The Marketing Makeover series is designed to help virtual office professionals avoid common marketing faux pas that interfere with their success, put their professionalism in question and hinder their credibility.

If you don’t use Twitter as a marketing tool to build, grow and sustain your professional virtual online business, you can totally ignore this post!

So far, in discussing the whole tweaking-your-Twitter-profile thing, I’ve covered:

• Your picture
• Your Name
• Your Location

It would seem logical to continue the conversation on the Web section of your Twitter profile. But I have something else I’d like to cover before we go any further on this topic.

I was looking for a few new Virtual Assistants to stalk on Twitter and noticed about 20% have their updates protected (the little gray padlock).

Again… if you’re NOT using Twitter to grow your VA business, then stop reading this post.

Still here? Good.

I want you to stop whatever it is you’re doing and follow these simple steps — I promise it won’t take more than 30 seconds (add 30-60 seconds if you have a slow connection):

1. Go to Twitter.
2. Sign in to your account.
3. Click the Settings tab (top left of your screen).
4. Scroll all the way down to the Protect my updates check box.

Is it checked off?

If not (yay!), you can skip this post.

If yes, it means you get an email each time someone wants to follow you. You then have the option to allow them to follow or not.

When I see entrepreneurs protect their updates, my natural reaction is to ask Why? but I’ve noticed that most who have, didn’t know.

Now you know.

Do you want to interact with more people on Twitter? If so, remove the extra barrier, stop making me jump through hoops just to get to know you, and quit giving me the impression you’re hiding something.

Now, go uncheck the Protect my updates box and start building relationships already!

The Marketing Makeover series is designed to help virtual office professionals avoid common marketing faux pas that interfere with their success, put their professionalism in question and hinder their credibility.

If you don’t use Twitter as a marketing tool to build, grow and sustain your professional virtual online business, you can totally ignore this post!

This week’s Marketing Makeover is really simple.

Are you a Virtual Assistant who, on your Twitter profile, posts the following as your Location (yes, these are actual examples):

• Virtually Everywhere, Virtually Anywhere, Virtually Global?
• Globally, Global, Worldwide, International, Planet Earth, The World?
• The Internet, Online, Virtual?
• your phone or iPhone number?
• your URL?
• anything OTHER than a physical, geographic location?

If not, you can skip this post.

If yes, first I want you to know that, from the outside looking in, at the very least, it looks as if you’re hiding something. At worse it comes off as patronizing and it seems obnoxious. (But maybe that’s just me?)

So don’t do it anymore. Why? Remember, you’re asking potential clients to hand their business over to you so they can get productive and do what they do best. Right? Show some good faith by revealing as much as you can on your Twitter (and all social media sites’) profile. You’re giving prospects an opportunity to feel a sense of connection with you.

Ready? Follow these steps for a quick Twitter profile makeover:

1. Go to Twitter.
2. Sign in to your account.
3. Click the Settings tab (top left of your screen).
4. Scroll down to the Location area.
5. Enter a geographic position (you know, somewhere we can point our finger on a world map!).
6. Scroll down and click Save.
7. (If you have multiple Twitter accounts, repeat for each.)

Every part of your Twitter profile is an opportunity for potential clients and referral partners to get to know, like and trust you. Even something as seemingly insignificant as your Location is part of your marketing!

If I don’t know where you live, it makes it hard for me to refer your virtual assistance services when someone asks me “Hey Cristina. Do you know someone who could help with my admin stuff who lives in [MyTown]?”

I KNOW being a VA is about being VIRTUAL — online. I get it. But not everyone does. Remember, marketing is not about you… it’s about communicating in a way that attracts your target market

Note: If you’re comfortable displaying your city, consider including your province/state and, at the very least, your country. Not everyone (me!) knows where Suffolk or Carlisle are, and not everyone lives in your country! If you’re concerned about privacy issues, at least tell us what country you’re in!

So, I want to know. Am I way off on this one? Am I splitting hairs? Do you agree or disagree? Let’s get some real conversation going on about this topic!

The Marketing Makeover series is designed to help virtual office professionals avoid common marketing faux pas that interfere with their success, put their professionalism in question and hinder their credibility.

If you don’t use Twitter as a marketing tool to build, grow and sustain your professional virtual online business, you can totally ignore this post!

As I noted last week, the first thing people notice on your Twitter profile is your picture. The second thing people look at is your name. These 2 elements are key to building strong relationships and making a good first impression…

Here’s my list of Twitter-profile-name no-no’s:

• Your company name
• Your Twitter handle (I already know what your bleepin’ handle is…)
• Your initials only
• Your firstandlastnamewithoutspaces
• not capitalizing first letters
• Put nothing (unless your Twitter handle is your first and last name, but even then)

I don’t know about you, but when I see a profile that has anything other than a first and last name in the Name section of a Twitter profile, it comes off as a bit rude, self-righteous and pretentious (You mean I have to ask what your name is?).

