Since the rocket-like launches of Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest years ago, organizations have been asking the million dollar question in regards to social media, "How can we convert fans into buyers?" Countless books, seminars, blogs have been devoted to the topic of social media ROI, but (sadly) most seem to miss the most obvious point. While I don't proclaim to have all of the answers, the answer to the question of converting social media followers to customers seems a rather obvious one: The same way you converted your existing customers. From my perspective, there's too much status placed on 'fans' and 'fan counts' by most social media "experts". The people who "like" your brand are essentially giving your company a virtual high five. They appreciate something you've done or a perception you've created about your products. They may or may not be your current customers. And – unless you work to convert your followers into buyer – they may or may not be your future customers. In a traditional sense, your Facebook fans and Twitter followers are the digital equivalent of window shoppers. Some of them know your brand well, they enjoy your products and actively share their experiences with their friends. But some of your fans – a large majority – are standing on the sidewalk. They like your window display, but it hasn't compelled them to open the door and try your brand. And this is where your business acumen and experience - more so than your social networking skills – come into play. Social media is a tool for increasing your sales, not the solution. So ask yourself and your team: What do you do as a brand that brings potential customers in off the sidewalk? If you can answer that question, then you can convert social media followers into buyers. The post How to Convert Social Media Followers to Buyers appeared first on Kevin Donahue.
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I posted to blog.kevindonahue.com
How to Convert Social Media Followers to Buyers
http://blog.kevindonahue.com/archives/2012/11/12/convert_social_media_buyers/
- Tags:
- Uncategorized
- howto
- sales
- marketing
- socialmedia
- selling
- customers
- brands
November 12 2012, 10:51am | #
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I posted to blog.kevindonahue.com
5+1 Changes to Make to Your Resume NOW!
http://blog.kevindonahue.com/archives/2011/12/12/51_changes_to_make_to_your_resume_now/
I read an interesting article on Glassdoor entitled, "5 Changes to Make to Your Resume NOW" in which some often overlooked points were resurfaced. It's worth a read. One point that was not mentioned and should be emphasized is how important it is to communicate your social media handles along with your contact information. Your social media standing is a direct reflection of your professional interests and network. and can demonstrate industry engagement. This important engagement element should not be overlooked. After all, there are (literally) hundreds of studies showing that prospective employers are going to seek you out through social media. If this is a point of distinction for you, then you should showcase it, right? If you're actively promoting yourself professionally through a blog, Facebook page, or Twitter, you should definitely include a handle or link in the header of your resume. Don't miss a chance to make this positive impression!
December 12 2011, 2:34pm | #
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I posted to blog.kevindonahue.com
How To Make Press Releases "Twitter Friendly"
http://blog.kevindonahue.com/archives/2011/11/29/how_to_make_press_releases_twitter_friendly/
PRNewser had an interesting read this week on the importance of making your press releases Twitter friendly. Why should you tailor a press release to be easily distributed via Twitter, you ask? Simple. Twitter drives more traffic to press releases than any other top-level social media resource. So, how do you make your press release "twitter friendly"? PRNewser has some obvious steps as well as some a-ha steps that can greatly impact how your release gets distributed via social networks.
“It starts with the headline,” says Sarah Skerik, PRNewswire’s VP of social media. “The press releases that got the most shares and views were those that had headlines that were in the range of 120 characters, which makes them the perfect tweetable link.”
Obviously good headlines are important, but it's equally important to monitor the length of the headline. Since Twitter users will want to retweet your post and (potentially) add comments, you need to leave enogh characters to support the "RT @[yourusername]" device, at a minimum. A good rule of thumb would be to limit the length of your tweet to 110-120 characters maximum. Using twitter best practices is also important in making your press release twitter friendly and ensuring that you are hitting your core audience. One obvious device is through the use of appropriate hashtags. Hashtags make your content easy to find through twitter search, lists, and dedicated industry feeds. Another great tip is to make your pullquotes tweet-able.
Why not make the quote more interesting and substantive? “If I knew my audience was active on Twitter, I would make sure that quote is tweet-able, and include the brand’s or person’s Twitter handle….”
