How can Twitter help with integration and collaboration?

This is a guest post from Brian Barnes You can see his blog at http://brianbarnes.wordpress.com/ and follow him on Twitter @BriCallAssist

In business, we all have things we’re good at and not so good at, things we enjoy doing and things we would rather do without, but I had my eyes opened wide less than 1 month ago.

After signing up to Twitter on 2 seperate occasions, it didn’t really appeal to me.

I then tried it from a business perspective and signed the business up to a Twitter page.

I got some good advice from @AnnHawkins who said that people relate better to people rather than a nice logo.

It made sense, after all, people not only relate better to people but I am a firm believer that people do business with people and not business with a business.

I got to setting up a personal Twitter page for the third time, and in my case third time lucky. I got a picture of my ugly mug stuck on with the business twitter background and got to work following people in a similar business.

Still not 100% sure of the whole Twitter phenomenon, my followers have increased slowly in a month, but hoping that I have contributed enough to start that increasing. None of this has anything to do with Integration and Collaboration as such, but Twitter led me to a fantastic group of people who I now consider an essential part of Tweeting, but it not only introduced me to to this group, this group has introduced me to some fantastic tools which have already made my life much easier in a business sense.

This is the Integration and Collaboration bit.

Literally doing nothing one night, I hijacked a thread on Twitter between @hlsbs and @Totally4B. They were talking about Xero, an online accountancy programme. From that initial hijack, the lovely Helen and Nicola introduced me to Capsule, a CRM which integrates seamlessly with Xero. I couldn’t believe it, with the one ‘conversation’ my business was now keeping track of invoices, emails, conversations all in the one programme.

What did that piece of advice cost me?

Nothing!

It was the kindness and generosity of two fantastic Tweeters. As well as streamlining my business, this one thread taught me a lesson. ’Collaboration can be much more effective than competition’ And only today, part of my motivation to produce this second blog was the result of a conversation with @Totally4B She won’t change my ‘flakyness’ and pedantic attitude towards things looking and sounding right, but she gave me a right kick up the A@@ today which is really what we all need every now and then.

What stories have you got about how Twitter has helped you with business, information or inspiration? Leave us a comment below or send us a guest post!

Famous brands are often recognised by their theme music or jingle

What would your theme music be?

Here are some suggestions – add your own below!

Smile even though you feel blue –

Ask Me Why – The Beatles

All You Need is Love – The Beatles

I can Dream – Skunk Anansie

Livin’On A Prayer – Bon Jovi

Keep The Faith – Bon Jovi

I Feel Free – Eric Clapton

Freedom – Jimmy Hendrix

More Than This – Roxy Music

Same Old Scene – Roxy Music

Both Ends Burning – Roxy Music

Life in the Fast Lane – Eagles

Some Kind of Wonderful – Joss Stone

What Does Your Soul Look Like – DJ Shadow

Powder Your Face With Sunshine – Dean Martin

The Great Pretender – Freddie Mercury

In My Defence – Freddie Mercury

Gone Fishin’ – Bing Crosby & Louis Armstrong

Everybody’s Everything – Santana

Gimme, Gimme, Gimme – Abba

Take a Chance on Me – Abba

The Closest Thing to Crazy – Katie Melua

Love is Stronger Than Justice – Sting

Never Get Old – David Bowie

Embryonic Journey – Jefferson Airplane

Blowin’ in the Wind – Bob Dylan

Standing at the Crossroads – Elmore James

Everyday I Write The Book – Elvis Costello

The World Keeps on Turning – Fleetwood Mac

It Takes Blood & Guts to be This Cool but I’m Still Just a Cliché-Skunk Anansie

Make it Easy on Yourself – The Walker Brothers

Reach Out, I’ll Be There – The Four Tops

Ain’t Too Proud to Beg – The Temptatons

With a Little Help from My Friends – Joe Cocker

I’d Be Surprisingly Good For You – Evita

I Did It My Way – Frank Sinatra – Sid Vicious – Luciano Pavarotti

What a Difference a Day Makes – Dinah Washington

What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong – Anita O’Day

Young at Heart – Frank Sinatra

Got some more suggestions? I’d love to hear them!

