brand. l Click the Favorite star or link that appears next to the timestamp

when you hover over the tweet. l Give the widget a title like “What customers are saying about us

on Twitter.”

7 Times more often that websites with Twitter sharing buttons are linked to on Twitter, compared to sites without tweet buttons.

SOURCE:·BRIGHTEDGE, 2011

u Connect Twitter to LinkedIn n Log on to your LinkedIn account. Choose “Settings” in the drop-down menu under your

name in the upper right-hand corner. Select “Manage your Twitter settings,” and add your Twitter account information.

n You can choose to display Twitter on your LinkedIn profile. You can also opt to post only tweets that contain the hashtags “#in” or “#li.”

n When you post a status update on LinkedIn, you can choose to post it on Twitter by check-ing the box with the Twitter bird.

u Connect to Facebook n To channel Twitter updates to your Facebook wall, visit twitter.com/about/resources/wid-

gets/facebook or review these instructions.n Caveat: Many social media experts caution about over-automating your Facebook updates

with tweets. Facebook and Twitter are very different platforms. And Twitter’s lingo, length and frequency may seem out of place on Facebook.

u Automatically tweet about new blog posts n Blogging platforms such as WordPress or Tumblr can be set

up to automatically send tweets when you publish new posts. n You can also use Twitterfeed or NetworkedBlogs to add blog

feeds to Twitter.

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KICK IT UP A NOTCHUse time-saving Twitter tools7

STEP

Twitter has given rise to a whole ecosystem of tools and applications — many created by third-party developers. As you get more active on Twitter, give some of these tools a try. They can help you be more productive on Twitter and do things such as post to multiple social media accounts at once, monitor search terms at a glance and schedule tweets in advance.

Here’s a quick look at just a few popular Twitter tools: u HootSuite: hootsuite.com

n Allows you to post to multiple Twitter accounts, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare and WordPress, among other platforms.

n Accessible anywhere through a web interface —allows you to carry your settings and preferences wherever you log in.

n Provides analytics, such as popular content and how tweets direct traffic to your website. n Gives a tab view for each social media profilen HootSuite Pro (paid) plans allow multiple team members for one account; you can assign

messages for follow-up or track who’s doing what. n Allows scheduling of tweets in advance, individually or in bulk (Pro accounts).

u TweetDeck: www.tweetdeck.comn Can post selectively to multiple accounts, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare,

MySpace and Twitter.n Runs as a desktop or mobile-device application. Requires a little more work to set up on

each of your devices, although a web browser version is in development. n Tracks multiple profiles and search terms in different columns in one window. n Instantly updates. Tweets show up faster than on HootSuite.

New tweets pop up on your screen as they come in.n Can upload video and photos from a webcam. n Translates tweets into many languages, such as Span-

ish, Chinese and Arabic.n Allows analytics with URL shortener bit.ly.NOTE: Twitter bought TweetDeck in May 2011.

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u Mobile Twitter ToolsAbout half of Twitter users access the platform via a mobile device.

n Besides using SMS text messages (as described in Step 2) or Twitter’s mobile website mobile.twitter.com on phones with web browsers, Twitter users can download numerous third-party mobile apps for BlackBerry, Android and iPhones.

n Twitter’s own mobile apps also get better all the time. For instance, Twitter’s integration with Apple’s iOS5 makes it easy to tweet direct-ly from iPhones, iPods and iPads to share photos, maps, webpages and videos and get push notifications.

n To learn more about such apps, visit Twitter’s Help Center pagesabout mobile options.

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Case Study: Building a Following

RIGGINS CONSTRUCTIONSanta Ana, California

When Bridget Willard started Riggins Construction’s Twitter account, she didn’t even tell her boss she was doing it. The office manager simply felt that it was something the company should be doing. Three months later, she finally fessed up.