Including a twitter handle within your press release (or within the pullquote itself) is a really clever idea that could pay off in many ways. Not only will it get your important themes noticed and retweeted, but it could help to gain followers for your internal twitter accounts, further enhancing your brand's credibility in the marketplace. For more ways to make your press releases twitter friendly, check out the rest at PRNewser.
November 29 2011, 1:02pm | #
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I posted to delicious.com
What Facebook posts, tweets might say about the empty tomb
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2010/04/04/4708354.htm
April 4 2010, 8:59am | #
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I posted to google.com
Effective Twitter Backgrounds: Examples and Best Practices
Smashing Magazine has been on Twitter for about a year now (@smashingmag), and it turned out to be a great medium to communicate with our audience, build connections, discuss design-related topics and give away some nice prizes. However, even a year later, we still don’t have a Twitter background page and now is a good time to change that. So because we decided to create our own Twitter page, we wanted to first find out how other designers do it and what tips and techniques they use to create a truly outstanding, beautiful Twitter page. Your profile page is the only place on Twitter where you get opportunity to showcase your visual brand and possibly communicate additional information that can last longer than a tweet. You can customize your profile page by changing background, text and link colors. It’s as simple as changing the skin, but ability to change background image has allowed designers to create really unique profile pages. Primary focus of this article is to explore various techniques to create unique, memorable and effective Twitter profile pages. However, before proceeding to the list, it is important to briefly discuss the structure of the Twitter profile page. Twitter Profile Page Most important thing to note is that the main content block in the layout of a Twitter profile page has the fixed width of 765 pixels, and it is always centered. This is good, because it makes it possible for you to show your background image using the extra space created on the both sides of the block when displayed at higher resolutions.
Other things that you should keep in mind:
timeline background is always white menu bar background is always white footer bar background is always white logo is always the Twitter logo picture can be changed you can change text color, link color, sidebar background color and sidebar border color you can change background image and background color you can also tile background image the background image start position is always top left corner
Note that if you are only interested in designing a nice profile page, you can easily do that by incorporating a stunning background image and customizing text, link and sidebar colors accordingly. But if your intentions are to be unique, incorporate brand identity and communicate additional information, then you will need to be little bit more creative with your background image. Tips & Techniques Following is a list of profile pages, illustrating various tips & techniques that you can incorporate in your own backgrounds. Please note that most of these profile pages incorporate more than one technique, and you should also consider mixing multiple techniques according to your own requirements. Merge Background With Timeline / Sidebar This is probably the least used technique among all tips and techniques discussed here. By merging your background graphics with timeline and/or sidebar, you can create a unique layout with a very distinctive look and form. @adamplitt
@gaksdesigns
Mix Tiled Pattern With Other Graphics Twitter allows you to integrate one background image that can be either tiled or not. But you can create unique look for your profile page by creating a background image that has both. @spurrachel
Reveal More With Your Pictures Your profile picture (it can be an avatar, logo or photo) is your main identity on Twitter; it will be displayed next to every tweet that you send out to your followers. For instance, you can use a background image that is somehow related to your profile picture and thus convey more information about yourself or your brand. In other words, you can use this classic approach of creating design around your logo or brand identity to communicate information in a more effective way. @Doubleolee
@mailchimp
Reveal More With The Page Peel Effect If you have an established visual identity, you can use page peel effect to show users who is actualy behind the Twitter profile. This technique provides you with a freedom to design the rest of the background as you wish, because you may no longer need to worry about integrating brand visuals and its colors. @sitepointdotcom
