Blog - Nimble Quotes

Jul 28 2015

How to Share Company Wisdom With Your Twitter Audience

Your company has insight, expertise and wisdom helpful to your customers, audience and people just becoming aware of you. Why aren’t you sharing it?

Quotes from the very famous and very inspirational are not the only type of content people can emotionally connect with. What about all the tips, hints, and expertise your company has learned along the way? Why not share your own custom quotes?

How Do I Know If My Business Has Custom Quotes?

Think of quotes as content. You probably have generated a lot of excellent material and just don’t see it as being parsed into quotable nuggets of wisdom in 140 characters.

Start by looking at your website copy and at your collateral (whitepapers, ebooks, brochures, newsletters, slide decks, product information, FAQ, data sheets). Think about some of the information taught in your training sessions or webinars. As long as it is OK to share publicly, this type of content could be ideal for you to use as your own custom quotes.

Examples of Custom Quotes

When you’re thinking of custom quotes, take the pressure off. This doesn’t mean it has to be something profound said by your founder, unless of course you have those kinds of quotes. Think of custom quotes as tips and evergreen content that can help year-round. Here are some examples:

Automobile companies: find tips on extending gas mileage, keeping the paint shiny, and ensuring the Bluetooth connects to my device when I get in the car.
Cosmetics companies: share tips on moisturizer, prolonging the life of my nail polish top coat and making my eye shadow last all day.
Personal financial companies: share your tips on how to save a little more each week, how to start to understand the stock market, what to know about retirement savings.

What is Timeless Content?

The ideas listed are timeless. Meaning that whether they appear in your company Twitter feed today or next month, they are still relevant, helpful and applicable. This type of content is the kind that can cycle out repeatedly.

Help for Your Social Media Team

When your timeless custom quotes are set to appear from your Twitter account continuously, this frees up your social media team to do what they do best. They can community manage, listen, respond, create timely content and ensure your company is responding and interacting with your audience.

Nimble Quotes has a Custom Content subscription where your quotes/tips/hints that are automatically tweeted from your Twitter account are your own custom quotes. Nobody else can have access to them. Check it out here. If you’re interested in trying Nimble Quotes, register for our free 30-day trial. Not ready? Sign up for our newsletter instead.

Jul 24 2015

5 Simple Ways to Develop Relationships on Twitter

When you look at social media, do you feel like the awkward person at the party? The one who stands in the corner of the room while this other person draws all the attention? Well, you don’t have to be ashamed. A lot of people feel that way. But that doesn’t mean you have to stay that way.

When you as a brand are trying to develop a relationship on Twitter, I’m not talking about the creepy stalker kind or the faux-familial kind. I’m just talking about developing a close connection with other people online—customers or otherwise. But even this needs a lot of trust between you and them, and this needs to be built up over time.

But every great journey begins with a single step, and I’m going to show you a few ways you can start off on the right foot.

1. Offer great customer service

If customers have any issues, they’ll try to reach out to you in any way they can—and that includes Twitter. And since Twitter is such a public venue, it’s in your best interest to provide them with the best possible customer experience online. Customers will remember brands that treat them well, and will want to re-engage with them. So you’re setting the right tone for your long-term relationship by making customers happy from the get-go.

2. Curator of great information

“Curate” in this context involves sharing information that your customers will find valuable. This includes both your own content and other people’s. Articles, reports, pictures, insightful quotes, etc. Whatever your customer might find interesting. Your goal here is to have them follow you because you always share interesting and relevant things.

3. Thank everyone who RTs or promotes

People on Twitter don’t need to share or promote your content. So when they do retweet you, you absolutely must thank them. It shows them you appreciate their attention (and you should), and encourages them to do it again.

4. Participate in conversations that aren’t about you

Remember my engagement tip from last post? Don’t be afraid to go beyond your own feed and participate in other people’s conversations. If you’re a lawyer and someone on Twitter is asking for legal advice, for example, jump in with a quick tip or suggestion. Just make sure you really do have expertise in whatever they’re asking (and that it’s related to what your business actually does).

5. Ask questions and share results

Turn the tables and ask your own questions! It’s a great way to know your followers and gives plenty of opportunities to start one-on-one conversations, which is a huge step towards building relationships. If you use the right hashtag, you may be able to attract even more answers!

