So there is a public fight between LinkedIn and Twitter. A basic tit for tat – if you don’t allow our application then we won’t use yours. So there!

Well I say hallelujah – this suits me fine. One of my biggest annoyances has been all those tweets clogging up my LinkedIn status posts. The majority of tweets in LinkedIn look unprofessional and I think it was just lazy to have them there. If I want to see your tweets, I will twitter with you. In LinkedIn, I want to know professionally what you’ve been up to. Never the twain should meet.

I’ve often said on Twitter that I’d ‘de-link’ you if you continue to put all your tweets into LinkedIn and believe me I have ‘de-linked’ numerous times with no regrets.

So twitter, you started a war and LinkedIn has responded – touché I say and big thanks too as you’ve done me a favour. Now if you could only get my colleagues to complete their LinkedIn profiles it would be bliss!

These days the question isn’t, ‘Are you on Twitter?’ but ‘Why aren’t you on Twitter?’ Yet there’s still plenty of people saying they’re too busy to tweet, or they don’t have to because they’ve employed someone else to do their social media.

It’s something I am so bored of hearing. That kind of attitude means you’re not only not using social media effectively, you’re also missing the chance to share why you’re successful.

Because I say that real business leaders tweet. Check the dictionary and the definition of leader is ‘an organisation or company that is the most advanced or successful in a particular area’. That means getting out there and showing that you really know what you’re talking about.

So what’s stopping people? I think it’s a fear of being too open, or the fact they just don’t get it. Plenty of executives might believe there’s no real value to social media but it’s changed the way people perceive companies and their leaders.

If you’re only sharing your latest press release rather than personal opinions and views on industry issues, it’s a wasted opportunity to add some real value to the conversation – and that’s where plenty of potential customers, competitors and partners will be judging you.

There’s no short cuts so start growing your own brand, tweet by tweet – and don’t think you can fake authenticity. However scary it might sound, the only route to success is being open and honest. The results will speak for themselves.

Social Media was made for the hostel and budget accommodation market – cost-effective and far reaching. And it’s a leveller – you can be a small fish in the big pond yet make more of an impact then the big boys if you do it well. Whatever the size and type of the accommodation business, Social Media must be integrated into all marketing activity!

Embrace social Media and all that comes with it. If you just dabble, you’ll get nowhere fast. Fail to answer that critical tweet or comment on TripAdvisor or other UGC sites and all other marketing efforts you might be proud of could go down the drain.

It’s amazing how many businesses think they have to be on Facebook or Twitter just because everyone else is or it’s the thing to do e.g. if you build it, it will be ‘liked’ automatically. Businesses need to have a fully-integrated marketing strategy so they can meaningfully interact and socialise with their fans and followers.

Too often the Social Media ‘expert’ is someone who has been assigned the task rather than a person who genuinely embraces the medium and all its possible outcomes. Your Social Media specialist needs passion, needs to know your product and services intimately, understand there are objectives and can communicate effectively, with personality.

The excuse that it’s hard to measure the result or get a ROI is frankly rubbish. More and more tools are available to watch impact – search engines now pull results from social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and Google Analytics can measure the impact of Social Media. Plus the goal is not just to measure for a specific ROI but to gain engagement. It is a great way to connect with customers, build loyalty and grow your reputation.

So how do you use social media to get results from your marketing efforts?

1) Be active! Add engaging content often and don’t be silent for too long. An average of 10-20 tweets a day is a great start.

2) Share lots! Enable shares from your website, share other’s relevant content on Facebook and retweet tweets from others.

3) Show your social media links on all marketing material from your website to email and even offline such as on posters.

4) Think about the timing. The time to add Facebook posts or tweet is definitely an art form worth playing with. It is said that outside normal business hours gets a higher response.

5) Get engaged. Ask questions, encourage comments and make sure there is an actual personality behind the brand.

Social Media gets results but think about how to weave it throughout your sales & marketing strategy. It will be worth the effort.

