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As the owner of a strategic marketing and communications firm, the biggest Twitter fear I hear as my clients pursue a social media presence is this: “What should I Tweet about?”

Personally, I enjoy Tweeting and blogging and posting to Facebook for myself and my company. But, as a woman business leader and business owner, I’m not surprised to hear this question. One of the challenges with Twitter is the 140-character limit. Many find this to be the most daunting aspect … how do you say what you want to say in 140 characters or less? For me, that’s not a problem. But I’ve been at it for a while. If I think back to when I first started, I think it was mostly an issue of just doing it. Once you get into the habit, it becomes much easier.

My advice is to give it a try and look over this list of “30 Things to Tweet About,” from blogger Sorav Jain for inspiration:

1. New announcements from your brand
2. Teaser previews of offerings you are working on
3. Related interesting news from the industry
4. Trivia related to your product: history, technology, anything!
5. Ask for suggestions: people love to help someone out
6. Events you are holding: this informs as well as gets you attendees
7. Events you are participating in: this shows you are active
8. Witty one-liners: this can be (appropriate) jokes, daily wisdom, or just about anything else
9. Helping people find opportunities: Helping people solve problems is the best thing you can do to promote your brand
10. Popular events: tweet about the upcoming sports events, festivals, etc
11. Unexpected developments: Was Gmail down today? Tweet about it!
12. Regular industry news: yup, this doesn’t hurt if mixed in
13. Sales announcements: Tweet about any sales announcements you might have
14. Job openings: Tell people about open positions, both with your brand and at other places you know
15. Ask for customer feedback: Invite people to share their experiences with your brand
16. Participate in the relevant hashtags, and get more visibility
17. Set up and announce tweet chats based on brand-related hashtags
18. Follow people and make acknowledgement via tweets
19. Thank people who have recently followed you
20. Post the latest updates from your blog along with the link
21. Direct people to other social media channels you own by tweeting about them
22. Search on your brand name and respond to tweets that are about you
23. Create Twitter lists of industry-relevant analysts, well-wishers or customers, and announce the lists publically. This sends a positive message to the mentioned people
24. Participate in trending topics and viral hashtags to rope in some attention. Ensure your opinions are related to your brand
25. Tweet-greet your followers daily. Saying small things like “good morning,” or asking about their health goes a long way in forging ties
26. Tweet and tag your best employee of the week. This keeps the staff motivated and gives them a platform
27. Announce weekly deal, tweetpon (coupon), etc., and evaluate its viral reach to understand how influential your brand is
28. For B2B brands, find out analysts on Twitter and build up conversations with them. Twitter is the best place for making your opinion heard
29. Give daily twitter tips on usage of your brand’s products/service or on the basis of the industry expertise. Tips sell well on Twitter
30. Make regular #FF Friday Follow recommendations or announce fan of the week with some incentives or freebies to the winners

Many of these tips are extremely helpful and will provide you with ideas for months. I’m always looking for more tips, though, so give me yours and I’ll add them to the list.

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Over the past few months, I have been fighting and conquering breast cancer, an event that has thrown me into a retrospective state of evaluating my life. And while I travel this journey as a woman business leader and breast cancer survivor, I keep coming back to authenticity, facing fear, trusting my intuition and accepting my weaknesses while embracing my strengths. If you have been reading my blog, you know that these are subjects that we keep coming back to. So, in our continual journey to find our core and make meaning of what we do, I offer you some of my observations :

1. Maximize dreams and aspirations – As you imagine “what can be” open your mind a little wider and imagine the path to get there.

2. Seize opportunities — Stay open and tuned in to opportunities by focusing on the outcomes rather than fear the unknown.

3. Accentuate your strengths — Don’t put energy into working on your weaknesses, rather use and cultivate your strengths, which will override your perceived weaknesses.

4. Cultivate a culture of care and service — This notion extends to everyone who you come in contact with from your customers to your co-workers and everyone in between.

