So this my list of resources for the beginner that sits in front of Twitter and has no clue on what to do, this also means that if you’re a Twitter Guru then you’re wasting your time reading this post.

I’ll try to explain a few basic things in a user-friendly format and I’ll provide you with, what I think are essential resources to get you going whatever your goals are. So let’s start with the video that started it all: “Twitter In Plain English” from CommonCrafts. Even though Twitter has grown to be much more than what the video represents, I think it still a good starting point…

Twitter is so simple you would think there is no way to screw it up but the truth is that there are some considerations to take, for example:

The Terminology And Some Manners

It is not like texting a teenager, but there are a couple of terms to learn and to use accordingly…

Using “The Handle” when you refer to somebody, for example if you wanted to say that SocialMouths is awesome (Whitch it’s true…), you would say “@socialmouths is awesome and Francisco rules my world”, see what I did there? Now the person you are referring to will know what you said and actually respond to start a beautiful conversation… If you just say “SocialMouths is awesome and Francisco rules my world” then nobody knows who that is and @socialmouths will never know you said that. Pretty sad.

But remember that Twitter is not a Chat Room and you will annoy everybody if you’re chatting with one person and leaving the rest of the world out. If you want to chat, move to Skype…

A Retweet (RT) is probably one of the most important things, it’s simply sharing what somebody else has said or posted, you start by typing “RT” on the box followed by the handle of the person you are retweeting and then whatever the post was. Let’s say you want to retweet that person that said SocialMouths was awesome (Whitch it’s true…), you type “RT @kindperson @socialmouths is awesome and Francisco rules my world”. Now @kindperson and @socialmouths know what you did, you’re engaging people in conversations. This is like in real life, do something nice without expecting anything in return… Retweet people a couple of times every day, just remember that you are also trying to provide value to your followers, if you are a Yoga Instructor, retweeting somebody that just posted a link to a Formula One site is probably not relevant…

If what you want to do is send a Private Message to a person then you start by typing “DM” (Direct Message) on the box, followed by “the handle” of the other person and whatever your message is. Now whatever your secret affair with that person is will remain secret.

Each tweet has 2 icons on the right of its box, you can “Favorite” the tweet or you can “Reply” to it, by clicking on “Reply” you will get the handle typed in the box for you, so you can just add your message to that person, you can also do it manually by typing the handle yourself…

The Moment Of Truth

When you first sit in front of that 140 character box is like you are trying to say something inside a huge empty room, so do this:

1. say it anyways, a few tweets so when you start getting people in there they see something. Nobody will follow an empty account, only pornstars and MLM programs (I’m assuming you don’t want those, right?).
2. Then start following some people, which will most likely result in a percentage of those people following you back. Start with the people you know, the popular ones in your niche and their followers.
3. Welcome and thank new followers manually, do not get an auto-responder. Would you like it if I sent a robot to your house to tell you that I accept your friendship? Even better, I make sure I mention their first name in the message so they know I’m personally taking the time to thank them.
4. Follow people that you want to follow, try to engage in real relationships, just collecting followers is not going to take you anywhere…
5. Try to provide value, answer questions, ask questions, interact.
6. In a few days you’ll be walking around like you’re number one… talking about hashtags, tinyurls and other weird terms.

Best Resources

These are the resources I think every person should read:

The Twitter Guide Book From Mashable. A lot of info here, the links are to existing posts on Mashable.

Twitter 101 – A Special Guide From Twitter, mostly on how to generate business.

More Tutorials: The Top 7 Twitter Tutorial On YouTube also from Mashable.

Stats: TwitterCounter It’s the “Compete.com” for Twitter users.

Terms: Twittonary, in case you find yourself in front of weird word…

Hashtags: Hashtags.org is also useful to understand the use of hashtags, what they mean, trends, etc.

Web Application: To manage Twitter accounts, my favorite is HootSuite.com

Desktop App: Tweetdeck is based on Adobe Air and lives on your desktop but it’s also the iPhone App I use.

Do you need to know all this stuff? I don’t think so, just learn the basics and if you can use technology to make your life easier. The most important thing in all this is that you follow your heart, just be the person you are in real life and apply some common sense.