@benek
Add Personalized Sidebar To Your Profile The following profiles illustrate a specific use of the first technique by adding sidebars to the layout. You can add such panels to effectively highlight additional information that you want to communicate. @aaronmillerillz
@robingood
@sickbrain
Show Yourself In social media world, you are the brand. With Twitter, being one of the major players in social media, showing yourself on the profile page can be very effective way of strengthening your brand and community around your website. @problogger
@unmarketing
Use Icons and Logos Following profiles illustrate simple, yet very effective technique to communicate association with or involvement in certain community, service, skill, etc by showcasing relevant icons or logos. @lanesa
@rjacquez
Add a Header Bar Adding a header bar could be used for creating unique look for your profile page, but it can also be used to separate Twitter logo and top menu (which contain links to user’s profile) from the rest of your page. @thegraphicmac
@elitistsnob
Less is More Andre Gide once said that “Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better”. Here are few illustrations of how minimalism can be used to its full effect: @line25blog
@idesignstudios
Accommodate the 1024px Width If you care how your profile page will appear on 1024px wide screens, you will need to work near the top and left borders of your background image. Here is an example of how a nice visual design can be used properly for various screen resolutions: @SohTanaka
Here is another interesting technique to ensure that your profile page has a very similar look on both 1024 and 1280px wide resolutions: @adamplitt
Use Typography Use of typography in Twitter backgrounds is not very common; however if used creatively, you can create unique, very effective profile pages to communicate additional information. @dickieadams
@iamFinch
Put Information In a Memorable Way Composition is the plan, placement or arrangement of the elements. You can arrange elements on your background in a unique and memorable, showcasing information that is important to you and your readers. This techniques allows you to create an environment, show your personality and provide additional information. @sharebrain
@iamkhayyam
Do Whatever You Want To Do The more original, creative and distinctive your background image is, the more likely it is to be memorable and strengthen your online presence. Experiment with beautiful, personalized illustrations, background images and typography. Make sure that your background image has a personal voice, doesn’t look generic and has an unusual twist. Your first time visitors will appreciate it. @ramesstudios
@NIK0_BELLIC
Gallery Now that we discussed a couple of techniques for the design of Twitter backgrounds, here is a collection of some well-designed profile pages to tame your appetite for Twitter profile page inspiration. @MdFilmFestival
@fragments77
@happytreefriend
@LoungeKat
@ellingson
@hootsuite
@G_Obieta
@willbryantplz
@gavrog
@grant_clark
@hugeinc
@JJunkins
@Baldy67
@thelaughbutton
@bickov
@jayjdk
@nathanhoad
@robertomas
@mayhemstudios
@ThirstEase
@cameronolivier
@studio3k
@sixreffie
@TheTwiddict
@mountainash
@Hallisar
@mywayhome
@TheArtificer
@webdude75
@colourofair
@jodyphillips
@emilychang
@ijustine
@boagworld
@collis
@chrisspooner
@webb_art
@Hicksdesign
@rww
@ThemeForest
@technikwuerze
@Designfeedr
@Malarkey
@Trenti
@zomigi
@carsonified
@WiliamAu
@wpbeginner
@brandonacox
@inspiredmag
@guardiantech
@DesignerDepot
@carywood
@designia
@_finderskeepers
Tools
Twitter Background Template: Free Twitter Background template in PSD format from “Fuel Your Creativity”, includes guides that match up with different resolutions from 800×600 to 1900×1200. Peekr: A bookmarklet that you can drag to your browser’s toolbar and click on to see a twitter user’s entire background graphic and then click again to get things back to normal. Twitter Background Checker: Lets you check how your Twitter profile looks in smaller or higher resolutions. ClickableNow: Add Clickable Links to your Twitter background image.
Additional Resources
Twitter Background Design How-To and Best Practices Design a Unique Twitter Background 4 Ways to Optimize Your Twitter Background Resource Kit To Create, Customize & Find Twitter Backgrounds
Related posts
Textures In Modern Web Design 15 Useful Twitter Hacks and Plug-Ins For WordPress 8 Useful Tips To Become Successful With Twitter 99 Essential Twitter Tools And Applications Birdies: Cute Free Twitter Icons For Your Blog
About the author Saud Khan is a professional software/web developer and consultant with over 12 years of professional experience. He is also founder of W3Avenue, an online publication providing advice & resources for rapid web development. You can also follow him on Twitter.
