Have you starting using Twitter, yet? I know Twitter can be a little daunting.  Just thinking about finding Followers, sending Direct Messages and Replies and what are hash tags? Don't worry, start to take strides every day to understand the potential Twitter has for your business!  Here are five quick tips to implement right now:
 
1. Set a minimum number of tweets per day – and stick to it.

This sounds simple, but tweeting should become a habit just like going to the gym.  Once you skip just one day at the gym, it's easy to break your healthy habit.  The same goes for Twitter, once you skip a day of tweets, it's easy to move this exposure out of your top priorities.  This can be a deadly use of social media. Make sure you are not only promoting your products or services or you will find you are losing your followers. Incorporate personal Tweets, maybe you're not focusing today and you need a Starbucks break.  Tweet about it! Who knows, your next client could be a huge Starbucks fan and begin to interact with you!

2. Build a friendship with your consumer.

In order to be at the top of your consumer's mind, you must build a relationship.  Consumers don't want to only be reminded of you when they are making a purchase; they want to have a continuous conversation. An easy way to strike up a conversation is #FF (or Follow Fridays), where you choose several of your followers and reply to them with #FF.
 
Example: #FF @SavvyWithJenna

3. Use humor to connect.

Strive for a light-hearted relationship.  Consumers want to enjoy the relationship you create and humor is the best way to establish it.  *Warning, remember you are still representing your business. Share a funny story about your day – a good laugh will always brighten someone's day.

4. Gain a focus.

Have an objective for your communication.  If you do not have a strategy, it is difficult to measure any effectiveness in your efforts.  Are you looking to target a special industry? Do you want to reach a target individual? Maybe you're looking for newly engaged brides, just search for #engaged!

5. Think like your consumer.

Consumers are faced with over 5,000 advertising messages a day.  Consider what will spark the interest of your followers.  How would you reach you with your message?  Give the consumer a message they want to talk about.  Twitter is a viral medium.  If you post something that is useful for your market, many will RT (or Re-Tweet) your message to their followers in turn spreading your messages even further than you can imagine. 

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About the Author:
About the Author:Jenna is the author of Driven: Start Savvy and Strong with Jenna, a weekly e-zine dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs. Driven serves advice on growing your business, enjoying your life, and expressing your unique style. Sign up for Driven: Start Savvy and Strong with Jenna today at http://www.savvyandstrongwithjenna.com/landingpage.html
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There has been a lot of reporting on Shane Warne's recent rant via Twitter about his Brittish Airways flight between London and Las Vegas.  The high profile cricketer had much to say, including the following:

What hasn't been commented on is Brittish Airways total lack of response (well, as far as I can find); the silence is deafening.  BA does have a twitter account @British_Airways and is active on Twitter and has responded to other complaints around the same time:

But, apparently complete silence on the high profile Shane Warne. Mystifying. Or is this a new tactic (otherwise known as "the Emu strategy").

What are the lessons here? Following are some thoughts:

This is a classic example of how social media can negatively impact your brand. However it's also simply the classic example of customer feedback and how it is dealt with. Negative feedback is just as important as positive feedback, if not more so, as it gives a company true insight into where service improvements can be made.
This could be handled by BA as a great PR opportunity. My father always used to say (and it's probably a famous quote from someone) "It's not the mistakes you make that are important; it's the way you fix them". Social media is a great public forum; ideal for fixes.
Is BA monitoring its' brand on social media? Is it possible that these tweets weren't picked up until they were quoted in newspapers and on-line forums around the world? Monitoring is so important. With the tools available today companies can get instant social media feedback on their brands. If BA were really "switched on", these tweets could have been picked up and addressed at the time.
Does BA have a crisis management strategy? Again, there has been much reporting on BA's handling of recent strikes via social media and even positive comparisons to Nestle. But they knew the strikes were coming in advance. What about their response to negative social media press as it happens?

In summary, all companies (whether actively engaged in social media or not) should at the very least:

monitor what is being said about them and their brands and employees via social media
have a strategy to deal with any social media crisis that occurs (include a reputable social media lawyer).

Any thoughts on this?

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About the Author:
Vivienne brings a wealth of commercial expertise in all areas of managing a growing business. She heads up the marketing and business development areas of the practice as well as overseeing the commercial success of the business.
Vivienne has extensive international business development and management experience across a range of industries, working with major global corporations. Her key expertise lies in developing strategic relationships and ensuring ongoing business growth with attention to profit margin.
Her experience includes

Public relations with Shearwater, Zimbabwe
Account management with Lonrho PLC's Russian trading division, London
Account management with BankEnd, Finland and Estonia
Global account management with Global One Telecoms (JV Sprint USA, Deutsche Telecom and France Telecom), Sydney

Vivienne has worked with many global corporates including, Deutsche Bank, ING Bank, Nestle, Phillip Morris and Deloittes.
She is an experienced and professional public speaker, particularly when given the opportunity to articulate her enthusiasm for B2B engagement with social media.
Vivienne is now the General Manager and social media advocate at BlandsLaw, a specialist employment law firm, who are also leading the way in providing strategic legal advice on social media.
You may contact Vivienne by email at vstorey@blandslaw.com.au
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