Is personal branding just another catch phrase or is it something you need to be taking notice of?

Most people who are looking for a service or product these days will Google it. If they come up with something of yours what impression will they get?

A phrase I heard recently about personal branding is that it is “an indelible impression that is uniquely distinguishable”

My co-conspirator on this blog, Phil Begnett, produces little videos called ‘Optimisitic Monday’ and they’re attracting quite a following. He has won more than one piece of work because his personality shines through and people think he’d be fun to work with. He gets a lot of stick from other video producers because Phil believes that for Social Media, ‘catching the moment’ is more important than elaborate lighting, sets and scripts and he teaches people how to make their own video clips to get their message out there quickly and easily.

We all have a personal brand whether we like it or not. In a network of people who’ve got to know you you’ll be described to others as genuine, talented, boring, a bit tricky, reliable, weird, funny, straight talking, generous, etc., etc., depending on the impression you leave.

The trouble is, our networks now extend way beyond the people who have got to know us over time and they need to make decisions about us based on what they see on-line.

Tine Roche who attended our blogging workshop and runs Cambridge Cookery School told us that she enjoys Giles Coren’s writing in The Times and so decided to follow him on Twitter @gilescoren. What she found there was a lot of foul mouthed ranting that completely changed her opinion of him.

Do you know what your personal brand is? More importantly do you know what you’d like it to be and do the two things match?

See How to Discover Your Personal Brand for ideas

Most famous brands have their own strap line – what’s yours?

This is related to the post on How to Discover Your Personal Brand

Here are some favourite ones to get you going (be sure to read to the end!)

Sainsbury – making life taste better

Tesco – every little helps

Nike – Just do it

Cadbury – happiness comes from within

Levis – Freedom to move

L’Oreal – because you’re worth it

Halifax – Who gives you extra?

Yellow Pages – Let your fingers do the walking!

Dunlop – tested for the unexpected

Adidas – Right here, right now!

Peugeot – The ride of your life.

KFC – Finger licking good.

Safeway – Lightening the load

Coca Cola – The real thing.

Ever Ready – keeps going and going.

Goodyear – for a longer ride, go wide

Muller light – so much pleasure, but where’s the pain?

Halfords – we go the extra mile.

Royal Mail – I saw this and thought of you.

Andrex – Soft, strong and very, very long

Renault – size really does matter!

Renault Clio – Va Va Voom!

Ronseal – does exactly what it says on the tin

Domestos – kills 99% of all known germs

Heineken – reaches parts that other’s cannot reach

Carlsberg – probably the best in the world

AA – for the 4th emergency service

Pepperami – it’s a bit of an animal

Polo – the one with the hole

Carr’s Biscuits – Perfect as we are

Samsung – seamless beauty

Ocean Spray – awash with goodness

Samsonite – Life’s a Journey

Leffe Beer – Savour Life

Ann Hawkins – You don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it going!

Now – if you want a real laugh then go back through the list and imagine those strap lines applied to different brands of condoms!

Add your own ideas to the list. Share them below!

As a favourite bumper sticker says, “You are unique. Just like everyone else.”

This post is related to What is Personal Branding and What is Your Strap Line

If you are not sure about whether you are giving the impression that you’d like to give, try this game with some friends.

Most well known commodities have a recognisable brand consisting of a logo, a strap line and a tune.

For example, Nike has their tick, ‘Just Do It’ and ‘A little less conversation, a little more action.’

Personal Branding is a fun way to discover any gaps between how you think you come across to others and how you actually come across.

Decide on your own logo, strap line and tune and then ask your friends what they think your personal branding should be.

Choose people who are helpful and not destructive and if you do this with others, be kind!

Some factors to think about:

Motivation: What turns you on? Learning something new? Gaining recognition for your skills?

