Tuesday Top Ten – Best Social Media Sites for Small Business Part 2

Oooook. I have been feeling very anxious about this week’s Top Ten. Overwhelmed. Do you understand the sheer amount of info out there on these topics? Check out Pinterest. Just do a quick search for “social media tips”. I’ve even set up my own Pinterest board just for this stuff. There is a TON of info on how to use social media for your business. And my goal? To whittle it all down to just a few key points, and to keep it simple so that I, and all my readers, can use it. Sounds like a pretty lofty goal, right? Yeah, it does to me too.

So even though I think I might be crazy to continue this, here goes…

Top Ten Social Media Sites for Small Business Part Two

Twitter

A lovely representation of the Twitter logo

It was tough choosing this week’s social media site. I was torn between Tumblr (which I don’t really understand), Pinterest (which I’m getting better at) and Twitter. Don’t ask me how I finally decided; I’m not sure myself. I don’t think I really decided until I started to write the word “Twitter”, actually.

I’m terrible at Twitter. I have an account, obviously, but I go long periods of time without actually tweeting anything. I have a whole bunch of other social media accounts tied to Twitter so things still get tweeted, but most of it’s automated and therefore much less personal. But before we get into why this is a bad thing, let’s get the basics down.

Twitter = France?
Twitter is kind of like a foreign country in the social media world. It even has its own language. Here are a few terms that you will absolutely need to know (and know how to use) to be successful on Twitter:

Since I tend to be a bit wordy, I went with this short and simple image instead.

These terms, of course, are just the beginning. If you’d like to dig a bit deeper into the Twitter-language, go here. Some of them are really silly, but a lot of them are very useful.

Well, they do.

So you want to start a Twitter?
But why? Why is it important to my business to do this whole tweeting thing? Whoa there buddy, hold your horses. First thing’s first. You need to set up the account before we can delve into any deep philosophical questions like that.

First you need a user name. This is how people will find you, and should be easily recognizable. Mine is @madebymegshop, so a Google search for my Etsy shop will come back with my Twitter in the results. People can also easily search for me on Twitter. This is different from the display name. I used my actual name for that.

Then you need a profile image so people know that you’re not a bot (not an actual person, in other words). You can use your business logo here, but I’ve chosen to use a picture of myself. Personally, I like knowing that there is a real, live person behind the business, but that’s just my preference. I’m not alone though. According to PC Magazine, uploading a photo that shows your face can result in as many as ten times more followers. It just adds a more personal touch, in my opinion.

You also need a good description of who you are and what you’re about. Again, this shows potential followers that you’re real.

Finally, you can include the link to your website. If you don’t have a website, link to your blog or your Facebook.

How the heck do I use this thing?
Hell if I know. Really. But because I’m relatively masochistic, I’ve been doing my research.

First of all, you need to develop a following. This is obvious, right? I mean, you can talk and talk about interesting, valuable things all day long, but if no one is listening it’s kind of like the tree falling in the forest with no one around. No one cares, because no one is seeing it. If you’re brand new to Twitter, this means you need to start following people. You can follow blogs you read (most have social media buttons on their homepages to make this easy), real-life friends, and people who run other small businesses (even your direct competitors). If you know what your target market is, go ahead and do a hashtag search for a term that relates, and follow users who talk about it. But don’t follow every account that you come across, because there is a limit to how many accounts you can follow. I hit the follow limit fairly quickly, so I use a service called JustUnfollow to weed through the accounts that I follow, and get rid of the ones that I can live without.

Once you’ve followed some people, you are going to want to build those relationships by interacting. You can do this by mentioning them, retweeting them, or DM’ing them. And if someone takes the time to mention or retweet you, make sure you respond. It’s actually pretty easy, and I think I’ve got a good handle on this part. Interacting is what normal people do in real life, right? So this part should come naturally.

I’m not really yelling at you

The Deets
So you have a Twitter account. And you have a following. And you’ve made some good connections. You’re done, right? NO! You aren’t done yet! There are some details that you need to keep in mind here…

*Keep your tweets short and sweet. You are only allowed 140 characters, and you want to leave room for other users to reply or retweet. Also it’s been proven that tweets that are less than 100 characters long have a 17% higher engagement rate. You want that, trust me.
*Know when to tweet. Just like on Facebook, there is an optimal time/day to tweet. On Twitter, your best days to tweet are Saturday and Sunday, with Wednesday and Thursday showing the lowest rate of engagement. You do want to try to tweet several times a day, but know that your most important tweets should probably be focused around the weekend. And on those days, it seems that the best time to tweet is between 5pm and 6pm.
*Use relevant hashtags, sparingly. You want people to be able to find you, but you want to make sure that the right people are finding you. Try to only use one or two hashtags in each post.
*Don’t be afraid to ask for retweets. You will easily and effectively amplify your message if you do this. But make sure that you use the word “retweet”, instead of just “RT”.

And if that isn’t enough, here are a few more quick and easy tips to use.

I’m spent. I hope that helps build a greater understanding of how to use Twitter, but really, I’ve just skimmed the surface. There is much, much more info out there that can help you get into it deeper. I’ve found that Pinterest is a great place to go for that info, or at least a good place to start.