Her boss wasn’t sure how he felt about the idea. But she said: “I asked him, ‘Do you remember how everybody said you need a webpage in the ’90s? Do you ever look up anyone in the phone book anymore? Twitter is the new phone book, and we need to be there.’”

Two years later, Riggins Construction has more than 6,000 followers, and wefollow.com ranks Riggins among the top 10 most influential contractor accounts on Twitter. People began asking for Willard’s advice on starting a Twitter account. She shares tips as well as stories of other active construction-related Twitterers on the blog rigginsconst.wordpress.com.

@RigginsConst

Employees: 3Founded: 1977

On Twitter since: March 2009Followers: 6,000+

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Willard’s advice for using Twitter for business:

Be patient: “Don’t expect to start an account, send a couple of tweets and sud-denly have 50,000 followers. People think it’s instant, but it’s not.”

Start by following: Willard started with the area she knew — Orange County, Calif. “It didn’t matter what you did. If you were in Orange County, I was going to follow you.” She also found her email contacts on Twitter, people in construc-

tion, real-estate people, even newspeople. Willard looked at the lists of some local reporters to see whom they followed. “If someone looked interesting, I followed them, too.”

Have realistic expectations: “Do we get a lot of straight leads from Twitter? No,” Willard admits. “I sometimes joke that Twitter is like my cubicle mate. It can be like visiting the office cooler. But to me, it’s more like a think tank. I ask people what they think. We’re peer reviewing each other’s blog posts. You can make Twitter whatever you want it to be.”

Do they like us? Twitter also allows Willard to keep an eye on what’s being said about Riggins — which proved invaluable for customer service on one particular job. An employee at one of the construction firm’s clients (a natural foods manufacturer) once mentioned @rigginsconst in a tweet, complaining about construction noise. Willard put in a call to her field superinten-dent, who went up to smooth things over with the employee and her co-workers. Not long af-ter, the same employee put a picture of a huge stream of water shooting up from a fire hydrant and posted, “That’s what it looks like outside right now.” Willard’s first thoughts: “Oh my God, what am I going to do?” She called the superintendent, and he asked, “How did you know?” She said: “There’s a picture on the Internet!” Within a few months, the company was saying, “You guys are the best, you have the best superintendent,” Willard said. She credits being able to respond quickly through both Twitter and face-to-face customer service as the foundation for what ended up being a great working relationship.

Building on their motto: The company slogan “Building relationships since 1977” is a part of their Twitter page background image. “That’s what we’ve done,” Willard said. Twitter “allows us to stay connected with our clients and find out what’s new for them.”

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Case Study: Marketing with Twitter

NADEN/LEAN CPAsBaltimore, Maryland

Even though certified public accountants are known for dealing with numbers all day, Andrew Rose says more accountants should focus on words and social media. The director of marketing and business development for Naden/Lean maintains two Twitter accounts — the main one @nadenlean and @dentalcpas, because accounting work for dentists is a firm specialty.

On how to market: Don’t. “The old way of thinking about marketing is to think about ‘how do I get my tweets out there in front of people.’ That’s push marketing. Pull marketing is when I want something. I’m thinking about maybe raising bees next year. I read about it. I come to you. If I put the right information out there, then the right person can come and find me.”

But … Twitter has definitely resulted in leads. “We had an orthodontist who was in Vancouver send us a [direct message] through Twitter. He had found us through the Internet, and he wanted

to know if we could provide services for him. We had a partner in Van-couver, and we referred him to them.”

What Twitter does for the firm: “It’s a way to add to our presence in the white space when you do a Google search. You have to think of Twitter as one of many different fishing lines we have in the water.”

Best advice: “At least lock in your username — even if you’re not ready to tweet. Someone could swoop in and snap it up unless you claim it. Then just listen for a while. Before you send one tweet, just read, absorb and listen to the conversation. Then tweet when you’re ready, and build your following organically.”

