How to Connect Your Twitter Account to Facebook

If you’re like many business owners you have both a Facebook and a Twitter account. It makes good sense because both can be powerful marketing and business growth tools. However, if you’re also like many business owners, your time is precious. You’re always on the lookout for ways to make your life and your actions more efficient and effective. Good news on the social media front, you can connect your Twitter and Facebook accounts so one post to either, takes care of both.

Here’s how to connect your Twitter Account to Facebook.

#1 Facebook Application. Simply visit http://www.facebook.com/twitter/ and connect your Facebook accounts to your Twitter profile. All you have to do is enter your Twitter Username and Password and click “Allow”. They make the connection. Now when you post on your Facebook page, it’ll show up on Twitter. If you don’t want every single post on Facebook to head over to Twitter, you can use an application like Selective Twitter Status application or  TweetSync which only post #hashtag posts or keyword posts based on your predetermined criteria.

#2 Twitter Clients. The other option to share posts between Twitter and Facebook is to use a Twitter client/dashboard application like Tweetdeck or Social Too. These services often give you the option of sharing posts simply by checking a box in your settings.

#3 The third option, which you can of course combine with the previous two options, is to use Ping.fm, http://ping.fm/. This service is free and it updates everything all at once. This includes Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Buzz, Bebo and a ton more. In fact, they say if you don’t see your network to let them know and they’ll get their developers on it to add it.

To use ping, visit the link above and register. Then click on Twitter. You’ll receive a screen that says something like, “Link Ping.fm to Twitter”. You’ll allow the connection and then be redirected back to Ping to add more accounts.

You can then use HootSuite to post your “Tweets” which will then be sent to your other social networking sites. You can also link your Facebook pages with Ping.fm.

When you’re looking to connect your Twitter posts to Facebook, there are actually a number of options. The most straightforward and simplest is to utilize TweetDeck. Sign up, link your account to your social media profiles and you’re ready to go. It’s easy and it saves a ton of time.

How To Bring Your Marketing Message Across With Videos

To be competitive in today’s, and to stay competitive in tomorrow’s market, your marketing strategy must contain video. It’s a powerful form of content, which is rapidly becoming the primary marketing tool of choice for many businesses. However, there’s more to using video than simply standing in front of a camera and sharing information. To be effective, you want your marketing message to come through in your video content.
Here’s how to bring your marketing message across with videos:
#1  Revisit your company mission and vision. Analyze it to make sure it’s current and then embrace it when you create your videos. This is essential to attaining your business goals and achieving the success you desire. Your marketing strategy and tactics, whatever they are, must support your mission and vision.
#2  Determine your story. Each video message can have a story to tell. Even if it’s a how to video. This is important because your video will help support your company personality and it’s a wonderful way to connect with your prospects. Telling a story, helps pull your viewer into the video. It helps engage them.
#3  Use video to showcase your company personality. Customers are demanding authenticity and transparency online. They want to know who you are and what your company is about. Video is a wonderful way to communicate your personality.
#4  Use video testimonials – there’s nothing more powerful than actually hearing people share their success. It has more power than a print testimonial in many cases because they can hear the success story from the metaphorical ‘horse’s mouth.’
#5  Use video to demonstrate your authority. We buy from people or companies we consider to be experts. You can use an online video or audio seminar to demonstrate authority by voicing or demonstrating your knowledge, by providing ‘how to’ video content.
According to a recent Marketing Sherpa report on Marketing with Video, released Jan 09, 57% of internet marketers who have used video for marketing purposes are happy with the results. They cite an increase in sales, lead generation, website use, and improved customer relations. In the world of online business, that’s what it’s all about. It’s what we strive for and when a tool like video comes around, it pays to take advantage of it to spread your marketing message.

How To Use Twitter to Launch a New Product

Getting ready to launch a new product?  Congratulations!  You’ve no doubt put a lot of hard work into your product. Did you know you can use Twitter to help launch it?  Here’s how to use twitter to launch a new product:

#1  Create a build up to the launch event. Post any sneak peeks, samples, and testimonials for the product a few days before the event. Part of a successful launch is the anticipation of the new product. Twitter is a great way to help create anticipation.

#2  Offer special incentives. You can also offer a limited viewing to the first 100 visitors and post the offer on Twitter. Some marketers request the first 100 DMs, others request retweets, RT, and others just post a link to their website. This is also a great way to gauge interest in your pending product and may provide valuable information about how to fine tune or tweak the product before the official launch.

#3  Engage conversation. Social networking sites like Twitter can be a great place to receive feedback. You can DM, direct message, a few respected and trusted friends from Twitter and ask them to evaluate your product, sales copy or bonus products.

#4  Use Twitter to build your opt in list before your product launch. This will add valuable contacts to your list for better sales once you launch because you will undoubtedly be promoting your new product to your opt in list. How to do this?  Create a free piece of content and market it heavily on Twitter. Link to it with valuable tidbits of information having the link take them to an opt in page. Voila, a larger opt in list and more targeted people to market your new product to.

#5 Blog about your new product and link to the new blog posts from Twitter.

#6  Publish content relating to your new product and link to the new content from Twitter. For example, if you’re launching a new ebook, you can write an article on one of the topics covered in the ebook. Always keeping in mind that your goal is to help your customers and prospects, to solve their problems and improve their life.

#7 Connect with others on Twitter who may become great partners. They can help you market your new product and you can help them market their new product. Trade advertisements, promotions, links or even skills and services.

#8  Finally, you can also use a service like adCause to advertise your new product on Twitter. It’s a service that links you with publishers you can choose and also donates some money to a charity of your choice.
Twitter, and other social networking sites, can be a tremendous asset when launching a new product. Take a look at your audience, plan and create a strategy to incorporate Twitter into your marketing strategy. To your success!