If you regularly surf the Web for fun and leisure, it's almost a hundred percent certain that you have at least one account in one of the many popular social media networking sites today. You probably even have a profile in several sites: Facebook, Multiply, Twitter, Plurk, the list goes on. How about making money online out of your profiles?

Sounds real good, right? You usually update your profiles anyway, so you're sure to be able to monitor any business run from them on a regular basis. Plus, your first clients can be your friends, the number of which (if you do social networking a lot) has probably reached triple digits. A lot of potential customers and patrons are already there, all you need is the money making infrastructure. Social media networking is one of the more recent additions to the repertoire of internet marketing tools and methods. As the name suggests, the idea is to market through social media. And with the popularity social networking sites are enjoying, having a social media marketing network of several profiles can make for a sufficient extra income mechanism.

It's somewhat like affiliate marketing in that you need affiliate merchants to provide you with the ads (and thus the income) to put in your profile. You either get direct income from getting a percentage of each successful sale you make, or you get small income from every click an ad gets (roughly amounting to mere cents, but when accumulated by several dozen ads in several dozen profiles, can be substantial), or both.

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About the Author:
Aden Clark is an online business mentor that learns average people how to start and develop a successful online business. Join his free, 7 day, online business course that will teach you how to copy his exact method that generates at least $100/day.

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It took the Internet marketing industry more than 10 years to elevate the SEO discussion from "Where do I rank on search engines?" to "How much business do search engines send my way?"  It's only taken only about 10 months to elevate the Twitter discussion from "How many followers can I get on Twitter" to "What is the value of using Twitter for my business?"

Maybe, as an industry, marketers are finally learning something.

"New" Internet marketing should aim to take the sexy out of marketing. Not that marketers should begin wearing an outdated wardrobe and black socks. Rather, they should take a very analytical and business-oriented approach to getting real, measurable results. Less flash and bang, less smoke and mirrors, less shock and awe… and more results.

When it comes to Twitter, there is no shortage of services offering to get you 10,000 followers in a week. But it's not about volume; it's about influence, demographics, reach and targeted conversations. I'd much rather reach 100 really great followers in my target market. Or 10 followers who influence my target market. Or one follower if it's Oprah or Barack Obama.

But how do you know if you've got a good follower. What are the characteristics of a "great" follower? If a productive, business-focused Twitter account is judged on more than merely its volume of followers, then shouldn't there be more to determining what makes a good follower than how many people THEY are following? In fact, there are some elite followers that might not have a large body of followers themselves. So how can you tell the good from the bad (and the ugly)?

Here are some of my favorite tools for measuring the value of your Twitter followers:

Twinfluence –

Twinfluence not only gives you the number of followers for any Twitter handle, it shows how many followers those followers have. It also measures the velocity of a Twitter handle's growth, that is, how many new followers or second order followers does it gain daily. The site also measures social capital (how important a handle's followers are) and how centralized the handle's reach is (does it have a broad or limited reach). The tool is a great way to compare your Twitter presence to competitors, based on metrics other than just sheer number.

Twittorati –

As the name implies, Twittorati comes from the same fine folks who bring us Technorati. If you're looking for the elite of the elite on Twitter, this is the place to go. The site tracks the Twitter activity of the top 100 bloggers on the Internet, as determined by Technorati. The site also tracks what links are being Tweeted by the top influencers and the top Twitter hashtags. How can you use Twittorati? First, you can keep an eye on those top hashtags. If you Tweet about healthcare reform you are doing yourself a huge disservice if you aren't using the #hcr hashtag — but you wouldn't know that if you aren't tracking the top tags. Also, as Twittorati expands to cover more of Twitter's most influential members, you can work on getting connected with that "super influencer" — by first figuring out just who that person is.

MyTweetCloud -

By searching a Twitter handle on this site, you can identify what terms that user tends to use most often and get great insight into the things your clients, customers and followers tend to use. This is a great way to see if your prospects are talking about you, your competition, your products or a vacation at the beach.

Tweetstats –

What a cool way to graph your Tweets. Just drop the Twitter name into the box and you can quickly see trends in your Tweeting… what days you Tweet, what times you Tweet, who you Retweet. Oh wait, you know all that stuff. The good data starts when you drop in the handles of your followers, competition, partners, vendors and clients, and you can get an idea of their Twitter activity.