Success: What’s your personal definition of success? Money? Power? Fame? Or doing what you love?

Reputation: What is your reputation with the people you know? Are you well-respected? Trusted? Liked?

Network: Who knows about you? How many people would have heard of your name?

Mission Statement: What is your purpose? (The best answer I’ve ever heard to this is “That everyone who meets me will be glad that they did.” from Clive Gott www.clivegott.com)

Presence:  Do people remember you? Do you make other people feel special and important? What impact do you have on the people you meet and work with?

Passion: Are you proud of what you do? Do you talk passionately about it? Does your energy for what you do inspire other people?

Consistent Persistence: Do you have staying power? Do you make a consistent and concerted effort to achieve your goals?

Killer question: What do you want to be famous for?

• RT @HR_Katherine: today's high point – seeing a new customer 2 talk about their HR issues.. today's low point – dentist appt ( #
• RT @MikeyPalmer: @dot_design morning dot! – you think the penny is dropping yet that he needs to change his twitter name to his real name? #
• RT @Honesty_Mkg: @PhilBegnett which was why I was thinking the time had come to change! @businessgp disagrees though! – well he would! #
• Twitter is NOT an advert for your company. its a way of saying "hello, its me, this is what i do, what about you?" not CHECK MY COMPANY OUT! #
• the whole point of social media is being personal, not hiding behind a company name. you as a person are engaging with other people. simple. #
• Optimistic Monday Video Blog – Be consistent! – http://bit.ly/9mR83J #
• RT @BradBurton: I really can't be bothered tweeting today.. i don't know whats up with me. – start video blogging instead and tweet those #
• IMPORTANT – if you are changing your twitter name, make sure you log out of Tweetdeck/Hootsuite BEFORE you go to twitter website and change. #
• PhilBegnett:: Optimistic Monday 290310 – Consistency http://www.philbegnett.com/2010/03/optimonday290310consistency/ #
• Haymarket have booked me in to film 7 caravan parks already this season! well done Christopher Daniels! #
• Optimistic Video blog post feat very cute little boy! http://bit.ly/9sPdpg #
• Ate far to many chips for my tea. Why do I always think I need to clear my plate?! #
• RT @garyvee Gary Vaynerchuk – A Jelly Talk I did for The Yahoo! peeps in NYC… http://bit.ly/buowgI – When this guys speaks I LISTEN #
• I need to stop listening to Gary Vaynerchuck and go get ready to speak with Bob Garbett about taking O4RB Media forward today #
• My signature video has sparked a whole new opportunity for business owners with their personal branding -www.clickonmyface.tv #
• Just put together a new blog and looking for some feedback – http://www.clickonmyface.tv anything you would change? #
• Can you get business from Twitter? http://bit.ly/cuAk0b #
• this is a great video with a great message.. but the title of the video … (YouTube http://youtu.be/KdLr-1r5kmA?a) #
• I rated a YouTube video (5 out of 5 stars) — Brand management, brand building, brand marketing http://youtu.be/KdLr-1r5kmA?a #
• god someone tell my missus that we really dont need the heating on anymore!! im melting here! #
• Don’t video for video sake, follow your DNA http://bit.ly/b14SyC #
• I subscribed to ThisIsMimo's channel on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/ThisIsMimo?feature=autoshare_twitter #
• great points.. same can be said for social media of course! (YouTube http://youtu.be/IRHGTmePDW4?a) #
• i think ive convinced about 5 people in the space of the last week to go out and buy a flip cam ultra h.d. ! i should get a commission! #
• Lets get personal! Another example of personal branding in business http://bit.ly/aMCA3D #
• Right off to meet Kevin Steen for a meeting in lovely st.ives #
• if you cant be arsed to do social media, then you cant be arsed about yo… (YouTube http://youtu.be/QoFppTtiqZw?a) #
• Back in front of the mac adding some logos to some product demonstration videos and uploading to YouTube. Who else is working? #
• RT @MissRosieDay: the google app on my iphone does voice search, thats so clever! – kind of clever. Doesn't get everything right but not bad #
• All those who hate the term social media in a business sense, you now have my permission to call it engagement marketing instead! #
• Twitter = reciprocal niceness! #
• RT @HR_Katherine: anyone got any hints for dealing with an internet addiction? lol – yep. Learn to monetise it so you don't feel guilty! #
• I honestly just thought about unfollowinfg everyone that doesn't use their real name on Twitter but the I couldn't nag anyone! #
• RT @lukemassey: Agger finishes like a striker. Get in! Heh it was quality wasn't it! #
• RT @lukemassey: Football, Beer, and quavers. Nothing better if you ask me. -I'd go for dry roasted peanuts in that threesome instead #
• RT @RyanBabel: #YNWA #
• Happy Easter to all my friends on Twitter & Facebook #
• The more I see the more I realise is that it's all about sharing your journey, not broadcasting your message #
• RT @LisaBlackler: #ff @PhilBegnett cos he knows loads, @businessgp for a great contact, @SteveTrister cos he makes me laugh #
• It's that moment outside just before sunset where everything has a yellow filter on it, like you have just put on some sunglasses #
• Note to myself, must start making a mobile version of my blogs as more & more people accessing the web via their phones #
• If money was no object I would be investing in live web video production with tricaster boxes and 360 degree video camera technology #
• Ok sweeping statement time, if yr Twitter pic is a picture of your company and not you, I won't be following you for very long! #
• RT @duncanmacgregor: Curry, Beer, Sorted! – sounds like heaven to me! #
• RT @NeilSlinn: Drogba was miles offside, never mind lol – #
• RT @donmcallister: I haz iPad http://yfrog.com/2sneyj – i'm jealous! #
• My Top Subjects of my Tweets are lol, http//yfrogcom/2sneyj, jealous, ipad,. by http://TwitterAnalyzer.com #
• Auto tweeters are always obvious over bank holiday weekends! #