© Saud Khan for Smashing Magazine, 2009. | Permalink | 33 comments | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine
Post tags: twitter
September 18 2009, 9:52am | #
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I posted to delicious.com
DM Deleter - Script / Bookmarklet / Hack to Delete old Twitter Direct Messages
http://dcortesi.com/?s=Direct+message+script
August 16 2009, 10:49am | #
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I posted to delicious.com
Roll Your Own URL Shortener with Wordpress in less than One Hour
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/kevindonahue/~3/1NEbEoiDTR4/
August 13 2009, 10:54am | #
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I posted to flickr.com
My Updated Tweetstats
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevindonahue/3805186064/
Via Tweetstats, here is my updated twitter history.
- Tags:
- kevindonahue
- tweetstats
August 9 2009, 3:12pm | #
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I posted to flickr.com
When in London...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevindonahue/3672356918/
I vowed to get pub food for lunch to day. Fish & Chips FTW!
June 29 2009, 12:03pm | #
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I posted to delicious.com
World's Best Social Network Icon Pack
http://www.komodomedia.com/blog/2009/06/social-network-icon-pack/
- Tags:
- internet
- useful
- social
- socialmedia
- socialnetworking
- free
- webdesign
- design
- 20
- icon
- icons
- services
- technorati
June 25 2009, 12:57pm | #
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I posted to google.com
Tweetie Desktop for Mac Is Clean, Simple and Robust
Sending messages to and monitoring Twitter on your Mac usually requires running a RAM-intensive Adobe AIR application or dropping into Twitter's standard Web interface. And with Twitter continuing its skyrocketing usage trajectory, more and more utilities are being developed to handle the load - from TweetDeck to Seesmic Desktop, PeopleBrowsr and Tweetie, which on Monday, will debut to the masses its desktop application for the Mac, following on the success of its popular iPhone application, which I've used as my default for the last month or so.Written in Cocoa for Mac OS X rather than Adobe's AIR platform, Tweetie looks and feels like a Mac OS X application. And like its iPhone cousin, it lets you use all of Twitter's main features, from sending updates to monitoring replies (now mentions) and direct messages. Tweetie, unlike other desktop apps, even lets you log in with multiple accounts concurrently, enabling you to toggle back and forth should you choose to.Logging in to Tweetie DesktopUnlike TweetDeck, arguably the most popular Twitter desktop application out there, Tweetie doesn't look like it wants to take over your entire screen. Instead, activity occurs in a single column. To gain access to replies, direct messages, and integrated search, just click on the corresponding icons in the application's left margin.Checking Twitter Mentions In TweetieSeeing Who I DM Using TweetieLeveraging Twitter Search In TweetieLike any good Mac app, Tweetie even follows Apple's typical keyboard shortcuts. Command-N makes a new Tweet. Command-R refreshes your window and gets you the latest updates. And like with Safari, you can hit Command 1, 2, 3 or 4 to toggle through the available windows. (In this case, the Twitter timeline, mentions, messages and search)Sending a New Tweet From TweetieI switched from TwitterFon to Tweetie on my iPhone thanks to multiple account support, and it's great to see Tweetie hasn't neglected that when looking at working on my desktop as well.Atebits, the company behind Tweetie Desktop for Mac, has provided a video to show more about the new product, which should hold you over the weekend. Of course, they can be found on Twitter at @atebits and @tweetie.More: louisgray.com | RSS | FriendFeed | E-mail | Cell: 408 646.2759
April 18 2009, 12:43pm | #
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I posted to delicious.com
Tweetdeck Gets Facebook Integration - The Next Web
http://thenextweb.com/2009/03/16/tweetdeck-facebook-integration/
March 17 2009, 12:37pm | #
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I posted to delicious.com
How do I auto-follow Twitter followers? :: Free Tech Support from Ask Dave Taylor!