5. Focus and commitment — Once you have set your goals stay committed and focused on where you are going and articulate this to your team.

6. Innovate –Continually look for new ways to solve problems and come up with solutions that meet your needs and your principles. Look beyond the norm and expected with creative ideas that can be put into action.

7. Develop win-win strategies to benefit all– I know that the notion of win-win sounds like a cliché but it’s all about balance. Make sure that your partners, co-workers and associates feel comfortable with outcomes.

8. Lead & brand — Be a leader in your field and stay true to your value proposition.

9. Listen to & reward your team -Believe that people on the front lines are literally your most important people. Ensure that every team member feels valued and is essential to the overall health of the company.

10. Stick to principles & core competencies – Markets change. Competitors appear. Do not compromise the essence of what your business is and the principles for which it stands. Stay passionate and true to your beliefs.

I hope my suggestions give you some inspiration. Here are a few more of my of my favorite blogs: “5 Qualities Women Business Leaders can Cultivate to Become Remarkable,” and “7 Ways Women Business Leaders Can Encourage their Team’s Creativity.”

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As savvy women business leaders and entrepreneurs, we know that social media is here to stay. It is no longer a trendy way to engage customers but rather an essential component of any sound communications strategy. New media thought leaders like Brain Solis believe that if businesses are not embracing “disruptive” technology they will be left behind.

Here’s a list of some common social media mistakes to avoid that I’ve condensed from an article written by Brian:

1. Showing up isn’t enough
   Customers and prospects are busy, connected and interacting with everybody but you today. This requires an engagement program — that is, a plan for using social media to meet goals — that extends beyond the typical marketing of “follow us on Twitter” or “Like us on Facebook.”
2. You can’t be everywhere, nor should you
   Many entrepreneurs are excited about technology and they overextend themselves because they want to be part of the latest trend. The key is to only be where your customers, prospects and those who influence them are.
3. Authenticity and transparency are nothing without a connection
   The two magical ingredients to a successful social media effort are: authenticity and transparency. However, without delivering value, conveying a meaningful mission and vision, or establishing a connect-worthy presence, authenticity and transparency have nothing to reinforce.
4. Talking to people isn’t a business strategy
   Some people run effective social media programs by listening instead of actually saying anything. But no matter if you converse with customers or not, you must have a purpose before you can engage. Don’t get caught up in only replying to brand mentions. Your real opportunity is to also engage and convert those people not already talking about you.
5. Keep your core customers tuned in
   Companies believe that uploading a video to YouTube is the key to anything going viral. What they don’t know is 48 hours of video is uploaded every minute to YouTube. The chance of your video going viral naturally is basically nil. Remember, going viral only counts if it impacts your brand. If it creates lift, leaves an imprint or if it drives action or outcomes, that’s when you’re going viral.

As the owner of a strategic communications firm, I agree with Brian’s comments above. I also believe that as this medium becomes more sophisticated … so should your business approach. For more on social media strategies, see my blog “7 Social Media Tips for Women Business Leaders from 7 Experts.”

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Have you ever read a blog or website article authored by an “industry expert,” and wondered how they became an expert? While being a woman business leader and entrepreneur have certainly helped me in my networking and business connections, it wasn’t until I started my blog, became a speaker and joined several select and respected industry trade groups that my “expert” status started to take off.

While I achieved my status as an after-effect of my business activities, the tips below, from an article by Donald Todrin, will guide you toward becoming an expert using a methodical, step-by-step approach:

