I would like to bounce an idea around with you – I think you are not alone. Why? – well I like to think of every link, article, post, website and every “footprint” we leave across the web-space is one of your “soldiers” out there working for you. The trick is to have those footprints leading somewhere.

The thing I would like to explore over the next few posts is this – just how well have you set up your “Marketing Army”. Like any army or battle, you have to make sure you not only have the troops, you need to make sure they are provisioned, trained, positioned correctly, given the correct and timely orders, know the strategy and believe in the goal.
Sound familiar – it should be – it’s at the core of any military code and has been around since the caveman and was elucidated by Tsung Su in the “Art of War”.

How many is enough?
Now we all have been told that whether its an affiliate campaign or Twitter marketing – it’s the numbers. But the whole of military history has shown that numbers is not enough and a well position, briefed and dedicated few can overcome huge odds – I say – it’s the same in marketing. Now, Don’t get me wrong, you actually do need that “tipping point” and numbers working for you. BUT – its also about the quality of numbers.
If you place badly positioned, written or targeted links, articles or posts etc, don’t expect a well performing army.

So – the first lesson for your “Marketing Army” is – research your target, focus and design your strategy for maximum effect. To be sure you are on the right track – be prepared to test and compare strategies and adapt to what works.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no issue with people making money online and promoting their businesses.  In fact I use Twitter as a means of building a presence as well and to reach people that would not normally see my message/s.  But – here’s the thing – I believe you have to do it in moderation. Why? – Because once your online reputation is damaged – it STAYS damaged.  A blocked Follow is the same as a Spam-list.  As the community matures, users will become more focused and selective.

The ‘Auto DM’ is one of Twitter’s most powerful tools for Internet Marketing, yet most people seem not to understand its power and abuse it terribly.  This is one of the BIGGEST reasons that it’s frowned upon, as well as the fact that people don’t respond to an impersonal approach to social networking.  Twitter is after all a Social Network.  People will unfollow and likely warn friends – remember – Twitter is a Viral Community.

By all means use DM’s but treat them with respect and the numbers will still work  if you create conversations between you and your followers.  This will result in an increase in click-through rates for your links and increase in conversions.

Those 140 characters are critical to your reputation so make every word count.  But what is an example of a bad Auto DM?  Anything which asks a user to take action before you’ve even attempted to get to know them.

Some common Don’ts.
1  Send 10 DM Tweets in a row containing different links to a Squeeze Page
2  Hi! Buy My Latest Product  [affiliate link here]
3  Get this now, only 10 left!!
4  Capitalising Every Word Like This To People For All 115 Characters

So – what the answer on how to build a growing and receptive audience?
Anything which tries to involve the follower, whether it’s through conversation,  complimenting their product/ service,  or online personality. Remember, make it personal and like any other marketing vehicle – solve their problem.   When people trust you the will far more likely to respond when you do offer them something OR point them to an article that enhances their confidence in listening, or doing business with you.

The example I saw used a URL shortener to track clicks. Of the 340 clicks tracked, Google Analytics reported that Twitter sent 63 visits. You can read more about that here.
Anyways – it may pay to think about how much real traffic you may get from a Twitter campaign. Interestingly, this has been recognised in a MIT Technology Review which shows that these kinds of metrics issues are being looked at with a view to a solution.

We all know that to talk directly to someone (a DM), you put an @ symbol in front of their name. BUT – if you do not use the persons FULL Username then, your message may also be sent to users with a similar name. So not only does it go to the intended person, but it will also go to other users with a similar name.

If your user name is “Joeblogs” – then most people will do a @Joeblogs, now thats fine. But, if someone sends to “Joeblogs”, they will also be sending to “@Joeblogs NY” and “@Joeblogs books”.
Ok, its a bit subtle, but if you wanted to send to @Joeblogsbooks and you have a space between the words – the tweet will go to both. Simple solution – write the correct username and make sure the message goes to the right person.

You can mobilize a lot of eyeballs at once by promoting your message in the right places. Be efficient, don’t rely on only one method, use links, articles, posts, “authority sites” and sites where your “audience” goes to find information. I believe email marketing is for when you Have a voice rather than trying to find a voice. With a focused funnel of information, you draw those you wish to speak to to your website.

This is a case of one small voice, mobilizing your “Ant Army” – contrary to what you may have heard, by a concerted effort, results can be easily seen as quickly as hours, but typically good qualified traffic within 1-2 weeks. Remember that some of the early traffic will most certainly be casual or even competitors seeing who the “new ant” is. However, once qualified traffic starts,it is not time to relax, build on the momentum and keep shouting, and if possible get others talking about it as well, that’s when email can start to work.

• Tweetdeck:   This great tool really helps organise your tweets.  Create GROUPS to organise and filter your users and areas of interest.  Also – you can apply a filter.  Look down at the bottom of any column that you have created and click on the icon that looks like a little “in-arrow”.   Click the “Filter This Column” icon and you will be presented with a few choices.  First, make sure that your filter type is set to “Text”. Next, type in the word that you want to remove,  eg. “flu”.  Finally, click the middle idea and make sure you have a minus sign and not a plus sign – Done!  All tweets that use the word “flu” will magically disappear from your stream.
  But – Maybe you want to see only the tweets that are talking about the “Obama”.  This is simple enough to do, change the minus sign to a plus sign, and only references to “Obama” will be included.
  You can filter with other criteria than text words, try “sources”, “+”, “Tweetdeck” to see only those that are posting info via Tweetdeck, or “Name”, “-”, “Wally” to remove all “Wallys”in their user name.

• Twitter Search:   Do a search for a few of the keywords that relate to your “stream” and area of interest.  This way you can focus on those that really are close to your area – cutting down on the white noise.
• Twilert.com:   Ok – this works like Google Alerts -  which means it lets you receive regular e-mail updates of tweets containing your keywords.  This is great if you are running any campaign or marketing.
• Omnee It’s easy to discover ongoing discussions and “filter by Replies”.  Now as people reply to each other you can follow the buzz and keep up to speed.
• Tweetree:   This neat tool displays your Twitter stream in a tree so you can see the posts people are replying to in context.  This is REALLY useful – sort of contectual so you can follow the conversation.
• Tweetscan:   A bit similar to Twilert – You can get updates via e-mail, RSS and scan up to five phrases for daily or weekly delivery.
• Twitscoop:  Insert a twitter username or keywords in the search box to track a conversation or topic.  Can be useful to follow special people with something to say.  Great to track a hot topic you are intersted in.
• Power Twitter:   Simple really, this is a Firefox Add-on that integrates search, images and videos into you stream.  Great if you’re into media stuff.
• Friendfeed daily best:  This is really useful.  Subscribe to your valued contacts.  Use the Friendfeed Daily Best feature to filter the most valuable discussions happening on the twitterscape.
• FFholic.com:   This is a system of “feeds” from Friendfeed.  It’s a  collection of the most discussed, commented, liked, etc on Friendfeed.  Useful to follow trending topics.