So, do you use Twitter? Any helpful tips you’ve found to make Twitter work for your business? Any questions that I didn’t answer? Feel free to comment, and I will certainly help if I can.

Tuesday Top Ten – Top Ten Worst Things About Working From Home

Last week I discussed my top ten favorite things about working from home. But as many upsides as their are (and there are actually way more than ten), there are just as many downsides. So today, I’ll continue with last week’s theme and discuss the Top Ten Worst Things About Working From Home.

1. So much to do, so little time.
Sometimes I find myself a bit overwhelmed with everything I’d like to do. It stresses me out. I want to make boot cuffs. I want to make fingerless gloves. I have to find time to make seasonal items. But I also have to package up all the orders, and make sure that my best sellers are available. Just thinking about everything I could be doing right now, instead of writing this blog, is causing me to panic a bit. I’ll be alright, but I could really use just a few extra hours in the day.

2. What do you do all day???
I know that no one takes my little shop very seriously. No one but me, that is. I can work from 6am until 11pm, and feel very accomplished on my own, but the people around me just see that I’ve spent the entire day watching TV on the couch. I haven’t had a real day off in years. Not that I’d want one; I’d be terribly bored. But it’d be nice if the people around me could see all that happens here on a daily basis, and that it’s not just sitting around watching TV all day. Sure, the TV is on, but while it is I’m knitting, or blogging, or posting on Facebook, or promoting my shop on any number of other sites, or even reading about how to promote my shop. There is a lot of work involved in this venture, but most people just think I’m lazy.

3. Lack of social interaction.
I’m an introvert. I don’t like people. Which is why this situation fits me perfectly. But, even being so introverted, there are times when I crave the presence of people. My boyfriend is great, and my cat is a wonderful listener, but sometimes I need to be around other people. So I wait tables at night. If I didn’t have my “day job”, I think I would lose my mind. I’ve always said to the people I work with that even if I was a millionaire, I’d still wait tables. I need to have an excuse to leave the house at least a couple days a week, and since I hate (with a capital “H”) shopping, I need to work. I could probably quit and be ok financially, because I don’t really need a lot of money to live, but I’d be afraid of losing touch with reality. Facebook isn’t a good substitute for face-to-face contact, at least for me.

4. Distractions.
As much as I love naps (if you have read last week’s Top Ten list, you know how much I love naps), it’s way too easy to just lay down and go to sleep. And sometimes I run out of energy by 11am and could sleep for hours if I let myself. Or I could spend hours looking at Pinterest. Or the Etsy forums. There are so many things that I could do that seem like a huge waste of time. And some days, I allow myself to do those things. But most times, if I spend a lot of time on the computer or napping or whatnot, I feel bad about it and end up beating myself up for not being as productive as possible.

5. No benefits.
Now this one isn’t as much of an issue now, since the Affordable Care Act took effect (which I will discuss at length in another entry). But this job doesn’t come with any benefits at all. I don’t have a 401K (I do, actually, but for the life of me I can’t figure out where it is). There isn’t any life insurance. Etsy doesn’t offer a health plan. Thank god for Obamacare, because otherwise I’d be paying hundreds of dollars a month just for the minimum. Worker’s comp would be great, but that doesn’t exist either. Carpal tunnel is a pain in the ass.

6. What is this “sick time” you speak of?
Or vacation time. If I’m sick, my “boss” (my “boss = me) still expects me to work. If I’m on vacation? Yup, still working. Not that I mind, but still.

7. Lack of a consistent income source.
Now this isn’t an issue with working from home, specifically. It’s an “I own a small business all by myself” issue, really. Obviously there are times when my shop is busy, and times when it’s very very slow. The few months around the holidays are always going to be busy for my original shop, since I sell items that are more suited for cold weather. And the summer is always going to be busy for my second shop. But the in between times? I can go months in between without making more than $100. Thankfully I know how to save my money, and I have my “day job”, but if I didn’t I’d be screwed. Or homeless. Probably both.

8. My ass hurts.
No, not like that. Sickos.

I sit pretty much all day, every day. I’m really good at sitting. Sitting doesn’t burn a whole lot of calories. But since I’ve lost all that weight, I’m not so much worried about the calories anymore. I am, however, worried about how badly my bony butt hurts after a long day of sitting on it. And how stiff the rest of my body gets. This is where my “day job” becomes a benefit because I’m very active there, and I try to go to the gym after my shifts to balance out all the sitting I do during the day. If I didn’t have to leave though, I’m not sure I would ever get enough activity. I’d probably end up weighing 600lbs. It’s a vicious cycle.

9. I have no boss.
Other than myself, of course. It’s great, really it is. But as awesome as being my own boss is, it becomes hard to keep myself on track at times. Again, the distractions are numerous. And finally…

10. I have no schedule.
This one is an upside and a downside. I have a lot of freedom. But when does it become too much freedom? I try to schedule my days as much as I possibly can, because I need the structure. But if I don’t get that pair of yoga socks done by 7pm? Oh well. It’ll get done eventually. I develop kind of a “meh” attitude about things sometimes. Not good.

Anyway, I’m not the only one who feels that there are both upsides and downsides to working from home. Apparently The Oatmeal agrees with me. How about you? What do you think are the worst parts of working from home, or being your own boss?