Typically, companies shy away from restricting an employee’s actions off the job. But businesses are concerned about employees who use social networking and reveal private details or post inappropriate pictures that could embarrass the company.

Read the entire story at CNet.

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Eventually, though, should one decide to take a vacation there comes the question about what to do about your social profiles, especially if you use them to promote your business. Will people stop following your Twitter if you don’t post for a few days? Will the ranking results of your blog be affected if you don’t update as regularly while you’re gone? Perhaps worse yet, will anybody notice you’ve been gone at all?

When taking a break from work, should weaning off Twitter and Facebook and other profiles apply as well? A long weekend, for example, shouldn’t merit too much concern – you may miss a few gems from favorite “Tweeters”, but depending on the regularity of their posts it may not take too long to catch up on their news. Facebook allows you to parse friends into different lists, so if there are people you wish to follow more closely you can set that up easily and check the site sporadically if the urge to log in to the Net usurps the call of your destination’s amenities.

If you plan a lengthy break from work, which may include time in places where the Internet is not accessible, you may consider preparing advance promotion tactics to keep visitors and readers informed of your business. Blogs provide the ability to queue posts to release on scheduled dates, allowing you the flexibility to map out future material. Twitter widgets such as TweetLater works on a similar model, assuming you have not imported an RSS feed into your account.

If you work alone, you may also wish to consider hiring a temporary “ghost Twitterer” to handle keeping your online persona alive while you enjoy your vacation. It’s not uncommon for celebrities to have people tweet in their stead, and a quick glance through an online freelance database will reveal hundred of freelance writers and SEO agents ready to bid on your work.

Depending on the length of your absence from the office, smart advanced planning can keep you socially active on the Internet even if you aren’t logged in. Take advantage of the tools available to you to keep your social status thriving.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on social media optimization and Virginia web design.

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Who Should Use Twitter to Promote Travel?

The short answer: if you run any business related to travel and tourism, you should have a profile. Every instance of news, every ticket sale or new product available, every question fielded by a prospective visitor should be handled in the open forum of Twitter. The more you have to share, the better the chances of attracting followers searching for relevant information. Don’t be concerned, either, about the 140 character per post limit – simply augment posts with links to your main sites and other points of action like reservation forms and newsletter opt-in pages.

Who should use Twitter in the travel industry? Here’s a short list:

• Convention and Visitors Bureaus: “Tweet” your calendar of local events, announce seasonal deals on travel packages, and engage visitors and locals alike in feedback to improve your town’s tourism.
• Tourist Attractions: Do you operate a museum, park, or landmark? Let people know where you are and what’s happening. Send links to photo galleries and videos to entice visitors to put your attraction on their itineraries.
• Lodging: For owners of hotels, bed and breakfast inns, and campgrounds, Twitter keeps you in touch with travelers looking for last minute lodging.
• Transportation/Tour Operators: Post schedules and event announcements. Answer questions about available tours and network with organizations about group events.

An active account that engages other Twitter users can increase readership, and ultimately traffic, to your destination.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on SEO for travel websites and professional SEO writing services.

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When one considers the incredible growth of the network – Nielsen has reported around fourteen million users in 2008 – and how quickly Twitter has been integrated into mainstream media, one may argue we should ask, “Why are you not Tweeting?”

These days breaking news may be discovered in a brief line of text and an accompanying link before any of the major news channels are able to broadcast. Twitter puts a personal spin on world events (California users texted a recent earthquake as it happened), unites people to a common cause (awareness of Iran’s elections made for a popular trending topic), and serves as a forum for multiple discussions. Literary agents field questions on the craft and submissions, businesses post sales information and online cart codes, and news outlets use Twitter as a wire, teasing stories and updates in hopes of increasing click-throughs. As the network matures and is made more accessible through Internet and phone widgets, Twitter just may move from the latest fad to an important media and commerce tool.

So how can a small business use Twitter effectively? Once you set up an account, there’s no guarantee thousands of followers will immediately flock to read your posts, and one must consider the legitimacy of so-called programs that “guarantee” masses of subscribers through viral promotion of their software. One social media expert I read puts it best when she stresses the social nature of Twitter – don’t worry about who you follow or who follows you. Treat Twitter as you would your Web site or blog, offer concise relevant content and eventually you will build readership.

Initial promotion of your account is key in lighting the fire. A link from your main site, blog, and other social profiles allows visitors to know of the addition exposure you provide. Approaching Twitter with a relaxed yet professional attitude, coupled with the occasional use of hashtags relevant to your content, can be helpful in increasing awareness of your business. Regardless of your products or services, if somebody is interested in what you have to offer, they will follow. The constant hard-sell, where every Tweet is an ad, could turn off followers and risk the labeling of your account as spam.

