Twitter Names: @GiniDietrich,  @AngieSwartz

Twitter Talk Radio, hosted by Angie Swartz, is recorded live in the WSRadio studios in sunny San Diego! You can listen to the podcast by clicking on the links below and sign up for our RSS feed at the bottom of the page.

Each week on Twitter Talk Radio, we spend an hour broken up into four segments when we cover:

• Guests Offering Great Case Studies and Examples of How People and Businesses are Using Twitter and Social Media for Business
• Useful Tips for Listeners on Twitter for Business
• Twitter and Social Media Happenings in the News

Gini Dietrich on Why Spin Sucks

Host Angie Swartz interviews Gini Dietrich, founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, Inc. Gini shares the different ways she utilizes social media. Listen in to learn more about her blog at spinsucks and how she quadruples traffic every time she posts a video!

Gini Dietrich and Is Twitter Dead and Over?

Host Angie Swartz talks to Gini Dietrich about making Twitter work for business. Gini answers the looming question, “Is Twitter dead?!” Tune into this segment to hear experiences with winning a twitter contest and her critiques of the process.

Gini Dietrich Asks How to Manage Rapid Client Growth

Host Angie Swartz and Gini Dietrich discuss how to manage a large customer base without resorting to automated responses. How do business owners maintain their personal philosophy without drowning in clients’ needs? Angie gives great advice on how to reach multiple clients at once without losing the personal impact.

Attention! Business Owners: Make Life Simpler with RSS

Host Angie Swartz and Gini Dietrich talk about how to be a great CEO. Gini reveals some of her own success secrets on how to manage content and coach her team. Listen in to learn more about how an RSS reader could simplify your business.

Check out Gini’s video blogs and tell us what you think! Post links of your own blogs to share with us, too!

Subscribe to Twitter Talk Radio:

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Twitter is a potentially game-changing tool and one of the fastest growing Social Networks today. Still, the perception that “Twitter is just for kids!” or “Who cares what you are having for lunch?” have kept many business professionals away.  Others have created accounts and then can’t easily understand the mechanics so they stop using it before they invest enough time to understand its value. 

Can your business afford to ignore Twitter? Why do most TV news shows, newspapers and magazines continue to mention Twitter almost daily, capturing the eyes of many consumers?  Might you be one of the only businesses in your field to WAKE UP and give Twitter a second look?

Social Media Tip: Before you say no to Twitter, peform a pilot.  Investigate Twitter for your business for 30 days and judge it objectively for yourself.

Setup an account (using your name or your brand name), follow 50 or more people related to your business (competitors, customers and business partners are a great place to start), and just listen to what is being said.  Participate when you feel comfortable.

Want to read more about Social Media? Square Martini Media has plenty of articles with useful information for you and your business. Check out the links below and browse our website for more great advice!

• Vertical Printing Raises the Bar of Success with Twitter

• The Four Stages to Twitter Relationships

• Twitter For Business Case Study: The Coffee Groundz

And if you’ve got a great example of inspiration for writing social media strategies, please share it here  in a comment or on our facebook page.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Photo illustration courtesy of Flickr.com/Andrei Dimofte and Dana Harris

This continuing trend could very much be a result of celebrity influence. In 2009, musician Dave Carroll used YouTube to post his horrible guitar crisis with United Airlines. Kevin Smith, actor and comedian, tarnished Southwest’s name last February after being bumped from a flight for his body weight. He bashed the airline repeatedly on Twitter for his 1.7 million followers gaining the attention of fans all over the world.

So what does this mean for competing airlines? Or for any company that depends greatly on customer service and feedback?

Brice gives Delta a few pointers in the Bloomberg article, saying “Having that immediate attention from Delta on Twitter is one of the reasons I select them.” He also complained that they don’t have anyone working the Twitter account on weekends, something airlines and service-oriented companies alike should keep in mind.

Essentially, people value responses that are quick, convenient and helpful. If they can tweet or post knowing they will get the same feedback without the traditional waiting time of lines and phone calls, they will. Keep your eyes open for forward-thinking companies incorporating social media into their business relations. It is very likely that the next time you have a qualm or compliment about your bank or favorite department store, you’ll be talking to them via tweet!

What do you think? Would you reschedule a flight via Twitter if you could? What do you think of customer service representatives being available right from your favorite social media site? Tell us some of your experiences with using Twitter, Facebook and other networking tools to get in touch with the companies you’ve used in the past.

Note:  This post was written by Green Apple.  She is a Square Martini Intern studying International Business and English at The University of San Diego.  She graciously assists the Square Martini Team with all things social media.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Twitter Names:   @VPG_Printing, @AngieSwartz, @AlanUnderkofler.