1. Learn about what’s important in your industry today and become current. Every commercial niche has one or more trade magazines. Obtain a few back copies, three at least, and read them cover to cover.
2. Note the advertisements. These will also tell you what’s new and important to the industry, as well as what the leading businesses are talking about and selling.
3. Write an article and submit it for publication in one of the industry magazines. This often isn’t as hard as it seems. Once done, you are a published writer in the industry.
4. Create a website and a blog. Begin to communicate with your market, discussing industry issues and creating an open forum with you as an expert.
5. Create podcasts (video or audio) based on your blog entries. Post the video on YouTube.
6. Offer to speak at a local college. Offer a professor or department head the opportunity to have you speak at a forum on a subject relevant to you and the educator’s interest group—at no charge, of course.
7. Offer a local club, association, or service organization the opportunity to have you speak on a relevant subject – at no charge.
8. Run your own seminar. This is a smart way to continue to build your credentials.
9. Become a corporate speaker. Being a public speaker at leading businesses and corporations adds to your credentials.
10. Send out media releases to the local press. Repeat your credentials and promote your speaking, writing, seminar or whatever you have to promote.
11. Join a national trade organization for your industry and offer to write a monthly column on interesting aspects of the industry for the organization’s newsletter or magazine.
12. If you can afford it, give a seminar at your industry’s national trade show. Or have a booth, or get on the board or any committee for the organization.

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As I have become more involved in social media, both on a personal and a professional level, I often see the same tips and suggestions about social media in online blogs and articles. I thought this list of tips from social media experts was refreshing because it offers advice for women business leaders from real industry experts. Many of the tips are not what you would expect.

I’ve condensed this list from an article by Amy Porterfield, author of  Facebook Marketing All-In-One for Dummies.

1. Offer live events on Facebook
   “To provide additional value and fresh ways for your fans to interact with you, periodically conduct live chat sessions or live webinars or teleseminars,” says Mari  Smith, co-author of Facebook Marketing: An Hour a Day.
2. Help others who aren’t necessarily famous
   “Don’t try to build your personal brand or company brand alone. Go out of your way to look for opportunities to help others and give others credit,” says Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business. “Easy ways to do this include recommendations on Twitter of others’ work, retweets and hot tips on the comment section of blogs,” Erik added.
3. Don’t over-focus on marketing
   “All too often, businesses overlook the ‘social’ part of the phrase social media marketing and jump straight into the ‘marketing’ part… to their detriment,” explained Hollis Thomases, author of Twitter Marketing: An Hour a Day.
4. Research what your customers are saying
   “Stop reading the success stories and best practices to model your social media strategy. Use them for inspiration, but my best advice to you is to go figure out what your opportunity is first,” said Brian Solis, author of Engage: The Complete Guide to Building, Cultivating and Measuring Success in the Social Web.
5. Meet people in real life
   “You can meet people online, but solidify these online relationships face to face,” says Steve Garfield, author of Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business. Steve founded a networking group that meets in person each month. “What’s very important is that the meeting is free, we never cancel and everyone is welcome,” explained Steve.
6. Invest in social media after you do your research
   Corporations should gauge their own social business maturity and prioritize spending decisions based on the industry benchmarks, according to a study by the Altimeter Group. “Just as you would invest your personal finances based on your family size, age and market conditions, you should be spending in social business with the same industry knowledge,” Says Altimeter’s Jeremiah Owyang, partner of customer strategy.
7. Share the knowledge of experts with your audience
   “Get experts involved with your content. Determine who the experts are in your industry. Then go to them and offer to interview them about their hottest new project,” said Mike Stelzner, founder of Social Media Examiner.

As the owner of a strategic communications firm, I was surprised to find a social suggestion on this list I haven’t yet tried. Tell me what your best social media tips are, and if you try any of the tips above, let me know how they worked for you.

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I am continually surprised – in a good way – by contacts reaching out to me on LinkedIn.  As a woman business leader and entrepreneur, LinkedIn is my professional “comfort zone.” Of all the social media platforms, LinkedIn gives you the ability to control and even manipulate your message. It is a “living brochure” for your personal brand.

