maine web development, web design, internet marketing

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Perhaps you are just now getting to signing up for a Twitter account. More likely is that when you joined Twitter, you were not sure what you were going to do with this space so you chose a name you are less than excited about now. Many people choose a nickname or a confusing combination of numbers and letters, and find that it’s not appropriate to be using for marketing their business.

So what happens when you find a username you want and someone else is using it? Even worse, what happens when someone has your company name and they aren’t even using the account?

Name squatting is against the Twitter rules. Unfortunately there is little Twitter can do about the inconvenience unless you are covered under the terms of service or if someone is impersonating you. If you have your name trademarked you can email terms@twitter.com to let them know that you own the trademarked name. With any type of interaction like this you should provide all documentation you have and perhaps screen shots of the account you are discussing.

Before making your claim, it is important to understand what you are asking for. For more information about the difference between name squatting, impersonation or trademark infringement read this post from how-to-blog.tv, which also includes Twitter’s snail mail address and fax number.

Twitter is always working on releasing all usernames attached to accounts that have been inactive for more than 18 months. An account is considered a squatter if the account hasn’t been logged into or updated for 6 months. An account that has no activity, followers or people they are following can be immediately removed because they are considered squatting. Finding and ousting squatters is a manual process and can take weeks for Twitter to implement.

If you think you deserve a username that looks like it’s being squatted you can submit a request for someone to review the account.

Taking matters into your own hands

In some circumstances people feel it is best to take matters into their own hands. If you want you can contact the user and ask them to drop the name (politely of course). Send them an @ reply or DM (direct message) pleading your case. If you don’t hear from them on Twitter, try following the link to their website and see if there is a better way to talk to someone there.

If you think it would be easier to reach out to the account owner on your own you should also be aware that any attempt to buy, sell or solicit compensation for a Twitter username is also considered a violation of policy and could be grounds for your account being suspended.

Lastly, if you have the people skills to pull it off, here is a Twitter list of staff members at Twitter. With a little time and networking skills you may be able to make a personal connection with someone in-house that can help you resolve your name squatter issue.

Few other things to remember…

• Try to get there first – Twitter will do its best to do what is right but the easiest way to avoid any of this hassle is to make sure you secure your name first. If you are not ready to take on a full Twitter strategy for your business just set up the account with your information, website, upload a logo and put one post up to secure your name and make sure you aren’t deemed a squatter. For a first post just say ‘Thank you for visiting us on Twitter. We are not quite up and running but if you have any questions please email us at email@company.com’.
• Keep your username short – Usernames can only be 15 characters long. The longer the username, the harder to RT someones content due to lack of spaces in a standard tweet.
• Pay someone else to secure your company name – It is possible to secure your company name on social networks with services like Claim.io
• Check the copyright of a name you want – Before you make a stink, check to make sure someone else doesn’t have the name you want already copyrighted. You can go to the United States Patent and Trademark Office and search for existing trademarks.

Social Media can be a powerful tool to add to your marketing mix; it is a great way to reach out and interact with your current and potential clients. Social Media is not a standalone action. To participate effectively for your business you need to tie it in with your other marketing initiatives.

One of the hardest (and most common) missteps I see are companies that want to treat social media as an event. People treat joining sites like Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook like it’s a quick fix. Deciding to participate in social media isn’t something you can try for a week or a month and then if you see no return you can just leave it. With every follower, friend or connection you are promising them you are going to provide some valuable information in this space.

An Audience of No One

When you start a social media campaign, you have an audience of ZERO! You need to earn them the old fashioned way – one at a time. So with an audience of zero how do you think you can effectively build a community, company buzz or site traffic?

Your online network will build slowly with your friends, coworkers, fans or other businesses but then it is up to you to provide content that makes people want to hear more from you. Hopefully they will then want to get to know about your business, products and services a little bit more.

Audience Comes After the Message

Unlike traditional media, your social media message comes BEFORE your audience.

In traditional media, you craft your perfect marketing message then you broadcast it out to an audience (billboard, print ad, television ad, radio spot, etc.).

In social media you have to create content, valuable content, to show people that your content is worth subscribing to.

You aren’t going to gain people’s trust in a week, you aren’t going to establish yourself as an expert in your industry in a month – all of this is going to take some leg work and some time.

My advice if you are thinking of abandoning your effiorts? Give it some time. Don’t give up too early. Scale back the amount of time spent working on social media sites but don’t abandon them. Schedule to send out one tweet or one post on your blog each week.

You can also scale back the sites you are using. Spreading yourself too thin with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn? Which site is showing you the most value? Cut back to just one and leave a message on the other two that people can connect with you on the one site you will be spending the most time on.

Want another take on it? Read Seth Godin’s The Reason Social Media is so Difficult for Most Organizations.

There are many elements that affect the reputation of your website. Most of the topics listed below (in no particular order) are intermingled and depend greatly on one another. Just like in life, it takes time and support to build a good reputation online. Be aware of all the ways people are gauging your website and implement a strategy to build up a good reputation for it.

