Celebrity Branding You: Tweeting ... And Why It's Not Just For The Birds
Author: Nick Nanton

You've probably heard the buzz-terms "social media" and
"social networking" more times than you care to count;
although if you're like most people, you still haven't
figured out what it means or how you can use it to increase
your celebrity status, and, most importantly, your profits.
You've also probably seen kids wandering around aimlessly
with their cell phones, tapping away at their keys as they
wander through the world -- clueless about what is going on
around them because they are so entrenched in their own
little world of text messages.

Well, the good news is, it's not that hard. The entire
concept of Celebrity Branding™ revolves around
creating a relationship with your fan base, and continuing
the conversation you want to have with them via multiple
forms of media that allow you to control your message. The
old standard method of doing this is with a hard copy
newsletter sent to your prospects and clients; which is
still one of my favorite methods. I would challenge you to
find a better form of media, but we'll debate that another
day.

Social media allows you to take that same concept you can
capitalize on with a newsletter, the concept of building a
relationship and continuing your conversation with your fan
base, but it takes out the constraints of physically
publishing your thoughts (which is a double-edged sword, as
it sometimes allows you to be a bit more sloppy about
crafting your message. There is a mental barrier we have
when writing something that is going to be put in print; we
often spend more time crafting this type of message than we
do when we draft an email or other communication that we
perceive as having less value than printed material).

Wikipedia.com defines Social Media as: ...the use of
electronic and Internet tools for the purpose of sharing
and discussing information and experiences with other human
beings. The term most often refers to activities that
integrate technology, social interaction, and the
construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. This
interaction, and the manner in which information is
presented, depends on the varied perspectives and
"building" of shared meaning among communities, as people
share their stories and experiences.

It's really not that scary, I promise. You've probably
even seen a MySpace, Facebook or YouTube page in the past.
These are great, but I want to take you a little further
down the path to one of my favorite tools that hasn't been
around quite as long, and that makes use of some newer
technology.

Twitter.com - Twitter is a "micro blog," which means that
it is intended for publishing short messages, not longer
messages like you might see in a traditional blog, and was
created to answer the question "What are you doing?"
(Note: If you aren't familiar with what a blog is, that's
okay too, but we don't have space to cover it in this
article. Go to Google, and type in "what is a blog" and
you'll find all you need to know. )

Twitter allows its users to send and read other users'
messages that are up to 140 characters in length (otherwise
known as "tweets"). Users "follow" each other and can opt
to receive updates from other users on their cell phones,
or can just check in online to see what those in their
network are doing. Users can also "Tweet" by texting
messages to a phone number, or they can update their
messages online at Twitter.com. While it sounds very
narcissistic and shallow, and it certainly is for some
users, savvy marketers have started using Twitter to expand
and further entrench their fan bases in their way of
thinking.

Tweets can contain something as simple as what you had for
lunch or that you're heading to the gym; or you can opt to
tweet a link to a great article you read, to announce some
great news or even to announce a contest you are holding.
It sounds like it would be pretty silly, but give it a try
and you'll find out pretty quickly how addictive and
productive it can be.

Twitter allows you to connect with your audience in short
bursts. Some of the people who are worth following to
learn a bit more are (I'm going to give you their usernames
so you can find them on Twitter):

craigballantyne - Craig is a health and fitness expert
based out of Toronto, Canada and is the founder of the
Turbulence Training™ fitness system. Craig shows
individuals how to get and stay in shape without having to
go to the gym. He tweets about every meal he eats to give
you some insight into how you can eat to stay healthy and
also posts links to some of his workouts to you can follow
along at home.

barefoot_exec - Carrie Wilkerson, The Barefoot Executive,
offers tips and resources for working at home. Carrie
shows you why working at home can be much more fulfilling
than holding a regular job, and also shows you how to be as
productive and profitable as possible.

skydiver - Peter Shankman is a PR Guru and founder of
HelpAReporterOut.com, which is a resource to help you get
cited as a source in major media outlets. He is one of the
few people I know who can be funny in text, and he has some
pretty amusing things happening in his life. He's fun to
watch and he sends out urgent queries from journalists via
Twitter as well.

zappos - Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.com, an
internet-based shoe retailer who has built an online shoe
store into a billion dollar franchise, based on his savvy
marketing and his ability to give online shoppers what they
want. Tony is always on the move and posts some pretty
unique stuff. Recently Venus Williams was coming in for a
tour of the Zappos headquarters and he let everyone tweet
in messages to her that he read to her aloud.

There you have it -- a few great resources to get you
started using Twitter. As I said before, it sounds a bit
strange, but once you start using it you'll see how others
are using it to continue the conversation with their fan
base, breed loyalty, increase profits and meet new
prospects.


About the Author:

WANT TO SEE MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE? See The Business
Growth Blog at http://www.DicksNantonAgency.com
Additional Resource: If you'd like to learn more about the
steps you need to take to become a Celebrity Expert and see
the view from the top of the ladder of Credibility, Power &
Influence, check out some of the resources we have compiled
for you at
http://www.CelebrityBrandingYou.com