TwitterSheep –

Interested in who is following you and your competition? This is a great tool. The site generates a tag cloud based on the profiles of your followers. If you are trying to reach CEOs of mid-sized companies, but your tag cloud has terms like "vegetables" and "fitness," you may be reaching the wrong folks. If you sell to the healthy living crowd, those may be exactly the tags you want to see. (My tag cloud tells me that my typical follower is a social media coach named Kevin who likes jazz and wears a small locket).

Foller.me -

Looking to find out more about any one of your followers? This site will not only build a cloud on the terms a follower most frequently uses, it will tell you what hashtags that person has used, who they've mentioned and what part of the country her followers come from. If you're looking to identify someone who is highly influential and reaches women in the northeastern US and tweets about topics related to breast cancer, this one tool can help you quickly test to see if a person fits the bill.

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About the Author:
Bill Balderaz is the president and founder of Webbed Marketing, a social media monitoring and Internet marketing firm with more than 40 clients, including several Fortune 500 companies. Prior to founding Webbed Marketing, Bill worked with some of the largest publishers in the world, including Standard and Poors, McGraw-Hill and Thomson Gale.
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Twitter lists are essentially the long awaited Twitter "groups." This is a way to group your followers into categories and a way to find new followers. You now have the ability to group people any way you choose and name the list anything you choose. You can even include someone you're not following in a list.

For example, we have a list of our virtual assistants on the Activ8Business Twitter account. You can do the same, create a list of your employees, your affiliates, your competition, anything and anyone. Lists are your opportunity to create customized groupings on Twitter.

Creating A Twitter List
To start creating your Twitter lists is simple. When you're logged in look belong the search box and click New List. You will have to chose a name for your list and then you have two choices: Public or Private List.

Public List: These will be viewable by everyone. This is a great way to recommend followers.

Private List: These will only be viewable by you, not even those in the list will know they are there. This is a great way to keep an "eye" on your competition.

You will now be prompted to add users to your list. You can also add users when you are doing everyday Twitter browsing. Just click the drop down box and you will be able to add them to lists right from their profile. You can even add yourself to lists this way.

Removing Yourself from an Un-wanted List
If you have been listed somewhere you don't want to be you can block that person. Now keep in mind if you do this that person will not be able to follow you. This action can be undone. Visit your profile and click on your Listed link. From here you will click on the List you want to block. Once at the list along the right column you will see Block.

Finding Lists to Follow
Check out listorious.com where they offer a categorized directory of Twitter lists. Also the popular TweetMeMe has a list directory of the current "top" lists lists.tweetmeme.com

As you can see Twitter has added this feature to enhance your Twitter optimization. These new lists can be integrated into many Twitter management systems as well, like Seesmic and Hootsuite. Start making your lists, have fun and Tweet about your lists so people can follow them.

How do you use Twitter Lists? Let us know on Twitter @Activ8Business.

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About the Author:
Activ8 Business's cost-effective social media services will show you how to get the most from this powerful marketing and promotional medium. Our core expertise is in using social media to promote business growth; we also provide Virtual Assistant services to help manage your growth, your clients, or whatever tasks you need. Regardless of your industry, we can provide the marketing and support services your company needs. http://activ8business.ca
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Twitter is fast becoming the most looked at online social networking website with millions of members from around the world. The original idea of its creators, Jack Dorsey and  Evan Williams was to have open the platform so people everywhere could find out what's going on at any moment and share their interest.  It is easily assessable on the internet, mobile phones, and has a bandwidth that can be picked up SMS on simple phones.  As a real-time information network, people can connect through DMs, Retweets, groups, and their followers.

It even has a business arena where brands can be made, businesses shared, and grown. As a business owner you can get connected with your target customer and keep them informed about your business pretty easily.  It serves as a free advertizing method.

Many twitter enhancing business have been created as a result of the twitter growth and popularity. You can find all types of programs to help you operate twitter easier and quicker, "even when you sleep."  There is all kind of relevant training out there sharing how to maximize your time and effort on twitter. 

My question is with so much "how to do" twitter why are there so many people on twitter who don't seem to "get it?" Whether you have no followers, or 100,000, you might tweet once a week or every hour, I see people make some of the same mistakes.

Here are some tips on what not to do on twitter when you tweet so you won't be a twerp.

