As many know, LinkedIn and Twitter recently announced that you can now update your Twitter status updates through LinkedIn and your Twitter status from your LinkedIn.  This is definitely a good thing for all involved.  It give Twitter more legitimacy in the business world.  It gives LinkedIn much more activity then it currently has.  And most importantly, it gives us, those that use the two platforms for business more efficiency in sharing information in our networks.

For those that tend to use Twitter more then LinkedIn, it’s easy to set your profile to automatically post your tweets.  Here’s how you do it.

On your profile page, you’ll see the new “Twitter” section (It’s right under “Websites”.)  Go ahead and click the “Edit” link.

In this example, I’ve already added my @scottjmanley Twitter account to my profile and now I want to add my company’s tweets (@FYIndOut) as well. To do so, I’ll click the “Add another Twitter account” link.

You’ll receive a popup asking if you want to allow LinkedIn to connect to your Twitter account.  Because I’m already logged into Twitter as @FYIndOut on my pc, it asks me to confirm the account or tells me to log out of Twitter and log back in as the account I wish to add to my LinkedIn profile.

Once you add the profile, you’ll see that you have the ability to share tweets from that Twitter account on your profile with either “everyone” or “no one”.

 You also have the ability to set your profile to share all of your tweets or just ones with the hashtag “#in” in them.  For those that tend to use Twitter for personal use as well, this is a great way to make sure only your professional tweets end up on your LinkedIn profile.  However, if you’re like me and you only use Twitter for your work life, you’ll want to set it to display all tweets.

All you need to do from there is click the “Save” button and you’re good to go.

Using this new feature makes it much easier to share your information with both networks in one action.  It’s worth the 2 minutes to set it up.  Good luck!

Last week Twitter announced the release of Twitter lists.  In this post, we’ll take some time to explain what they are, why you should use them, and how.

What are Twitter Lists?

Lists are groups of Twitter users that you can follow at once.  For those that use outside applications to manage Twitter such as Tweetdeck, Hootsuite, or Seesmic, this is similar to creating a group.  The major difference is instead of this collection of users only being available to you, it’s available to everyone using Twitter to follow. This makes it much more efficient to follow a group of users you’re interested in. i.e. You can follow the whole team at FYIndOut by following our FYIndOut Team list.

Why should our company create a Twitter List?

Easier to connect

First of all, creating a list of users within your company makes it much easier for someone to follow and connect with your entire team.  If a user has to go through 20 clicks to follow everyone, they probably won’t do it but if you give them to ability to connect with you in one click the odds are much higher that they will.

You’re in control

Another reason to create a list is that you control who’s on it and keep your followers aligned with your company.  If someone follows a member of your team and that person leaves your company, you may lose your connection with that person altogether.  However, if they’re following your team list, you have the ability to add and remove users from that list as needed and anyone following that list always stays in touch with your current team.

Build your reputation

By creating lists related to your industry you also build your reputation as a thought leader in your area.  For example, you can see our B2B Social Media list here.  We’re still growing it out so let us know if you’d like to be added.

Help others

Finally, and most important, creating lists helps others.  It helps those on your lists to gain more followers and find a new audience that may not have heard of them and it helps those that follow the list connect with a group of people they care about in an efficient manner.

How to create a Twitter List

1. When you go to your Twitter home page, you should see the banner at the top that tells you about the new feature.  Click the “Create a new list” button.

OR

If you’re on someone else’s Twitter page there is a new “Lists” dropdown in the right side of the body.  Click the “New list” option.

2. Enter the List name you would like to use for the list.  The URL for the list will be twitter.com/[your username]/[list name].

3. Select whether you want the list to be public or private.  If it’s public, anyone will be able to see and follow your list.

4. Click the “Create list” button to save the list.

How to add people to your Twitter list

1. When you see someone you would like to add to a list, simply click the “Lists” dropdown and click the checkbox next to the list you would like to add them to.  It’s that simple.

We’re just beginning to experiment with Twitter lists and we suggest you do the same.  The potential and value for these lists are quite compelling so the earlier you start and create a list that others will follow, the better.

Communication between clients and the companies they use has been on the rise for years now. Clients want to have contact with the people they are paying, and it makes sense. Anymore, the best way to do this is via message boards, commenting abilities, and social media. Everyone wants and expects the capability to give feedback, so make sure you are giving it to him or her. It’s a beautiful way to be certain you are giving the people what they want from your company.

Unfortunately, some companies see this new direct communication necessity as a daunting task. Companies are choosing to essentially “outsource” their communication to web 2.0 junkies. Be it asking for help from a social media guru or delegating the Facebook fanpage and Twitter account to whoever is the youngest person working for you, companies are afraid of the communication 2.0 world.

While it’s okay, and recommended, to find someone with unmatchable skill in the area of web 2.0 communication, the key is making sure that after they’ve gotten you started, and as they work to build your internet relationships and persona, they keep everyone else at the company involved. These are your clients getting chatted up, you need to know how it works and what everyone is saying. It’s never a one-man task. If your company isn’t made up of one person, neither should your communication be. Get everyone involved in the buzz. Use Google Alerts so you know what’s going on and every once in a while, jump on your message board and answer someone’s question or comment. Write a blog post, or send out a tweet from the companies account.

We no longer work in a vertical world, and we need to stop acting like we do. Once you get involved in the communication you will be glad you did.

(Photo Talk Nerdy to Me #2 by Constantine Graphics)

You are hearing the buzz around the office about Twitter, and how it’s beneficial for business.  This post focuses on how small-mid size companies can leverage Twitter’s unique social platform to creating meaningful relationships with clients and colleagues.

1. Establish a relationship: Try and get to know your fellow Twitters’, make it a goal to go out to coffee at least once a week with someone new.  Interacting in person and not just RT will establish a real relationship. So ask yourself, do you really know thy Tweeters? What are you doing to create relationships… REAL relationships with your followers. This method will mean much more than having 1000’s of followers you barely know.

2.Understand that it won’t happen over night, social media takes consistency and time.

3. I, me, my, to YOU YOU YOU.  Make it about them! If you really want someone to like you, figure out how to alleviate their problems and issues.

4.RT( Re-Tweet)  If someone posts great content, RT it! This does two very good things: You are giving them credit for finding the information, boosts their credibility and chances are, they’ll RT your next post. Or at least keep an eye out for ya!

5. Settle into your community: Most major and many small cities now have Tweetups, where Twitter’s unite.

6. Link it: Tweet’s with links have a better chance of being read and clicked.

We didn’t cover everything, what’s your best advice?

(Thanks to @Kevindonlin for I, me, my theory)