• Viewing Your Tweets in Google Search Engine

• Using URL Shortening

• Retweet/New Twitter Button on Your Blog Post

• Twellow – Twitter Directory Submission

Personal Branding

• Helps your followers understand your brand personality and why should they follow you.
• Invite your followers to join you on other social media platforms and communities.
• Personalize your page with photos and company logos.

Quick How-To Tips:

1. Use a photo/image editing program to create a customized background
2. Total image size should be 1600px wide by 1200px height
3. For left-hand column, do not exceed 235px wide
4. Image should not exceed 800k
5. Go to Twitter: Settings – Design – Change Background Image
6. Click on Browse and search for your twitter background
7. Click on Save Changes

I would love to hear from you. Has a personalized and customized twitter background affect the quality or the quantity of your Twitter followers?

Facebook pages and group members have dramatically grown into thousands in just a few days. American Red Cross, Wyclef Jean, and Carel Pedre, a prominent Haitian radio and television host, have utilized Twitter to provided real-time updates on the crisis while encouraging donations for the victims.

News media and reporters have finally found the true value of social media during this disaster crisis. With that being said, Bloomberg, a major global provider of 24-hour real-time financial and general news, has invited me to participate in their story “Haiti Fundraising Speeds Up with Twitter Facebook”.

Marketers are taking this concept and running with it. They are so quick to reach out to consumers and build relationships in the social networking world that they are going back to their old habits: to “spend money to generate impression” and keeping tight control of their message.

We all know that in social media, a positive personal customer experience is the key to an effective word-of-mouth marketing. However, what if they do not have a clue about your brand, and how your product differentiate from the rest. Would their feedback be two-faced and fake?

We all had at least one job in our lifetime where we felt like kicking the boss’s ass. However, you still show up every day just to look forward for payday. Get my point! Remember, you are transparent on social media!

Having It Both Ways

Well, can you have it both ways? Can you pay someone who is passionate about your brand? One of my favorite books is, “Personality not included” by Rohit Bhargava. Rohit talks about the different types of deliberate spokespeople. One I should mention is the “enthusiast”, like Jared from Subway. Jared is real and his story was compelling. Ok, the Subway diet did not work for me, due to the carb count, but it worked for Jared. His situation demonstrated real passion and offered an “authentic credible opinion”. Now, would you pay someone like Jared to tweet your brand? Uhmmm!

Either way, we are living in the time when people do not trust big companies. Why? These blood-sucking tyrants who oversees a slave ship of employees are totally fake. Whether paid or free, the true power of word-of-mouth comes from passion and natural authenticity.

Resources: Advertising Age: Paid Tweets Just as Healthy As Organic Word-of-Mouth?
"Personality not included" by Rohit Bhargava