Although it might seem intimidating or confusing at first, Twitter is a lot like that party I was describing earlier. You want to make connections. The standard social norms apply, of course: don’t be creepy or salesy, don’t lie, be nice and polite, etc. But really, if you want to develop relationships on Twitter, you just need to do one thing: talk to people like they’re people.

Sign up for the Nimble Quotes newsletter to receive the newest tips on how to start Twitter conversations and enhance your online experience.

Jul 21 2015

How to Start Conversations on Twitter with your Audience

People ask me all the time, “Jen, how on earth do I start conversations on Twitter?”

They ask, “How do I ‘engage’ on Twitter?”

We hear these words and we all know what conversations are. We know what engaging conversations are…but how do you really have conversations on Twitter?

Twitter moves fast and it can be daunting. Perhaps the best way is with an example in real life.

Conversations in Real Life

What if an in-person conversation, one in real life, went like this: First I said “This quote about books is interesting.” Then my colleague said, “Yes it is, I really like this quote.” Then I said, “This quote reminds me that reading is so important. What are you reading right now?” Then she told me. And then I responded with what I was reading this month.

That seems like a normal conversation, started with the question, what are you reading now?

Imagine if the authors of the books we mentioned we were reading were able to jump into the conversation and thank us for reading their books? Wouldn’t that be kind of cool too?

Real-Life Conversations on Twitter

That is just what happened on Twitter. Hopefully this step-by-step explanation of an actual Twitter conversation, about actual things, can help you with starting your own conversations with your own network on Twitter.

First, I had a quote go out in my Twitter feed:

Second, upon notification that my tweet was favorited and retweeted, I looked to see who that was…it was Hilary!

So I thanked her for re-tweeting the quote, and as the quote was about reading, I asked her what she was reading:

She mentioned two books and used one of the the author’s Twitter handles in the conversation:

One of the authors of the books she mentioned favorited the Tweet mentioning him AND replied:

Now it was my turn to respond with what I was reading.

What I did was I wrote in text which books I was reading, mentioned the authors’ names AND took a picture of the two books on my coffee table.

Both authors I mentioned got involved in the conversation; Grant Cardone gave it a RT with a comment that told me to “Be10X Awesome”(referencing the topic of his book).

And Hilary and Nir Eyal (the other author mentioned) favorited the tweet.

So there was our conversation on Twitter.

Here are some gems that came out of it:

This interaction has started to strengthen our relationship
We know a little more about each other
We got the thrill of having the authors interact with us too

I know what Hillary is reading – I can keep it in my mind for our future conversations (on Twitter, in real life, on email, over the phone).

And I learned a little more about one of my contacts that I didn’t know previously. It’s great to know another person who is an active reader. This is an example of a first step to starting conversations and building relationships with your network. Try it today with your audience on Twitter.

The quote that started this conversation on Twitter came from Nimble Quotes. Try it today for 30-days free. Wondering what Nimble quotes looks like on a live Twitter account? Check out Nimble Quotes in action on these Twitter accounts: @jenkellyjen or @newimarketing.

Jul 17 2015

Engagement on Twitter: You Can Do It Too

One of the best and most important uses for Twitter is engaging your audience. In fact, Twitter is probably the best social network at engagement. It allows you to start, find and participate in other people’s conversations without coming off as intrusive (in most cases). And you can reap the benefits of engagement (and maybe even start enjoying yourself) if you can just master the basics.

But I’m getting ahead of myself! Let’s take a step back.

What is “engagement,” anyway?

“Engagement” in this context can be summed up in one word: interaction. It involves listening and talking to customers on your social media network (Twitter or otherwise) in a genuine and timely manner. They talk to you, you talk back. Hopefully they’ll return the favor.

What do I get out of it?

A lot! Engagement on Twitter can mean a lot of things. Good customer service engagement increases customer satisfaction and loyalty. Brands that excel at starting Twitter conversations are more effective at their social media marketing than those that don’t make the attempt. In fact, Twitter released a whitepaper that said 70% of users felt more confident about a SMB after following and reading their tweets.

