This document provides information on using Twitter for business purposes. It discusses setting up a Twitter profile, including selecting a username and filling out your profile. It also covers how to use Twitter to network, find sales leads, and promote your business. Some key stats include that there are over 200 million registered Twitter users, with over 450,000 new accounts daily, and around 40% of tweets coming from mobile devices. Twitter can be used to develop products, interact with customers, and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.

1. Prospecting & Networking with Brandy Stemen Emerging Media Product Manager The San Diego Union Tribune/SOSD.com

2. Today’s Agenda What is Twitter? How to use Twitter for Business How to set up a Twitter Profile How to find leads and engage customers There are 200,000,000 registered Twitter users! That’s 52 every second every day… There are 450,000 new Twitter accounts created every day!

3. Twitter 101- What is it? Twitter is a social media application that allows you to communicate by sending a 140 character message to a group of people, or an individual (both privately or publicly) The 140 character limitation was devised to make Twitter more compatible with mobile devices Daily updates make the difference… As many as 52% of users update their status every day! Not bad in just 5 years… Almost 88% Of people have awareness of Twitter

4. Twitter Lingo- know the basics Twitter Handle: Also known as a user name. This is the name you select to represent yourself on Twitter Follow: You click the “Follow” button on that person’s Twitter Page so their tweets will be shown on your homepage so you know what they are doing Follower: A person who has followed you to receive your updates Update/Tweet: Each message can be no longer than 140 characters you post your updates in the white text box under “What’s Happening?” @reply: A message sent from one Twitter user to another by putting the @ sign before their twitter handle in the body of a tweet Hash tag (#): A twitter tagging system used to aggregate the conversation surrounding an event, topic or theme. Hash tags can be easily created by combining a # with a word, or phrase and used as a tag within tweets that is searchable. Example: #sandiego Twitter on the go… approximately 40% of all Tweets come from a mobile device Ask the personalities… 24% of all users check Twitter several times a day!

5. 6 ways to use Twitter for business Twitter is a relationship-building platform. You can meet potential customers and leads in the same way you would at a networking event or tradeshow. You can use Twitter to: 1. Develop and promote sales products for your territory 2. Interact with your customer base 3. Track what your customers are tweeting (talking) about 4. Create buzz around upcoming special sections or events (using Hash tags, Example: #sdutcollegeprep) 5. Generate sales leads in your territory 6. Establish yourself as the expert thought leader in your industry by sharing articles, stats, and marketing information 1.5 million Twitter users follow more than 500 people Search and ye shall find… There are 18,000 Search queries every second

6. Setting up your Profile You’ll need to set up a personal account, but keep in mind that you’ll be using this account for business to: Keep your customer base up-to-date on your events Promote recent blog articles or news Update your customers about products/services Give real-time updates about conferences and events Act as a liaison to the public for your company Expand your business network and make connections Comprende’? 61% of all Tweets are in English That’s quite a few referrals… As much as 75% Of traffic comes from outside Twitter

7. Setting up your Profile Go to: www.twitter.com and click the “ sign up” button Select your user name and password Note: Your username is very important, this is how people will find you. Ideas for Twitter Usernames: 1. Your full name (JaneMurphy) 2. A variation of your name (JMurphy) 3. Combination of your name & company name (SDUTJane) 4. Combination of your name and industry (UTadvertising Jane)

8. Personalizing your Profile Click the “edit your Profile” link to complete your profile by: Adding your Photo, Name, Location and link to your Linkedin profile or company website Introducing yourself in the “Bio” section, this is your elevator pitch and an opportunity to convince people to follow you back. Consider sharing your company, your position, specializations, and recent projects. 54% of users are female 46% of users are male

9. Start Tweeting Even before you start looking for clients, start tweeting a few things like: An Observation: Tweet about what your doing, thinking or feeling (keep it professional) What You’re Reading/Watching: post a link to an interesting marketing statistic, news article or professional blog/video What Events You’re Attending: share a link to the next conference you plan to attend Users like to spread the love… 67% of users are likely to recommend a brand they follow to others The big boys are busy Tweeters… 88 of the 100 Fortune Global Companies post daily news & updates

10. Network and Find Sales leads To begin building your network you will need to find people to follow. You can find people by: Using the Who To Follow Twitter feature choosing topics or searching by keywords Using the Hash Tag to find Customers Example: #sandiego #chulavista #del mar 66% of all questions asked on Twitter have some commercial intent! Use Twitter to drive purchases… 75% of users are more likely to purchase from a brand they follow!

11. Network and Find Sales leads Other Things to search for: Chambers, Organizations, Groups Target Accounts (find out what they are talking about and open your sales pitch with what they are talking about on Twitter) Current customers/contacts (Follow them, interact with them via Twitter) 43% follow a brand on Twitter for special offers/deals Early adopters and higher earners… 30% of Twitter users have a household income of over $100,000!

12. Questions/Sources Questions: Brandy Stemen x1463 Sources: @touchagency for bubble stats, @hubspot for content, @thenextweb for graphics