First and foremost, DON'T spam. Nobody likes a spammer.  Even if the Twitter mechanisms don't catch you the members will. You can find a list of things on the internet people and machine do to other tweeters that is unacceptable.
PLEASE DON'T join twitter until you can upload a picture of your handsome/beautiful self.  Not your alter ego, not your avatar, not your baby picture, not your favorite star, not how you wish you looked, not the company logo. Not a picture of the wilderness. What are you hiding? People will assume you are a spammer or just not bright enough to know this is a social network platform and people like to see people.
DON'T ignore people. Follow people back when they follow you. Remember what you learned in preschool about being polite, well it applies here.
DON'T Let the DMs go unnoticed. Respond to DMs that you find interesting and strike up a conversation.  Get a program that will allow you delete them so they don't just keep piling up. Example: SocialOomph.com
DON'T just sell.  Give people a way to get to know you.

I could add somethings like, nobody cares about what you eat for breakfast every morning or what your private habits are, and don't tweet the same message over and over and over again, but I won't because I know I am talking to an intelligent reader.

These are just a few of the most important DON'Ts for tweeters who don't want to be twerps.  This is for the uninformed, the newbie tweeter who hasn't had a twitter training, this is for those who really want to socialize and give information in a new medium that is spreading all over the world.

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About the Author:
Tendai Jordan is a mother, grandmother, businesswoman and Internet Marketer.  Having been born in Southern California has its advantages, sun, beaches, mountains, and a diverse population. Having also lived in other states and countries she has developed a high regard for the advantages provided for networking on the Internet.  She shares her insight for others so they can enjoy the social platforms and use them for their highest potential.
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Twitter is quickly becoming a phenomenon that's changing the world as we know it. In an instant you can tell people all over the world what you are up to. If you are watching tv, hanging with friends, traveling the world, have a business to market, or just want to be your goofy self, Twitter is the place to make yourself known to millions of people. If you have a business or product you want to promote it's important to follow some guidelines when you're marketing with Twitter.

It's important to put yourself in your followers shoes when you are tweeting. If you come across as being too pitchy or a spammer, you will not have success marketing with Twitter. The community will shut you out very quickly. It's okay to regularly post about your business opportunity or product that you are promoting but make sure your tweets stay fresh, interesting, and provide value to your followers. If you post the same old tweets your followers will become uninterested and you will lose credibility.

When you're marketing with Twitter don't be too business orientated. Your followers will get tired of you very quickly if all you tweet is about business. Make sure you share about what's going on in your life, be personable, share quotes that interest you, retweet what others have to say, but most of all be yourself. Don't try to be someone your not.

Since Twitter will only let you share snippets at a time it's important to keep your content interesting. Telling your followers you're eating, watching tv, or going to bed will bore them after awhile. It's okay to post this content but make sure you post more interesting Tweets as well.

When marketing with Twitter a good guideline to follow is 1 business tweet for every 3 tweets you post. So for every 3 content tweets you would post 1 business tweet. Only send out 5-6 tweets per day. If you follow these guidelines, your posts will stay fresh and your followers won't think you are being a cheesy salesperson.

Make sure you post your Twitter link on your website, blog, email signatures, and social media websites. The more places you post your twitter link, the more followers you will get. Remember that the more followers you have, the more people will see your messages.

It's very critical to avoid using automatic Twitter services that offer bulk followers, repeating the same tweets, mass tweeting, mass following, and sending out tweets automatically from Twitter automated sites. These are quick ways to get your account banned. There are some sites like Tweetlater, Buzzom, and Huitter that are legitimate sites. Just make sure that if you are going to use these kinds of sites, do your research on them first to make sure they are legitimate. Once your account gets banned with Twitter, it's a nightmare trying to get it back and you'll lose all of your followers.

Marketing with Twitter the right way is a great way to build credibility for you and your business. If you do it right Twitter can provide your business with a tremendous amount of leads. Remember to be always be yourself, be consistent, be interesting, follow the proper rules of engagement, and Twitter will be a tremendous marketing resource. Are you the next Twitter marketing rockstar? If so, prove it. Go out there and start tweeting!

When marketing with Twitter it's important to follow the proper rules of engagement. If you want to find out more information on how to become a professional internet marketer visit Internet Marketing Training .

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About the Author:
Lucien Bechard a.k.a 'The CopyCat Marketer' and 'The CopyCat Multi-Preneur' is an Internet Marketing expert that teaches people how to build a successful online business using the principles of Attraction Marketing. If you desire to have financial freedom, are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve your dreams, and want so desperately to find an opportunity that will help you achieve your dreams visit I WANT MY FREEDOM!
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