It makes me wonder a combination of What are you afraid of? and What are you hiding?

In one word, it’s unprofessional!

Think of it from a networking standpoint (which is what Twitter is all about, right?).

Imagine this scene: You are at a live networking event, and you glance over at someone’s name tag. But all you see is a company name — no real name… What’s your initial reaction? I don’t know about you, but I’m a little put off. It’s just not cool.

No first name = No warm and fuzzy feelings towards you.

Now bring it back into Twitter context.

I get an email notification from Twitter letting me know someone new is stalking me. Eager to “meet” this person, I check out their profile. Imagine my disappointment, when looking for a name, all I see is Professional VA Services.* I feel like I’ve been cheated the opportunity to start building a strong relationship based on trust — being on first-name basis.

* I’m not pointing any fingers. I totally made this name up, so if this is your company name or if it’s your Twitter handle or anything, my apologies…

Even if I’m not your ideal client, you should consider adding your name to your Twitter profile for purely selfish reasons: If I don’t know your real-life name, I’m not going to refer you. (Hey, Jack! Remember you asked me if I knew someone who could transcribe your MP3 files? I just met a VA on Twitter who specializes in that. But… I don’t know her name. You should totally check her out anyways. — Not the kind of thing that builds my credibility, don’t you think?)

So… quit hiding! Put your real name (first and last) on your Twitter profile, for heaven’s sake. Give us the honor and joy of addressing you by name.

Make it easy for potential clients to get gain the know-like-trust factor by showing us you’re a real human being behind that Twitter profile.

The Marketing Makeover series is designed to help virtual office professionals avoid common marketing faux pas that interfere with their success, put their professionalism in question and hinder their credibility.

If you don’t use Twitter as a marketing tool to build, grow and sustain your professional virtual online business, you can totally ignore this post!

I spend too much time stalking a lot of time analyzing people’s Twitter profiles and have been witness to a great deal of atrocious marketing practices by virtual assistants and non-VAs alike.

Do you realize the key role your Twitter profile plays in marketing your virtual assistance services? Your profile is the social media equivalent to window shopping — If I don’t like what I see displayed or your showcase doesn’t draw me in, I won’t bother seeing what else you have to offer. I’m moving on to the next shop.

People visit your Twitter profile and make a split-second decision whether you are, in their estimation, worth following (getting known, liked and trusted) or not.

A large part of their conclusion is based on what they first see when landing on your Twitter profile page — your picture.

Are you making any of these blunders on your Twitter Home page?

Uploading a picture/an image of:

• your logo (branding schmanding — loosen up, this is social networking for goodness sake!)
• nothing (showing the default o_O image)
• an animated cartoon or avatar
• pets/animals (you’re missing or hardly in the picture)
• family members
• unidentifiable ‘stuff’ in the frame (book, info product, etc.)
• hand(s) covering part of your face
• a cut off or stretched out image
• overly suggestive photo
• when you were a kid
• you 5+ years ago
• you straight-faced, serious or non-expressive, frowning
• your eyes not looking straight in the camera
• people (as in more than one person — which one is you?)
• a stock photo
• a speck that is supposedly you
• words/text
• glamor shot

I totally get that it’s your profile and you can do whatever you want with it. If you don’t want to change your profile picture just because I say so, you’re right and you probably don’t even need to read the rest of this  post.

If you do want to improve the effectiveness of your Twitter profile, keep in mind your goal for being on Twitter.

When using Twitter as part of your VA business visibility and credibility strategy, remember this marketing fact: it’s all about building relationships and connecting deeply with other human beings.

Now that I’m done ranting, here are kudos to a few VAs on Twitter who got it right (sorry, I couldn’t include all of you):

• Nina Feldman
• Morag Brand
• Teresa H. Berger
• Elayne Whifield
• Jeannine Clontz
• Sherra Scott
• Lauren Hidden
• Tracey Lawton
• Kate LaFrance
• Nancy Seeger
• Laura Pumo
• Danielle Guérin
• Doreen DeJesus
• Lisa Wells
• Karri Flatla
• Dana Fortier
• Janet Barclay
• Jaime Lee Mann (love the butterflies!)
  
• Donna Toothaker
• Yvonne Weld
• Denise Willms
• Teri Dempski
• Lara Nieberding
• Kristen Beireis
• Susi Schuele

Notice how they each express their personality differently, yet you get a sense of their professionalism and you’d probably recognize them at a networking event.

Find someone who’ll take a picture of you with a digital camera (or use a webcam if nothing else), wear your most flattering color, slap on a little makeup (if that’s your thing), look at the camera, smile — and Click! Take a few more shots and upload the best one to your Twitter profile.

Remember, working virtually adds an extra layer of impersonality. People want to know they are dealing with a real, living, breathing human being. Make it easy for your potential clients and referral partners. Make us believe you’re professional but not impersonal or “all work and no play.”