I recently made a sarcastic and slightly sexist remark on Twitter to someone who didn’t know me at all – we’d connected through a re-tweet.
It led to him (Ian Barrs @belazir) looking at my blog, leaving a nice comment and starting a conversation. When I mentioned my inauspicious introduction he said

“One click on your name is all it took to see what you’re like — people need to remember that about social networking!”

What will people see when they click on your name (or your face)?

VIDEO BLOG

Another example of personal branding in everyday business life….

We see a lot about the importance of creating a good first impression but what’s your second impression like?

You get into the right clothes, do a bit of grooming, practice the smile and the firm handshake, learn a bit about body language and voice tone and wham, bam, thank you m’am you’ve aced the first impression. Everyone thinks you’re a great guy or gal and relaxes.

Then what? Then the real you gets an outing. When you stop trying to impress is there a different you that comes out?

I’ve recently had to re-asses my opinion of someone who always gives a great First Impression performance and remembered this that I heard from George Raynault, a multi-millionaire I worked with for several years who was a very wise man:

Someone at a reception smiled a hello and shook my hand warmly.

Later I saw him almost sneering at one of the waiters.

And, later still, talking behind someone’s back.

You only have one chance to make a first impression, true, but you have an

awful lot of time to make plenty of second impressions.

If you are meeting someone for the first time and may not get a chance to see

them again, a first impression really counts. For a very short time.

However, if you are going to be interacting with a person over a longer period of

time then second impressions are even more important.

Is someone who is rude to waiters and cab drivers or who cheats a barmaid out

of small change really someone you want to do business with?

If someone is always blaming other people and doesn’t treat others as they’d like to be treated why would you recommend them to others?

If people know they can rely on you to behave well and honorably even if no-one is watching, if you listen to them, make them feel good, cheer them up, be kind or give them good advice they will always seek you out and introduce you to others.

Second impressions are even more important than the first ones. Appearances only go so far. Its deeds that show your true worth.