Twitter Talk Radio is recorded live in the WSRadio studios in sunny San Diego! You can listen to the podcast by clicking on the links below and sign up for our RSS feed at the bottom of the page.

Each week on Twitter Talk Radio, we spend an hour broken up into four segments and cover:

• Two Guests Offering Great Case Studies and Examples of How People and Businesses are Using Twitter for Business and Social Media
• Useful Tips for Listeners on Twitter for Business
• Twitter and Social Media Happenings in the News

Vertical Printing & Graphics Changes their Business Model with Social Media

Angie Swartz and guest host Alan Underkofler interview Laura Beulke of Vertical Printing & Graphics about how she used social media to refocus her business model when the real estate market slowed. Listen in to learn more about establishing an online presence for your small business.

Vertical Printing & Graphics on Success in Advertising a Small Business Via Twitter

Angie Swartz and guest host Alan Underkofler talk with Laura Beulke about expanding her business via her successful Twitter strategy.  Learn more in this segment about generating customer engagement and turning social media exposure into sales.

Vertical Printing & Graphics Attributes 18% of Sales to Twitter

Angie Swartz and guest host Alan Underkofler talk with Laura Beulke about her experiences with social media sites and her initial reservations about the effectiveness. She shares about her hardships as a small-business owner and how she capitalized on free social networking to re-strategize her marketing campaign.  Laura discusses how 15-18% of her total revenue last year came from Twitter.

Vertical Printing & Graphics on Yelp & Foursquare

Angie Swartz and guest host Alan Underkofler finish up the show by discussing Laura Beulke’s feedback and what she’s learned from experiences with customer review sites like Yelp.com.   They also discuss future plans with sites like Foursquare and what might be in store for the Mayor.

Leave a comment on Laura Beulke’s social media strategies for small businesses and share your own success stories!

Subscribe to Twitter Talk Radio:

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

1. Log on to facebook
2. Search for “extended info” in the facebook search at the top right of your facebook profile.  Extended info will be the first application listed.  Click on View Application to the right.  You will then land on the Extended Info facebook fan page.  Click on the blue Go to Application box on the top left.
3. You will now need to fill in some information in the Extended Info page.
   • Add the image url, you can create your own follow me on twitter image or you can use this one.  Just open the link in a new tab or window
   • Copy link and past into the Image url
   • Add the link url, my link url is http://www.twitter.com/alanunderkofler
   • You can add a header or caption if you want.  View my facebook profile to see how the header looks.
   • Dimensions:  You can change this if you want buy the default is set to add the follow me on twitter badge to the left sidebar on your facebook profile
4. Save the changes
5. The Extended Info application will then ask if you want to share this with your friends.  If you decide to share the news it will show up on your news feed and you may attract a few new twitter followers.
6. The next step is to add the badge to your profile.  To do this look at the top right corner of the Extended Info Facebook Application for the blue Add to Profile box.  Just click on the box, choose the Wall or Boxes tab, it will then show you where it will be placed on your facebook profile for your approval.
7. The final step is to click on the link and make sure it goes to your twitter account.

If you found these seven steps helpful please help other facebook users my sharing this post on your facebook wall, tweeting this post on twitter, or stumbling it on StumbleUpon.  You can do this with ease by using the share this button below.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Casual conversations – Casual conversations on twitter start by just responding to the tweets from the people you are following.  You might respond to a question or make a remark about the tweet or possibly re-tweet something you liked.  All of these actions start a conversation and raise the awareness of the person you are engaging.  Over time your relationship will progress and parts of the conversation may take place through direct messages.

Direct Messages – Through direct messages or DM’s you can engage one of your followers in a private conversation.  In order to do this the person you are following needs to be following you back and most likely this has already happened from the casual conversations.  Direct messages allow you to have a one on one private conversation with the people you are following on twitter allowing you to take the relationship one step further.  At some point these DM’s will lead to the need or desire to have an actual phone conversation to explore additional projects, possibilities, or needs.

Phone Conversations – I am assuming you know how to use this!  If you have been on twitter for a long time you may need to freshen up on your phone skills i.e. talk in full sentences beyond 140 characters!  (it will be ok)  Phone conversations allow you to explore all types of possibilities.

Meeting face to face – Eventually someone you have been tweeting for months or even years will be in the same city or the same conference you are attending.  This is a great opportunity to take your twitter relationship to an actual live in person environment!  Many people I have formed relationships with on twitter feel like best friends, great clients, or huge contributors to my business.