In this article, Guy Kawasaki provides some useful ways to maximize your exposure with some great LinkedIn tips:

1. Acquire new customers through online recommendations and word of mouth
   Satisfied customers are the best source of new customers.
2. Keep in touch with people who care most about your business
   Sites like LinkedIn help keep your business alive in the minds of the people who care most about your business
3. Find the right vendors to outsource services you’re not an expert on
   LinkedIn makes it easy for you to find vendors through the network of your peers.
4. Build your industry network—online and in person
   Search LinkedIn’s Groups directory to find industry associations and networks to take part in.
5. Get answers to tough business questions with a little help from your real friends
   LinkedIn Answers and Groups let you find answers to vexing questions quickly by tapping into the wisdom of your network.
6. Win new business by answering questions in your area of expertise
   Use the many forums on LinkedIn to share the knowledge you’ve gained in your area of expertise.
7. Raise funding
   You can use LinkedIn to find mentors or potential investors for your startup.
8. Network with peers in your industry for repeat business referrals
   With over 2000 groups dedicated to small business topics, you’re sure to find a relevant group to network.
9. Convince potential customers of your expertise by sharing unique blog content
   Small businesses smart enough to create unique content on their expertise should link to it from their LinkedIn profiles.
10. Keep your friends close and your competition closer
    Not only do company profiles give you unique insight into your competition, they also give you an opportunity to stumble upon potential hires.

You hear a lot of “buzz” about other social media platforms, but I think it’s time LinkedIn got a little more respect. How have you used LinkedIn to grow your business connections?

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As a woman business leader and the owner of a marketing firm, I take my job very seriously, but I always welcome the unexpected laugh and am intrigued by the “unusual.” Like most people, I am drawn to humor and fun.

I came across this great post by Vicki Flaugher that really puts online engagement in perspective. It all comes back to being authentic.

1. Use more pictures and video
   Instead of just your blog posts, resource links and business how-to tips, add pictures and video. You can grab them from Youtube or Flickr, but it’s even better if you create them yourself. Keep it light, relevant, and real.
2. Capture candid moments
   Taking shots while things are happening now and sharing them in real time is powerful. No more staged photos in a business suit with crossed arms. Make me want to be where you are. Make me feel something. Share your experiences with candid shots.
3. Kids, kitties, and nature
   These emotional triggers, used responsibly, can give people time to take a deep breath in their busy day. Those breaths are when we reflect on what’s important and who matters most to us. Caring is the currency in social. Demonstrate this value by giving people respite in their day with cuteness and “ahhhh” breaks.
4. Hobbies, philanthropy, and sports
   Letting people see the inner you gives them insight into your character and values. People will feel they know you better and subconsciously assign traits to you via association. It makes you fun to know. And fun is good. It is very, very good.
5. Music, book clubs, travel, and fashion
   Vicarious living is a sport for most of us. The way the Internet connects us lets us explore food, exotic locales, and new experiences with a click of a button. As the world becomes flat and more global in connection, this ability to share will only become more and more valuable. So share, share, share. It will pay off.

In being social for business, there is still a line that you don’t want to cross by being too flippant. But  humor and spontaneity are easy and compelling online tactics that you can use to bring out your personality. Here is one of my favorite blogs about staying authentic: “5 Branding Steps Women Business Leaders can Use to Remain Authentic.”

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The more connections that I make online, the more I enjoy this virtual life that I am creating. I run a communications firm, have a strong interest in the social sector and am drawn to the feedback I receive about the useful information I provide through my blog for women business leaders. I have often wondered how to leverage this virtual identity and turn it into a lifestyle.

I came across this interesting post from Penelope Trunk with some useful tips on creating a business out of a personal brand.

1. Build a brand that stands for something
   It can be anything, really, but it needs to have a life of it’s own, besides just your name. This way you can take the part of it that is not just about you and grow it. In my case, my brand was my unique take on career management.
2. Find your paying customers
   Most brands have brand enthusiasts, but not all enthusiasts have money. You need to focus on the demographics that are energized by your brand vision but also have money to spend as a result of that.
3. Figure out what your ultimate goal is
   If you want to sell the company, and ultimately go do something else, then you need to have a vision special enough that someone else can incorporate it into their own company—as an acquisition.
4. Accept the reality of a paycut
   To build something big, you have to take risks, and one of those is hiring people to help you. You are probably used to siphoning all the extra cash in your business to your own bank account. Now you will have to start putting that money back into the business because you need high growth to fully leverage a brand’s established market presence.
5. Check your ego
   Building a great brand about your own personality and intellect is a huge achievement. But to get to the next step in your career, you’ll need to let other people get out in front of that brand. One of the most rewarding moments in my own company was when my co-founders started going on TV to talk about our field with equal authority to my own.