Interest followers not only by posting your own expertise via Twitter, but using the network to research your topic through other sources. Link to articles or blogs, “retweet” posts from like-minded accounts you follow, and engage followers in conversation. The more you use Twitter, as one would with any other network, the more you’ll find an audience for your business.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on professional SEO writing and local PPC management.

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That said, one might think relaying news and information in 140 character increments is simple and guaranteed to drive traffic to your Web site, but Twitter is a bit more sophisticated than that. Twitter users, too, tend to be choosy about whom they follow and what they relay to the world. Like other social platforms, Twitter is not immune to spam tactics, and as people grow wise to dubious practices, it’s important to know what to do to keep users interested in reading what you have to “tweet.”

How to Lose Followers

In reviewing comments by Twitters users, there are a few ways to easily cause followers to drop off the radar. They include:

Sending an automated message upon following: Not everybody wants to be hit with the hard sell immediately. Many people now regard the automated message as the first sign of a spam user, and may not stick around to read further messages.

Constant sales pitches: Take a look at a typical day of tweets. Do you tend to push more products than actually socialize? Especially for an account designed to look more personal than professional, this can be a turn-off for followers, especially those who aren’t tracking many Twitter users. Somebody reading the same message every two hours is going to give you a message by unfollowing you.

SEO spam posts: “I just landed five thousand Twitters followers, you can, too!” We’re starting to see these crop up – viral optimization posts that lead to links for various programs and books. In truth, you might visit the originator of the message to find he/she doesn’t have the alleged five thousand at all. As Twitter grows in popularity, so will attempts to monetize it, and if somebody receives enough of these messages they may say enough.

In short, use Twitter to communicate with followers, not to pressure them, and you may find you can grow readership and loyalty with this popular media platform.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on local PPC advertising and professional SEO writing services.

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Depending on your skill level and knowledge of the site’s purpose, writing the content may be the simplest or most challenging task in achieving your promotion goals. Once you have the information written and made live on your site, exposing it through social media is perhaps the easiest thing to do, and it doesn’t take long to generate a buzz. Here are four ways you can help light the fire.

Add links to social media sites on your Web pages – If you make use of a blog program through Blogger or Wordpress to supplement your site content, you’ll know there are widgets available to help you advertise content for social media. Icons and links implore readers to add the content to Facebook or Twitter, all you have to do is click a link to make it happen. If you know a bit of HTML code, though, you can set up links on static Web pages for people to use to add your content to social networks. Decide which social sites you want to focus on the most, then get the code to create the links.

Import your RSS feed into Facebook – Whether you have a personal Facebook account or a fan page related to your Web site, you can use your profile to promote your work. Facebook’s Notes application allows users to import the RSS or XML feed of a blog or site, and will upload the content of the feed into your profile. Then, every time you add to the feed, it’s updated on Facebook and your friends are alerted. If you don’t use a blog for your site, you can create one just for use of the RSS capability for social media, then track referrals from Facebook and Twitter to see how effective it is.

Bookmark your content – Every time you write an article for your blog or site, add it to your social bookmark collection. Whether you prefer Delicious or Digg or any of the myriad of competitors, generating that buzz can help bring more attention to the rest of your site. Get friends and employees to set up similar accounts and help promote the links.

Write more content – For an author, the best way to promote a book is to write the next one. This tip applies to just about anyone using article or blog marketing to optimize Web sites…keep on writing! The more content you offer, the better the opportunity for showing up in search. A visitor may catch one article and come back to read more, and buy more.

Maximize your content through social media – writing, linking, and bookmarking. It’s a great way to maximize your business and your profits.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on SEO writing services and local PPC advertising.

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While it may appear to be a good idea in theory, let’s look at the result: if you were to blindly select a thousand people on Twitter to follow, chances are a good-sized percentage will follow back. Sounds good, huh? In theory, you might think you can convert all these followers into customers or clients, but consider why many people are on Twitter in the first place: to market their own products. What is more likely to happen is that a thousand people will follow you with the intent of converting you to purchase their goods. A top turn-off for some who choose to follow Twitter users is receiving that initial automated greeting message – you know the one, there’s usually a URL and a pitch. You haven’t read one of the person’s “tweets” yet and already they’re on the hard sell.

In order to get the most out of social networks as a means of promotion, a few things you’ll want to bear in mind are:

It isn’t necessary to follow everybody who follows you. If you follow too many Twitter folks the chain of messages received becomes diluted. Posts from people you truly want to follow may get lost in the shuffle of numerous advertisements. True, you want people to follow you, so it’s important to set your profile up as one that contains pertinent content, yet doesn’t appear to constantly hustle readers. If, however, you are set on using Twitter to promote your business, set up a separate account for personal use.