Share your thoughts…

So I decided to lower my rates at the beginning so I can get work flowing. I guess it’s working. I have been building websites, blogs, teaching about social media and working with some very cool people… I’m having a great time doing it. This is also the reason I haven’t had time to write more for my own blog.

Even thought I should move to regular rates already, I decided to do a couple more projects at a reduced price. Why? I don’t know, I’ve been listening to Pearl Jam a lot lately…

But seriously, I’ll take 2 more projects at a reduced price and then I’ll go to a standard hourly rate. I can’t really put this into a package because everybody wants something different, but we’ll talk and come to an agreement. Some of the things we can include are websites, blogs, social media, personal branding, design and training on how to use all this stuff.

If you’re afraid to jump into the unknown and want to know more about the process, this is what happens:

• You show me what your online brand looks like. If you have a website or what social sites your using…
• We have a meeting in person, video conference on Skype or a phone call to talk about objectives, ideas, costs, etc.
• I create 2 or 3 concepts for your new business or personal brand.
• Once you approved one concept we move into development and we deploy your brand to different social sites.
• Then I’ll train you so you can manage this puppy.

That’s about it, this process is about 2 weeks…

Why do I make it look so easy and cheap? Because it is. With the technology we have available today, there is no reason to be spending a lot of money and time, this stuff is easier than you think. That doesn’t mean “Go learn it and do it yourself”, you already have a career, remember? That means you don’t need to hire a company or build something from scratch.

Believe me when I say I have started companies in less than a week. I know how to get your brand rocking in no time. BTW, read my article “You Can Start A Company Today, Really!” at The{Naked}Elephant.

How to get in contact with me?

Email me of find me on Facebook | Twitter | Linkedin

We have already seen plenty of success stories from both brands and small businesses leveraging the power of social media. We have also seen the development of leaders becoming celebrities in their fields through both Facebook and Twitter.

Companies have been successful at putting a face in front of their logo and individuals have become known without the help of a powerful brand to back them up. Numerous studies have indicated how consumers trust more a brand with a blog and social media presence.

Now, how important is it for you to be branded as an individual? Or is it the right moment to do so? The beauty of social media is that it has changed the way we communicate, when everybody used to say that eventually we won’t talk to each other because of computers, emails and texting, social media has brought us together like never before. We communicate more and more everyday.

The audience became the content provider. If you have something to say, not only you can say it, but you can do so in different formats. TV and the advertising industry used to dictate our content, now we’re more interested in listening to what leaders have to say.

First, get your brand

• Regardless of if you are ready or not, you should be checking if your name is available as a domain, preferably as a .com if your lucky and purchase it. You might have to get a little creative with variations or extensions but try to get as close as possible.
• Create an email account with your domain, web-based emails such as Gmail or Hotmail are just not professional.
• Go to Twitter immediately and do the same, the demand for this names is increasing so fast (and they’re free…) that you are risking ending up with a @johnsmith23677353 and that’s not good.
• Do the same with all the other platforms. Start with the main ones such as Facebook and Linkedin.
• Fill out all the information and be consistent in all the networks.
• Put a face to it. Your image on every profile should be your face, don’t try to be funny with something only you understand…

You are not an entrepreneur…

What’s your expertise or your passion? Most likely you have that one thing in which you’re an expert or have an interest. Companies are setting up their employees on Twitter for a reason, people are more important than brands. Start sharing your knowledge little by little and build confidence. Start generating traffic organically. Meaningful relationships. If your content is good or at least you are linking to great stories on the web at the beginning, they will follow you. Just start.

Boost your career

Remember resumes? Over the last few years, not being on Linkedin became embarrassing. Now, companies are looking into how much influence you have, are you a good candidate or are you a leader? You can literally become the candidate of choice. Social media provides you with such visibility that there are people getting job offers on Linkedin and even over Twitter every day.