Because branding is part of my business, I am always interested in passing along information to help other women business leaders nurture and grow their brand. For more about branding, please read my blog, “5 Branding Steps Women Business Leaders Can Use to Remain Authentic.”

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Have you ever wondered why you are drawn to some people and not to others?  What are the factors that make one person more likeable than someone else? When people think about whether they “like” someone or not, most take into consideration basic compelling human characteristics such as kindness, concern, authenticity, care and compassion. As you plan your social media and interactive branding strategy, don’t forget to add these “likeable” characteristics to all of your online and social communications.

These tips from Dave Kerpen’s article, “6 Ways to Become Likeable with Social Media,” examine the best ways to garner a positive social image.

1. Listen first and never stop listening
   As tempting as it may be to join the conversation, keep in mind that communication is 50 percent listening and 50 percent talking. Your customers want to be heard and social media provides a channel that really allows you to listen on a large scale.
2. Be authentic
   As organizations grow large, they develop processes and models to enhance efficiency. Social media provides an opportunity to reverse this trend and actually ‘be human’ in dealing with customers.
3. Provide value—for free!
   The more valuable content you can share with your fans and followers, the greater the trust and reputation you’ll build with them. Share your expertise without expectation or marketing-speak, and you’ll create an even better name for yourself.
4. Share stories
   Every brand has at least one story to tell. Social media allows you to share stories with your customers, prospects and the world. Remember, stories humanize brands and make them ‘talk-able’ online and off-line. And they can be told by anyone—customers, employees or management. They just need to be real.
5. Admit when you screw up, and then leverage your mistakes
   Being able to say “I’m sorry” when you make a mistake goes a long way toward making up for your error. Companies are made up of people and everyone makes mistakes.
6. Consistently deliver excitement, surprise and delight
   On social media, you’re not just competing with your real-life competitors; you’re competing with all of your customers’ friends and the brands they’re connected to. So the way to stand out is to create as many “Wow!” moments as possible.

These are great tips to think about when starting and growing your social media presence. Here’s another blog that offers some good ideas for creating a social strategy: Jay Baer’s Social Media Integration Strategies for Women Business Leaders.

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If you are reading this  — you probably know that I am a frequent blogger. I got started because I knew that my point of view as a woman business leader might provide value to others. Blogging allows me to share my passion for mentoring and my interest in finding unique ways to improve my professional life. My assumption is that others would feel the same as I do and find value in my opinions.

After more than a year as a professional blogger, I think these “10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before you Blog,” by Joe Pulizzi, provide a great starting point.

1. Who would the primary reader (subscriber) of your blog be?
2. What do you want to tell them? (What’s your story?)
3. Do you understand the key informational needs of that person?  What are their pain points?
4. Are you hanging out online where your customers are? Do you or can you make a target hit list of blogs or sites that your customers frequent online?
5. Are you leaving comments that add to the online conversation on the blogs you cover?
6. Do you have a firm grasp on the types of keywords to focus on that your customers are searching for?
7. Do you follow those keywords using Google Alerts or watch their usage on Twitter?
8. Can you commit to blogging at least two times per week? Content consistency is key.
9. What is your ultimate goal in starting a blog? One year from when you start blogging, how will the business be different?
10. How will the execution process work within your company, and how will you market the blog?

If you liked this post, you might find a few of my other blogs on blogging interesting too: “Successful Blogging Tips for Women Business Leaders” and  “Women Business leaders: 3 Tactics for a Better Business Blog.” The most valuable advice that I can give you is this: find your passion and remain authentic.