Genreal, Social Media Marketing

Using Twitter as a Marketing Tool

Twitter is a fantastic medium to get through to a wide spectrum of people. While it started off as micro-blogging tool which was to let people stay in touch with each other and let everyone know what they were doing, it has now turned into an excellent marketing tool. Users from all walks of life like politicians, musicians, authors, internet gurus, etc use it to promote themselves.

The important thing to note here is that the smart ones will never ever say “do this because I say so” or “buy my album – it’s great” or any such thing. Twitter marketing is about being subtle. The celebrities are using it simply as a way to keep their name in the top of people’s minds. For example it’s a long time since Soleil Moon Frye did anything big, but she constantly Tweets and therefore people still remember her.

If you want to push your product using Twitter, you have to understand that it is a gradual process that has to be carefully attended to. For example if you are selling Red Roses, you should search with the keywords that are relevant to that matter – like “red roses”, “flowers”, “fresh flowers”, etc. Then pick the people with the largest amount of followers – these are your base accounts. Now start following the people who are following your base accounts.

From this point make your Tweets interesting. Any reference to the fact that you sell flowers should appear somewhere down the line. For now ask questions, post links to interesting plant & flower articles and most importantly reply to other people’s Tweets and engage them. The key thing here is to build relationships.
Now you can slowly start dropping in a Tweet about your business activities. Perhaps one in 5 or more Tweets is the best way to go about it.

For those in need of professional social media marketing services, iClimber offers Twitter Marketing & Promotion services.

Business Services, Genreal

Rates and Fees traps in Merchant Accounts

If you are thinking about getting a Merchant Account, one thing you must know is that the process is not a simple one. Of course the actual submit details-get the account process is relatively simple but the process of identifying the right provider is long and tedious. This is because you have to put a lot of research into the selection process to avoid any hidden clauses or costs.

Start your research online. A good place to start is a representative of the provider. Listen to this person very carefully; don’t take anything they say for granted. This because a representative will always say what they have been trained to say and that is all the good things about the service and the company they work for. What you should do is read between the lines and try to identify the points that they are avoiding talking about.

For example, vendors may advertise processing rates but this could only cover Debit card transactions. For you this would mean an extra cost when Credit cards are used, because processing rates for those would be different and possibly cost more. There is also the fact that different cards have separate calculation methods associated with them as well, so this is another matter you will have to consider as well.

What all of this means, is that you should never be a victim of misinterpretation. Always strive to clarify each and every clause that is in the agreement that the vendor gives you. Don’t jump at the first vendor you find or even the first vendor that appears to have everything that suits you. Shortlist the best ones and do thorough research before you commit to a Merchant Account provider.