At any stage you may acquire a new customer, prospect, referral partner, vendor, advocate, or friend.  I have had all of these relationships happen in each of the four relationship stages on twitter.  I would like to give credit to Delores Williams who stated me thinking about the four stages of the twitter relationship by mentioning it on Twitter Talk Radio with Angie A. Swartz.

Remember twitter is similar to any network.  People do business with people they know, like, and trust.  You can create know, like, and trust on twitter just like you can at a business network, association, Chamber of Commerce, church, or club.  If I still have not convince you to start using twitter in your business read 7,11, OK How about 11 Top Reasons Twitter is a Must Have for Your Business.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The Coffee Groundz Background
Coffee Groundz is not your typical coffee shop!  It was started to fill a niche; serve great coffee and tea, cold beverages, and spirits!  Coffee Groundz also provides free wifi and is work friendly with outlets and at every seat as well as outside on the patio.  Sounds like a great place to visit!

How it Started
How is this small independent coffee shop using twitter to attract more clients and create stronger relationships with their customers?  Like many businesses first venturing into Social Media for their business J.R. Cohen the manager of Coffee Groundz started out with listening, “I spent the first hour just looking at it wondering what to do”.  The next day J.R. started following local Houston twitter users as @coffeegroundz and engaged them in conversation.  J.R. would encourage his followers to stop by Coffee Groundz and ask for him by name.  When customers arrived from twitter J.R. would greet each them, building on the relationship.

The Success Story
The Social Media ROI (return on investment) for The Coffee Groudz is tremendous.  J.R. estimates within three months sales doubled because of twitter.  This happened by engaging the local twitter community and listening to what customers were saying.  J.R. often talks about twitter to go customer Sean Stoner @maslowbeer on twitter.  Sean requested his breakfast order on twitter hoping to get in and out of the coffee shop faster.  J.R. was listening and responded with “Wi. What do you want on it?”  This created a huge response from the Coffee Groundz twitter community.  It turns out many customers wanted to order via twitter and @coffeegroundz welcomed them!

The twitter Impact Continues
Coffee Groundz and taken twitter a few steps further by hosting live twitter events called tweetups at their location.  It’s not surprising when you have 100 twitter people at your location they do more than just tweet!  They buy coffee, drinks, and food!  And more importantly these events attract new customers to experience Coffee Groundz.

Hosting events have always been a great way to increase sales for restaurants, bars, and clubs.  By creating such an impact with twitter Coffee Groundz seems to be attracting additional events to it’s location.  Just this week Hallmark Mobile Greetings hosted a live event at Coffee Groundz to show customers how their mobile greetings application worked.  The tweet sent out buy @coffeegroundz “Free coffee and free dessert here thanks to #hallmarkmobile come by and say hi.”  This Social Media Strategy works for Coffee Groudz as it attracts new customers.  Hallmark Mobile wins by tapping into the digital and Social Media customers that frequent Coffee Groudz.  Brilliant!

Do you have a Social Media success story you would like featured on Square Martini Media?  Please use the contact us form and tell us about it!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Since my last post here talked about Social Media and your business strategy, I thought it might be worth a look at how this phishing scam might possibly impact Twitter’s strategy.  Undoubtedly, this will not be the last time that Twitter is the victim of  incidents and attacks like this.  As we know, as someone or something becomes a star and gains in popularity, it becomes the subject of jealousy and the object of everyone’s attention.  Right now, Twitter is the prom queen and there are lots of people out there trying to make her “Carrie“.

It’s my guess that there are lots of people right now brainstorming about how to hack twitter and make millions from the publicity.  Conversely, Twitter hopefully has a team of rockstars talking about security to fend off such an attack.  It’s days like today that will keep Twitter jumping on their toes.  Twitter will thank whomever started today’s virus and they will be grateful that today’s incident wasn’t bigger in scale than it was.  It is a true gift to them.  That is, if they see it as the warning that it is and take action. Twitter has just been put on notice that they are a player of large scale and they must have systems that allow them to play in the big league.

One year from today, I bet we’ll see a much different Twitter than what we see today as their strategy has no option but to mature drastically over the next year….and it’s going to happen at lightening speed.  Can you say Harvard Business Case writing as fast as you can keep up?  Tom Davenport, I’d like to co-write an article with you about this topic.  I know we could have a great debate!

What are your predictions about the changes we’ll see in Twitter by January 2010?  Leave a comment here and we’ll save them.  The person who comes closest to reality will have the opportunity to write a guest post with us this time next year.

Cheers to you Twitter.  We look forward to watching!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.