http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_auto-follow_twitter_followers.html
February 22 2009, 3:57pm | #
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I posted to delicious.com
BubbleTweet - Add A Personal Video To Your Twitter Page In Seconds
- Tags:
- cool
- twittertools
- video
February 21 2009, 9:32am | #
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I posted to delicious.com
Keep Your WordPress Blog Fresh With Content From Twitter and FriendFeed
http://mashable.com/2009/02/19/fresh-from-wordpress-plugin/
- Tags:
- tools
- web20
- social
- socialmedia
- friendfeed
- wordpress
- blogging
- YouTube
- plugin
- plugins
- xp
February 19 2009, 8:34pm | #
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I posted to delicious.com
14 Tools of Highly Effective Twitter Users - Kenny Hyder
http://hyder.me/social-media/14-tools-of-highly-effective-twitter-users/
February 11 2009, 8:47pm | #
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I posted to delicious.com
Biz Stone: Twitter to Charge Brands for Use - MarketingVOX##
February 10 2009, 1:23pm | #
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I posted to delicious.com
Orlando sushi restaurant now accepting orders via Twitter
February 3 2009, 4:50pm | #
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I posted to delicious.com
140 Characters » How Twitter Was Born
http://www.140characters.com/2009/01/30/how-twitter-was-born/
February 1 2009, 9:00am | #
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I posted to delicious.com
Twitter Avatars In Comments Wordpress Plugin | Developer's Toolbox | Smashing Magazine
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/01/08/twitter-avatars-in-comments-wordpress-plugin/
January 10 2009, 7:17pm | #
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I posted to delicious.com
100+ Remarkably Beautiful Twitter Icons And Buttons | Icons
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/100-remarkably-beautiful-twitter-icons-and-buttons/
January 4 2009, 5:51pm | #
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I posted to flickr.com
My Twitter Cloud
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevindonahue/3168026352/
Via Wordle, here's my twitter cloud.
- Tags:
- cloud
- kevindonahue
- wordle
January 4 2009, 3:14pm | #
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I posted to delicious.com
Filtering @ replies from your Twitter feed « matsu
http://mat.su/filtering-replies-from-your-twitter-feed/
- Tags:
- lifestream
- yahoopipes
- rss
- feeds
- Bookmarks
December 22 2008, 11:33am | #
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I posted to delicious.com
Filtering @ replies from your Twitter feed « matsu
http://mat.su/filtering-replies-from-your-twitter-feed/
- Tags:
- lifestream
- yahoopipes
- rss
- feeds
December 22 2008, 11:33am | #
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I posted to delicious.com
Twistory - your twitter history in ical format
- Tags:
- tools
- calendar
- googlecalendar
- web20
- gcal
- socialmedia
- ical
- history
- apps
- microblogging
- Bookmarks
November 30 2008, 4:52pm | #
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I posted to delicious.com
Twistory - your twitter history in ical format
- Tags:
- tools
- calendar
- googlecalendar
- web
- web20
- gcal
- socialmedia
- ical
- history
- apps
- microblogging
November 30 2008, 4:52pm | #
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I posted to delicious.com
Free Twitter Backgrounds - Twitter Themes
November 30 2008, 8:32am | #
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I posted to delicious.com
Free Twitter Backgrounds - Twitter Themes
- Tags:
- socialmedia
- backgrounds
November 30 2008, 8:32am | #
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I posted to delicious.com
11 Ways to Use Twitter to Help Your Site Go Viral
http://www.twitip.com/11-ways-to-use-twitter-to-help-your-site-go-viral/
November 18 2008, 8:24pm | #
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I posted to delicious.com
11 Ways to Use Twitter to Help Your Site Go Viral
http://www.twitip.com/11-ways-to-use-twitter-to-help-your-site-go-viral/
November 18 2008, 8:24pm | #
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I posted to delicious.com
Twittercal — tweet your google calendar
Create events in Google Calendar directly from Twitter. teh awesome!
- Tags:
- cool
- tools
- calendar
- googlecalendar
- useful
- web
- web20
- gtd
- gcal
- productivity
- social
October 10 2008, 5:51pm | #
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I posted to delicious.com
How Twitter Can Help at Work - Shifting Careers - Small Business - New York Times Blog
http://shiftingcareers.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/how-twitter-can-help-at-work/
- Tags:
- web
- web20
- productivity
- tips
- work
- business
- marketing
- socialmedia
- socialnetworking
- career
September 9 2008, 7:04pm | #
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I posted to delicious.com
How To Embed Your FriendFeed Stream to a blog page
http://www.jeffisageek.net/blog/2008/08/12/making-my-site-more-friendfeedly/
August 24 2008, 8:34am | #
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