@nadenlean and @dentalcpas

Employees: 40Founded: 1956

On Twitter since: March 2009Followers: 3,400+ (COMBINED)

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Case Study: Using Twitter to Keep Up with Industry News

DR. CYNTHIA HAINESSt. Louis, Missouri

Cindy Haines sees herself as not only a doctor but also as a conduit for information. As chief medical officer for health news outlet HealthDay News, she keeps her Twitter account filled with the latest medical headlines. She talked to Deluxe about the role of Twitter in medicine.

Doctors make shy social media types: Most doctors shy away from Twitter, Haines says. That’s not always wise. “[Twitter] would be helpful for doctors trying to build a practice or …service pro-viders, like cosmetic surgeons or dermatologists, who market specific pay-per-service amenities.”

What they might be missing: Twitter isn’t just about marketing your services, Haines says. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health use Twitter to get

the word out about the flu season or new vaccinations. “Doctors can re-ally benefit from following groups like that on Twitter to be aware of the latest news,” Haines says.

The potential for sharing info: Haines said she’s also heard of doctors tweeting interesting cases, which could be useful for the medical com-munity at large to know about. But such sharing must be approached cautiously so as not to violate patient confidentiality. She suggests doc-

tors might ask patients if it would be OK to share their cases with no identifying details.

@drcindyhaines

Employees (at HealthDay News): 30, plus freelancers

Founded: 1998On Twitter since: May 2009

Followers: 3,900+

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Case Study: Know Your Followers by Using Lists

CITYVETDallas, Texas

When Lauren Aiken took over CityVet’s Twitter account, the company’s marketing director grew its Twitter following from 800 to about 1,500 in just over a month. CityVet has four locations in

the Dallas area and plenty of customers to reach with tweets. But the veterinary services company has followers all over the country.

Aiken went over the company’s list of followers and divided them into more than a dozen lists. One is for other veterinary professionals on Twitter. She has one for Dallas-area followers. And she has one for res-cue shelters. Here’s what lists allow her to do:

Metrics: Dividing followers into lists allows Aiken to provide refined statistics for her company. For instance, if someone wants to know how many Dallas-Fort Worth-area residents are following the company, she can quickly answer.

Targeting your audience: Lists allow Aiken to target her tweets to specific groups. Say she wants to reach all of the animal shelters that follow CityVet. They’re all on a list (though she wishes Twit-ter would allow you to send one tweet to everyone on a list.)

Staying on top of things: Segmenting your followers into lists also allows you to easily see what’s going on in specific sectors of your industry, so you can tweet about timely issues and stay on top of industry news. Aiken says that’s key to establishing your business as an authority. “People can go on your Twitter page and say, ‘Wow, they know what they’re talking about, they’re current.’ I know …I won’t even go to a doctor or a dentist before I do a Google search and see if they have a website. Twitter is the same thing.”

@CityVetDallas

Employees: 125Founded: 1999

On Twitter since: August 2011Followers: 1,500+

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Case Study: Connecting with Customers

KOOKY CANUCK RESTAURANTMemphis, Tennessee

Shawn Danko wasn’t sure if Twitter would benefit his business. Almost three years after joining, he finds it invaluable for reaching customers and building loyalty. The social network fosters more one-on-one interaction with customers, and has some advantages over Facebook, on which Kooky Canuck also has a large following. Danko uses Twitter to interact with customers in real time. Here’s how:

Take advantage of opportunities in real time: “I’ll be sitting at the bar some nights and say, ‘Hey, it’s kind of quiet.’ So I’ll tweet something out and say the next 20 people get a complimentary shot or something, and it drives [people into the restaurant].”

Plan promotions: Last year, Danko gave away tickets to Memphis Red-birds baseball games via Twitter. He had season tickets, and let people claim

them a few days before each game.“I had full seats every single time, and we always had a good time. … Your customers are happy because they’re getting something that a lot of businesses don’t offer.”

