Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/40026
62 • SEPTEMBER 2011 • WORLD FENCE NEWS tion. Social media – are you listening in? BY LEA BAILES, CEO OF GUIER FENCE If you were at a party, and you overheard somebody talking about your business in a circle of people, what would you do? You'd probably listen a little more closely to determine if it is worth intervening in the conver- sation, right? And if you thought you needed to intervene in the conversation, you def- initely would. Social media, and specifically Twitter, is no different than a big party with groups of people conversing. In fact, Twitter is one gigantic conversa- As of the time of this writing, there are more than 145 million peo- ple registered on Twitter with around 370,000 new accounts being added daily. There are millions upon millions of conversations taking place at any given time. So you should join the party and start listening to your customers on Twitter! You'll learn a lot that you can apply to making your business better and more successful. How do you listen? 1. Go to http://search.twitter.com and enter your brand name or personal name. 2. Hit search. After you see if anyone is talking about you or your company, search for the category of product or service you sell. For example, type in "fence." If you want to target more specifically, you can go to the Advanced Search function to narrow your listening down to exact phrases, geographic radius or within a date range. Each time somebody tweets within your criteria, you will be able to see the tweet. How should you re- spond? If the conversation is positive, respond to them and thank them. If they are asking a question of you or about you, then respond and offer help. If the conversation is nega- tive, it is important to immediately re- spond and handle the situation before it explodes. Regardless of how you view Twit- ter, you should use it to build your brand and generate referrals by simply being engaged in conversations. Beyond your brand, you should engage in conversations on Twitter about topics that interest you. Look for Tweets about your community or about non-profits you support and begin responding. Lea Bailes is president of the Kansas City, Mo. fence firm Guier Fence, and founder of Guier Fence Franchising. Contact him at 800-845- 9839 or visit the company web site at www.guierfence.com. The DYNA MS600 swing style picket pointer is a simple machine to setup and operate for cutting pickets. It is a similar design as the MAR-SAL picket pointer. Boards and cants up to a total of 6" width can be pointed. Various point styles can be achieved with the MS600 such as french gothic, gothic, stockade and round dogear. Two air clamps hold the boards securely in place during the cutting process. Looking for something? Need to know in a hurry? Use the World Fence News FenceLine product locator service! 1-800-231-0275 in the U.S. & Canada. Poor Mike Two friends meet in a bar. The first one asks, "Did your hear the news? Mike is dead." "Whoa! What happened?" "Well, he was on his way over to my house the other day and when he arrived outside the house his brakes failed and boom - he hit the curb, the car flipped over and he crashed through the sunroof. He went flying through the air and smashed through my upstairs bedroom window." "What a horrible way to die!" "No no, he survived that, that didn't kill him. So, he landed in my upstairs bedroom and he's all cov- ered in broken glass on the floor. Then, he spots the big old antique wardrobe we have in the room and reaches up for the handle to try to pull himself up. He's just dragging himself up when bang, this massive wardrobe comes crashing down on top of him, crushing him and break- ing most of his bones." "What a way to go; terrible!" "No, that didn't kill him; he sur- vived that. He managed to get the wardrobe off him and crawls out onto the landing; he tries to pull himself up on the banister, but under his weight the banister breaks and he goes falling down on to the first floor. In mid air, all the broken ban- ister poles spin and fall on him, pin- ning him to the floor, sticking right through him." "Now that is the most unfortu- nate way to go!" "No, that didn't kill him. So he's Many items in stock - caps, finials, rings, wall mounts, column bases ….. Custom made parts Short volume runs In-house tool & die shop Phone: 301-334-9100 Fax: 301-334-7846 www.cpalmerdiecastinginc.com on the downstairs landing, just be- side the kitchen. He crawls in to the kitchen, tries to pull himself up on the stove, but reached for a big pot of boiling hot water, whoosh, the whole thing came down on him and burned most of the skin off him." "Man, what a way to die!" "No, he survived that! He's lying on the ground, covered in boil- ing water and he spots the phone and tries to pull himself up, to call for help, but instead he grabs the light switch and pulls the whole thing off the wall and the water and electricity didn't mix and so he got electro- cuted, the current shot through him." "Now that is one awful way to go!" "No no, he survived that..." "Hold on now, just how did he die?" "I shot him!" "You shot him? What the hell did you shoot him for?" "He was wrecking my house."