Why not follow StayWYSE to keep up to date with all hostel and budget accommodation news.

It takes reminding now and then but I always come back to the fact that LinkedIn is probably the best business Social Media tool. Whenever I’m asked for my recommendations about which platform to go with, I always say at the minimum do LinkedIn.

It is simply a great resource and source of SEO if done correctly. I am amazed though at how often I see really poor profiles – if you start it, finish the job correctly. It could be the difference between lots of new business or losing work or a job.

Just the other day, I added new website details and changed a few words around in my LinkedIn profile. Within 2 hours I was contacted twice via LinkedIn – one from an old business associate asking to meet up to discuss how we could work together and the other was from a head-hunter asking if I was interested in in a top job with a large multi-national company. Both came firmly as a result of my profile updating.

If I can pass on a couple of simple things to keep in mind – keep it fresh and don’t be shy. If you don’t keep your profile up to date and aren’t prepared to shout about it, you are missing a trick.

Social Media doubters have little argument as to the benefits of LinkedIn but they try. These doubters are living in the dark ages and will be left behind. If you don’t want anyone to find you and know about your professional credentials, then you clearly don’t want new business.

Twitter is an evolving business – if you don’t keep up with the changes then you’ll lose out on the business opportunities and the fun.

So I thought it would be good to update and republish my own rules of twitter engagement – ‘Jeannie’s Twitter Guide’.

1. Do not swear. I don’t think it is clever, professional or mature and it’s a major turn-off.

2. Don’t carry on with too long a private conversation or joke in the public eye. If you know the other person well, DMs were invented for quick really private chats or pick up the phone or send an email.

3. Make sure your twitters are a mix of interesting facts & figures and some opinion about those facts and figures. Add some personal tweets about how your day is going or react to something good (or bad).

4. Don’t send a DM to thank me for following. If you must, do the ‘thank you’ in a public tweet. Don’t you think it is of interest to let your other followers know that you and I are worthy of following each other?

5. Exception to the last rule – a DM works for a company or business who has a genuine ‘twitter’ offer. So if I follow a restaurant group, you are more than welcome to thank me by sending a voucher for money off a meal or a free glass of wine. But make the offer open to twitter followers only (not a generic offer you make to anyone signing up for their website e-newsletter for instance).

6. Make sure your twitter profile is creative, short and clearly shows your website URL (if you have one).

7. Say thank you for retweeting – and do it publicly (not via a DM).

8. Remember that hashtag ‘#’ is one of the most powerful tools in twitter. It is used for trends & organising. It is especially useful in having a genuine complaint or moan about a service (e.g. ‘#RoyalMail lost a letter for me – not impressed!’ – that was a twitter from me)

9. A good business or organisation will read those ‘#’ and respond accordingly. You can right a wrong by being responsive. So check often and let the tweeter know you’ve heard them.

10. Automate as little as possible (or not at all). Genuine tweets = genuine followers.

11. If you can’t take the time to tweet regularly, yes that means a couple of times most days, then don’t tweet! If you are a business, Facebook & LinkedIn may just be a better avenue for your social media.

12. Don’t connect every single tweet to your LinkedIn profile. The odd interesting, business piece of news is fine but sending all twitters clogs up LinkedIn updates pages (and makes it very annoying). Use that #in hashtag wisely.

13. Quality not quantity is the name of the game for followers. Clean up your followers list often and get rid of those who look like spammers or those who haven’t tweeted in ages but are still following you (like those who have automated – see number 10)

14. To get followers, you also have to follow. Look at terms that are of interest to you and see which tweeters come up. Never hesitate to follow someone, somewhere or something that strikes your fancy – shyness doesn’t exist on twitter.

15. And finally, remember twitter is not private – you may think you are speaking to a closed audience of your followers but you are not. And you may just lose your job over it…

It may only be 140 characters but it shows the person or business you are so use the opportunity and time well. It can be such a powerful tool!