1. Blog Often – Blogging allows you to demonstrate your knowledge on a specific subject. By providing your expertise, you will be considered a resource that many people will look to for advice.
2. Easy to Understand – The content on your site needs to be easy to understand. Use language that a majority of internet users can comprehend and steer away from using industry jargon.
3. Provide useful information – Your website depends on the usefulness of its content. Be a resource to people, direct them to industry specific white papers; have an events calendar; or offer training workshops or webinars. People that find your site useful are more likely to share it with others, thus enforcing your good reputation.
4. Be Consistent – When updating elements on your site, like news, events, and blog posts, try to be more consistent rather than sporadic. Your users will appreciate knowing that they can go to your site and find what they are looking for.
5. Search Engines & SEO Are Your Pals – If someone is doing a search online and your site comes up on the first page or even in the top five, chances are that search engines consider it to be relevant. Most users trust their search engine to show them the best options for what they typed in the search bar. You need to execute a strategy to keep your website optimized for search engines.
6. Get “Real” – Yes, your website’s reputation also depends on your personal online reputation. Connect with people online using social networks like Twitter and LinkedIn and build a community around you and your business. Discuss topics and share ideas that lead them back to your website for additional resources.



7. Usability and Navigation – Your site needs to be easy to use and to navigate through. Users should understand how to get to the information they are seeking without difficulty.
8. Privacy Policy – Reputation and trust go hand-in-hand and you must include an easy-to-read privacy policy on your website. Your users should know what information you collect on your site and how you intend to use it.
9. Clean design – A clean design is beneficial for your site’s usability, navigation, and readability. Your website’s design must clearly display its calls to action so users can immediately understand what is required of them through the process.
10. Easily Accessible – No one has time for a site that takes a long time to download and please don’t make anyone download anything just to view your site. Make sure you make your site accessible to a wide range of internet users.

These topics work together as a team, not independently, so it is important to think of all the pieces of your website as a whole. For example, if you have a blog on your site that is not consistently updated, your website will be regarded as unreliable. Additionally, if you are not offering useful information to communities on social networks, they will be less likely to use your website as a resource. Building a good reputation for your website takes time, but once it has a solid foundation, it becomes invaluable.

Are you thinking about designing a new website or revamping your current site? Think about your overall web strategy and what tactics you will use to accomplish that strategy. I like to use the analogy of your website being your virtual office.

Web design & development

• Remove clutter from your office and make it comfortable for your guests. Use design elements like color and images that relay a welcoming feeling, so people want to visit your site, and hopefully stay a while.
• Do people have a hard time finding where they want to go? Display signs clearly so visitors can navigate their way seamlessly throughout your office. Ensure the traffic to your website can find information easily – if they can’t, they will leave your site to look elsewhere and you lose a lead.

Content

• When guests come into your office do you bore them with the history of your company or do you give them the information they want? If you have an idea of what guests want before they come, you can tailor the information to them – like using landing pages.
• When guests come back multiple times, don’t tell them the same thing each time they visit, give them new information and insight. For example, write a blog that is updated regularly.

Organic Search Marketing

• When people are looking for services or products you provide – make sure they find you! Putting signs up in front of your business, having a good reputation and word of mouth, and being able to be found in business listings are just like ensuring you have a good organic search plan in place.
• Respect expectations. If you sell oranges but you put up a sign that says you sell bananas just to get people to come to your fruit stand, people will be turned off and turn away. In terms of SEO, use keywords that pertain to what you offer and who you are offering to.

Paid Search Marketing

• This is just like paying to put an ad in the newspaper or a commercial on television. You want to make sure the content you put on the ad relates to what you are offering. The ads should direct people where you want them to go to receive the service – call a phone number, visit your office, go to a website, etc.
• Geographical targeting is important to think about too – if you sell snowmobiles, you are not going to put your ads on Hawaiian television. It’s better to have a smaller target to attract more quality leads than to have a large target and attract mediocre leads.

Connecting with people

• As a businessperson, you attend events and communicate with your clients on a regular basis. You can do the same thing online by becoming involved in social networking. Connect with others in your line of business to stay on top of industry news and be available to your customers to get their feedback and ensure their satisfaction.
• When you connect with people online, use your website as a resource for them to go to learn more about you. Similar to how you want your website to be your virtual office, you want your online personality to resemble your professional persona.

Evaluate and Assess (adjust if necessary)

• Can you tell how people feel when they come into your office? Are they buying your products? Are they telling their friends? Do they come back? These are all questions you want to ask about your website too. Check your analytics, set up goals and track them. Pay attention to make sure your calls to action are being completed and forms are being filled out.
• Don’t wait for negative feedback; be proactive about acquiring positive feedback. Try to be one step ahead by monitoring your traffic and trends occurring on your website. If something isn’t working, adjust and then reevaluate.

It can be helpful, when planning your web strategy, to think about your website as your virtual office. As much preparation and detail should go into your website as does choosing and designing your office space, deciding how to market yourself and who to conduct business with. Overall, you want to guarantee you give your visitors a good experience that makes them want to come back and do business with you.