Monitor Twitter for mentions: Danko monitors not only his Twitter account but search results to see whether customers have mentioned the Kooky Canuck. Doing this and having the information linked to his cell phone allows him to respond in real time. He uses a program called UberSocial, which alerts him any time his business is mentioned on Twitter. A customer once tweeted: “Sitting at Kooky Canucks, server is really slow.” Danko saw it and tweeted back: “What table are you sitting at?”

Surprise customers: Someone once tweeted that two people were at the restaurant celebrating their wedding anniversary. Danko went out into the dining room, tracked the couple down and offered them complimentary drinks. “It’s just another way to make people feel a little bit special,” he says. “It’s kind of like the VIP service. And who doesn’t want to be treated like a VIP?”

@kookycanuck

Employees: 55Founded: 2005

On Twitter since: December 2008Followers: 4,000+

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* DELUXE PROJECT REV PRO ADVISORS FOR 2012

Advice from Experts in 140 Characters or Less . . .

WHAT’S YOUR TOP TIP FOR SMALL BUSINESSES ON TWITTER?

@kyleplacySend three tweets a day: one about you, one retweet about your industry and one about your biz.Kyle Lacy, author, Twitter Marketing for Dummies

@chrisbrogan *

Start listening by using search tools to find what people are saying about you, your products, your competitors and more.Chris Brogan, Trust Agents author and blogger

@SmallBizLady *

To be effective on Twitter, small businesses must have signature content and a target customer.Melinda Emerson, host of Twitter talk show #Smallbizchat and small business author

WHAT’S A MISTAKE SMALL BUSINESSES SHOULD AVOID ON TWITTER?

@deluxecorpDon’t use a ‘set it and forget it’ mentality. Engage. Use a tool like TweetDeck to track keyword searches and engage in real time.Erika Kerekes, Deluxe Corp., senior product manager, social media solutions

@genemarks *

Don’t use Twitter if your community isn’t on Twitter. It’s fine for Ashton Kutcher. But are your customers there?Gene Marks, small business owner, columnist and author

@kyleplacyDon’t just create a feed. Use those reply and retweet buttons!Kyle Lacy, author, Twitter Marketing for Dummies

@chrisbrogan *

Don’t talk about yourself all the time. Talk about your buyers. Equip THEM to be the hero.Chris Brogan, Trust Agents author and blogger

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Next Steps

If you’ve finished reading this eBook, we hope you’ve gotten a better sense of Twitter’s potential as a two-way channel for real-time interactions with customers and industry peers. It’s time to join the flock! Follow the steps outlined in this eBook, and you’ll be growing your network in no time.

As Twitter evolves, keep experimenting with what works for your business.Here is a final checklist and a list of additional resources to keep you going.

u Twitter for Business Checklistq Set up your account. q Pick a Twitter goal.q Tweet news, tips, sales and specials.q Share links, photos or videos.q Retweet great tweets.q Use Direct Messages (DMs) for private conversations.q Tweet a live event with hashtags and @ mentions.q Set up alerts for mentions, messages, replies, retweets or new followers.q Search for people tweeting near you, other businesses and brands to follow.q Engage others (including non-followers) with @ mentions.q Find relevant lists to follow.q Follow journalists or bloggers for your industry.q Add “Follow,” “Tweet” or Twitter widgets to your website or blog.q Check out more advanced tools, such as HootSuite or TweetDeck.q Download a Twitter mobile app.

u Additional Resourcesq Twitter’s Help Center: support.twitter.comq Twitter for Business: business.twitter.comq Twitter blog: blog.twitter.com (for new feature and other updates)q Twitter status blog: status.twitter.com (for service updates)

About DeluxeSocialDeluxeSocial works directly with small businesses to integrate social media into their overall online presence. DeluxeSocial can help you customize your social media road map, setup accounts for ongoing engagement on networks, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, monitor your social presence and grow your followers and fan base.

Need help with your social media?Call DeluxeSocial at 800 257 5385 or visit www deluxesocial com today.

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