To become attractive to Twitter users, be an expert. “Socialization” is the key to succeeding in any social media network. Not only should you use your Facebook and Twitter accounts to relay information on your favorite subjects, but you should interact with users as well. If you sell sporting goods, ask followers and friends what brand baseball bat or glove is the best, or who they think will win the Series this year. Put a personality behind the avatar and you may find people will recommend their friends to follow you.

Don’t be afraid to promote other things. If you see a news item related to your line of business, share it. Never feel as though you are helping “the competition” in any way. In fact, sharing this information could help you in a way, as it might inspire followers to “re-tweet” your findings and credit you. This in turn could lead to more followers, and perhaps more business.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on Virginia web design.

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In short, if you blog, does it make sense to feed the blog’s RSS into Twitter and Facebook, and anywhere else it may fit? Is there the risk that somebody who follows all three of your profiles will become bored or irritated by the repetition and drop you altogether?

The answer is hard to determine, as one can’t truly determine how social media optimization will work for everybody. What works for Company A could backfire for Company B. However, there are pros and cons to repetitive content that can be explored and considered by those interested in getting the most out of their social media profiles.

Duplicating Content: Advantages

Tools exist that allow you to feed your blog posts into your Facebook profile and your Twitter account. Though there is no discernable way to feed a blog into MySpace’s blog, widgets can be set up to present an RSS version on your material on your profile. The main advantage to having everything connected is that you can create content at one source and distribute it easily to several places with the click of a mouse. There’s no need to log into several profiles. With the addition of bookmarking tools on your browser menu bars – for social bookmarking sites like Delicious and Digg – you can reach diverse audiences with your content.

Also, optimizing specific keywords to link back to your main site can be helpful in boosting your search rank.

Duplicating Content: Disadvantages

If you spend enough time in the Twitter and Facebook worlds, you may tend to read from other users of their dissatisfaction of some profiles. While it’s a given that anybody who sets up a social profile is advertising to some degree, to simply set something up as a droning feed may be a turnoff to some users. “Social” is optimal word in social media, so if you do have these profile it is encourage to use them beyond their RSS functionality and converse with the people who choose to follow your exploits.

It may take some experimentation to find the perfect balance between your content and the way it is presented. Study how you use social media, and learn what works and what doesn’t.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on Virginia web design.

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Microsoft launched its new search engine, Bing, a few days earlier than expected. The search engine is designed to give users a more granular experience, allowing them to not only hunt for general information, but also conduct specialized searches for travel and shopping. Microsoft hopes that Bing will allow it to claim more market share in the competitive search-engine arena, which is dominated by Google. More from eWeek.

Twitter search engine Topsy launches with $15M

Topsy.com, launched last week, is a brand new search engine focused exclusively on Twitter content. Like Google, it presents its results based on popularity metrics, namely the popularity or influence of the tweeter in question — a factor determined by how many followers the user has and how many time his or her messages have been re-tweeted. More from Venture Beat.

Apparently the way Topsy works, is that a search is queued and results are brought forth, mainly to links posted in Twitter by users. A search on “Outer Banks”, for example, yields results from the Twitter accounts of various regional news stations and newspapers, plus a few OBX real estate companies. It doesn’t appear to be as thorough as Google as far as relevant information is concerned, but in terms of popularity via Twitter this is where people are going.

How can Topsy work to the advantage of somebody in SEO? As you search Topsy, the results will pull up a list of Twitter users who have recently “tweeted” most often on the topic. This will give you a good idea on which Twitter users may be followed (or may be inclined to follow you back). Users of Topsy will be more inclined to find your information online the more you “tweet” using relevant key phrases.

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Avoiding the Hustle

So let’s say you set up a Twitter account, and slowly but surely people are following what you have to say. That’s great, that’s what you want to happen. Once you establish this captive audience, however, you want to keep them in place and perhaps get them to “re-tweet” your posts and spread the love. It’s important to do this in a way that doesn’t lead followers to think you are constantly trying to sell to them. If every tweet you post implores people to buy this or buy that or hire me, you risk losing followers. The point of social media networks like Twitter and Facebooks is the social aspect of them. To keep people tuned into you, you must engage them directly.

So what does this mean? Well, if you’re an author and readers follow your social profiles, talk to them via the medium. If you receive a note complimenting your work, return with a thank you but don’t feel pressured to deliver a hard sell of your other works. You would be amazed with how your name or brand can stick in someone’s mind just by being yourself.

Maybe you operate a business catering to local markets – talk about the weather, what is going on in the city. Reply to a follower’s remarks about favorite television shows and music…let people know there is an actual human being behind the social avatars, lest anyone suspect the profiles are there merely to regurgitate sales copy. If a follower enjoys your content enough to click through to your site, your profile has served its purpose and may just attract new followers through word of mouth.

Give it a try. You just might find you can build trust among your online following…and customers.

Kathryn Lively

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