Profit from Twitter at the Hillington Park Innovation Centre with Colin Kelly and NS Design

Friday, 2nd December, 2011

TECHNOLOGY expert Colin Kelly hopes to serve up a “tweet” to business chiefs ... by giving them lessons on how to profit from Twitter.

The former Paisley Daily Express columnist has teamed up with Renfrewshire firm NSDesign to offer businesses expert advice on social media.

The Social Media Masterclass will be led by NSDesign chief Gary Ennis, with radio presenter and technology buff Colin also offering his top Twitter tips.

The day-long session at Hillington Park Innovation Centre on Friday, December 9, will provide interested company bosses with information and guidance about social media to ensure they can reap the rewards that are on offer.

And, for those who can’t make it along, Colin – who was a hit with Express readers with his weekly Colin The Shots column – has drawn up his five handiest hints for making the most out of Twitter.

They are:

Always remember it’s a two-way conversation – NOT an advertising platform. It’s not all about you, so follow other people and take an interest in what they’re saying.

Monitor your page – when you say stuff on Twitter. People will talk back to you and it won’t all be nonsense. Some might have sensible questions, so don’t ignore them.

Retweet other people’s interesting content. If they post a piece of news or something that’s interesting or amusing, push the RT button and it’ll go to all your followers.

Take part in Follow Friday. Every Friday, choose some of the most interesting people you follow and recommend them to your followers. Use the #FF or #FollowFriday tag, then their Twitter user name, for example #FF @PDEOfficial.

Check out Tweetdeck. The main twitter.com page has many limitations. To get the real power from Twitter, check out Tweetdeck. It’s free and lets you find real business opportunities in your area.

Hillington-based NSDesign launched its Masterclass series in response to positive feedback from business owners about its Embrace the Space workshops – a series that the business has run in partnership with Business Gateway.

Over the past 18 months, NSDesign has reached out to over 1,500 businesses through the Embrace the Space programme.

Gary said: “The positive feedback we have received from our workshops showed the level of interest that exists about social media amongst businesses in the local area.

“Much of the emphasis in the feedback was on the need for more advanced training, and that is the rationale behind our Masterclass series.

“Businesses are looking to take full advantage of the real benefits that social networking can bring when it is implemented correctly and with the right strategy and we hope our classes will be both beneficial and popular.”