Listen to Seth Godin

Seth Godin’s new book Tribes emphasizes on the importance to become a leader and promote change. People want to be lead and not by brands. Anybody can do this, and social media is a great tool. This video from TED is about 15 minutes long and it has been around the world in the last few weeks, but if you haven’t seen it, I recommend you take the time…

A no brainer…

If you ARE an entrepreneur or a professional in any field, you cannot afford to ignore social media anymore. You need to brand yourself as the expert and offer your knowledge and experience as your PR strategy. Find a way to identify yourself and make the connection with your brand. In this case, you should seriously consider blogging too.

Remember that social media is based on honesty, big web startups are actively talking to users when their system is down, usually this will put any business down, but when you are honest and you give it a personal touch, people appreciate it.

Whether it is a good cause or a business, you need to focus on leadership and start a movement. Even if you’re not ready, start talking about it.

Share your thoughs…

It’s not a secret that Non-Profit Organizations and Social Media are a perfect match. Not only to increase awareness for their cause but to actually raise funds.

Some organizations like charity: water are very active in social networking and have been able to push their cause to the next level…

But others are barely discovering that potential and, as we all know, not only social media can be a little confusing at the beginning but now we have a new startup every week.

The trick is that we get really creative with the possibilities, Social Networking is not just Facebook and Twitter, or both Facebook and Twitter can do a lot more than what you see.

So we gather these few tools we think are a great fit for any kind of organization:

On Twitter

TipJoy makes it possible to actually collect money. It provides you with the code to install your own widget on your blog or website. One of the cool features is that it shows the user what the goal is how much is still to go. You can customize the message and the default amount of money. If you ask the donating user to also Retweet the post it can go a long way.

Facebook Causes

charity: water has recruited more than 50,000 members and more than $63k using the Facebook Causes App. I was actually surprised to see how many of my friends had the app already installed. Facebook with its 200 million users is a platform that must be included in any organization’s strategy. You can provide information, generate traffic to your site and raise funds directly from the app.

Networking

Social netwoks like Change.org and CauseCast are a great external tool that features profiles, blogging, media sharing and fund raising. These sites are pretty much the Facebook for Non-Profit causes and they represent a suitable solution for organizations to build relationships instead of creating their own stand-alone network. They also have very attractive and clean layouts.

Sponsored Advertising

SocialVibe is a great tool to raise awareness for Non-Profit organizations. The platform gets organizations, brands and users together in a simple 3-step process. The user chooses one cause and one brand to sponsor the ad, which is generated by SocialVibe in the form of a badge. The users posts the ad on social networks like MySpace and earns points for any donations coming from them, it’s what we would call a win win… win situation.

Bookmarking

Of course we recommend any organization to use sites like StumbleUpon, Digg or Delicious. There are also more targeted sites like SocialYell, a bookmarking service that is focused 100% on social causes, this is the key ingredient here. It features a voting system similar to other sites.

Private Network

There are many platforms to build a private social network and now with launch of BuddyPress, there is another option on the table. While some of these options are open source and an organization only needs to concentrate on small customization, we believe the young causes should build a follower base on established networks such as Change.org and leverage from the monsters like Facebook and Twitter at the beginning.

There are many other sites that can help a social campaign get noticed like SocialActions, IdeaList or Razoo. Let us know of any others or share your thoughts…

I guess a social network for the Hispanic Market in the US would seem like a great idea to launch, after all, they’re both hot. The Hispanic community has recently reached 11% of the total US population and Social Networking is probably the hottest thing in the planet.

So why is it that the current numbers on the few Hispanic networks out there are not looking very promising?

There are 3 reasons:

1. Knowing the market on the statistics is one thing, knowing the real Latino on the streets of L.A. is a whole different animal. This is not just for social media, I’m talking about marketing in general. Companies claim to know the market but they still waste millions of dollars every year on the wrong approach.
2. 1st. Generation Latinos are not really computer savvy. They are hard working people that have little interest in computers in general. They usually own a computer for their children.
3. 2nd. Generation Latinos don’t feel the need to be boxed in a category. They couldn’t care less, if they want to speak Spanish to their friends, they’ll do it on Facebook. They are part of this society as much as anybody else.