If you do it right, Twitter engagement can supercharge your digital marketing efforts. The Social Media Examiner released a report that said 90% of all marketers surveyed indicated that social media generated more exposure for their business.

So that begs the question: “how do I do it right?”

The Right Way

There are a few common best practices that make for great Twitter engagement:

Timely replies – Twitter’s a very fast-paced platform, where a single tweet can disappear in minutes. As a result, conversations get obsolete very fast. In fact, a survey by Convince and Convert found that 32% of respondents expect a response time of 30 minutes after posting a complaint on social media. So when you see someone mention you on Twitter, jump on it as soon as you can!
Keep your brand personality – “Brand personality” on Twitter isn’t just your avatar or your account name. The way you interact with people on Twitter should be the same as how you interact with customers in real life. Keep it consistent. Are your tweets funny? Clever? Insightful? Considerate? Stay true to your brand!
Stay relevant – If you’re posting under your company account (and not a personal account), keep your tweets relevant to your industry. Only participate in related conversations. If your brand is a bakery, don’t jump into a conversation about dogs (unless you’re making a dog-themed cake).

The Wrong Way

As you start exploring Twitter conversations, you may be tempted to do some pretty awful things. Things like:

Selling yourself – There are lots of brands that use Twitter as their own advertising space. That’s a big no-no. People are going to run away from your Twitter feed if it only contains links to ads and self-promotional things.
Getting into arguments – You’re going to encounter angry customers on Twitter, or people who just don’t like you. That’s only to be expected. But do not get into an argument with them online. Always be professional, because Twitter never forgets.

The Best Advice

Now, all this may sound intimidating, but don’t worry. I’ve got a tip that will simplify everything for you. Ready?

Act like you’re talking to friends.

Stay pleasant, stay true to your brand and before you know it you’ll find that engaging on Twitter can actually be a whole lot of fun!

Sign up for the Nimble Quotes newsletter to receive the newest tips on how to start Twitter conversations and enhance your online experience.

Jul 14 2015

We Have Your Back – Nimble Quotes’ Content Watch

You know that great feeling you get when you trust that someone has your back? Think of a family member or a good friend you’ve had for years – they have your back and would never let you down. Wouldn’t it be great if a company offered a service that made you feel the same way? Look no further than Nimble Quotes. Our Content Watch service definitely has your back.

What is Content Watch?

We’ve all heard scandals on the news. Famous, quotable people can sometimes get themselves into hot water, and when that happens, a once positive quote of theirs may now be viewed negatively.

With Nimble Quotes’ Content Watch service, you don’t have to fear that a negative quote will pop up on your Twitter feed. We research every author and diligently keep up with the news, all in an effort to ensure that the quotes appearing on your Twitter feed are high-quality and uncontroversial.

If one of the authors we have in our quote database becomes the centre of a scandal, we immediately pull all of their quotes from our database. You can rest easy knowing that their quotes are no longer in circulation, and will not appear on your feed.

Content Insurance

Think of our Content Watch service as insurance for your Twitter feed – Nimble Quotes will always make sure that you look good. We keep a constant watch on our quotes and authors, so you don’t have to face the embarrassment of a quote gone wrong.

Sometimes it can be hard to tell what content is good to post, and what content wouldn’t be good to post. Nimble Quotes takes care of that for you, making sure that each quote is high-quality, non-partisan, and free of questionable or offensive material.

Each author has been researched and approved as a respectable source, free of negative press at the time they’re included in the database. But we’re all human and can make mistakes. We’re not judging the mistakes that cause these news scandals. We just don’t want to be part of it nor have our customers exposed to it either.

Twitter Content

Nimble Quotes isn’t a RSS feed gathering quotes from around the web, and then automatically sending them out to your Twitter account. No way!

Nimble Quotes is an example of content as a service.

And this content, these wonderful quotes, have been painstakingly gathered, curated, vetted, copyedited and sorted into categories to give you the most options to engage with your audience. All while ensuring you feel like we’ve got your back. ‘Cause we do.

Try Us Out!

If you’d like to try Nimble Quotes for yourself, sign up for our 30-day free trial! You’ll get 1-8 quotes per day (protected under our Content Watch service, of course) along with a choice of other personalized settings. Click here to get started. Not ready? Sign up for our newsletter instead.