The truth is that targeted social sites are not expected to reach very high volume levels and if that fulfills their objective then good for them. The Hispanic market on the other hand, is a pretty big target. I don’t think any social site dedicated to this market will get into the millions, at least not now, even with the huge population.

Here a couple of examples of traffic statistics, not only the numbers are low but they are decreasing. The first one is MiGente:

Cyloop, a Last.fm type of network promoting Spanish music:

Even Univision, which is backed-up by one of the Top 5 national networks in the US and obviously drives higher traffic, seems to be decreasing a little:

Another example is what Terra has just announced, the integration of Twitter en Espanol into their site. In case you don’t know, Terra is probably the Yahoo of Latin America and Spain. They are very successful, but if you ask me about conquering the US market, I don’t think so.

In other words, if you are looking into getting a piece of one of the biggest purchasing powers in the planet, you will still have to go to the general market platforms and get really creative.

Share your thoughts…

There are three main reasons why some small businesses and entrepreneurs are still resisting the idea of a Social Media strategy as part of your marketing: They are so busy with their business they are not aware of it, they think it is too much work or they think Social Media is either for brands or staying connected with your ant on the other side of the planet.

But I’ll give you 5 reasons why you should start considering it as a possibility:

1. This is where you prospect/client lives. Companies never had a bigger opportunity to get to know their target.
2. Conventional media like TV, print or radio have the worst ROI in history, and that has nothing to do with our current economic situation.
3. It’s a great customer service tool that allows you to interact with the consumer, get their opinions and even solve their problems. When you solve a problem you gain the loyalty of that particular customer, but when you solve a problem in front of the whole world…
4. Social Media is Free. It is not a walk in the park, but it does not cost you money like conventional media does, where you pay for creativity, production, strategy, placement and airtime.
5. Did I mention it’s FREE?

In fact, this is a great time to start a business and leverage from all these tools. Don’t think social media is Facebook and Twitter. With social media you can network with other businesses, collaborate with a virtual team in projects, run your web PR campaign, manage your customer service, provide content, generate leads and so on… you can run your business with it.

Contact us to find out more about it.

Check out the “Real Life Twitter” video by College Humor.

This video has become very popular in the last few weeks with more than 2,900 diggs and more 300 stumbles.

We are also including the “Flutter, the new Twitter” video, which has not been as popular with followers but it’s still funny.

Enjoy! And let us know what you think…

Real Life Twitter from College Humor

Flutter, The New Twitter

Did you ever join a social network and never went back? Did you know there is probably outdated information about you or your business floating out there on the web?

Have you Google your name or your business lately and browsed through the results beyond the first page? How many people are sharing your name?

This Monday I received an email from Plaxo, a network I joined a few years ago. I completely forgot it existed and honestly, the only thing I remember about it is all the annoying emails reminding me to invite my friends to join (so we can all be annoyed…).

My first thought was that Plaxo must be trying to retain its last few users and it’s about to die. I got to admit it was a nice surprise to see how it has evolve into a streaming of all your activity coming from different social networks and it has a very nice and clean look.

I was also surprised to see old connections with people that I no longer engage with on a daily basis and people I’m still very much in contact with. The problem is that my profile is displaying outdated information about what I do as well as contacts, websites and so on. The question is, what if one of these old connections wanted to contact me for any reason? Networking takes time…

Here are 5 tips to secure your web identity:

1.    Find old accounts in social sites such as MySpace, Facebook, etc. and either update your profile or cancel the account if you don’t wish to keep it.
2.    If you think you might use some of the popular social sites to promote yourself or your business any time soon, create an account and secure your name.
3.    Create a Google Profile. It’s a new feature the search service offers to help build your identity. When the user searches your name, Google will display these profiles in the results.
4.    Store private information such as login/password in a secure place. You might think you don’t need them right now, but sooner or later you will be promoting your products/services online.
5.    Link your accounts. If you are currently using 2 or more social sites, see if you can link them together and share information.

If you haven’t started using the Internet as a way of marketing for your products or services, I can assure that you will sooner than you think. In the mean time, protect your identity.

Should you check out Plaxo? I think you should, just don’t annoy your friends with it… I kept it, it has been updated and it’s connected with all my other profiles.