Tweet Inspiration

When you're stuck for something to tweet, take a look down the list below and something should inspire you!

Feel free to add more suggestions as comments too.

Tweet:

1. 'Did you know?' facts about your cause
2. An upcoming event
• When is it?
• Where is it?
• Who will be there?
• What's it for?
• What's the aim?
3. Your aims & objectives
• How much money do you need to raise?
• What is your mission?
• How do you intend to get there?
• How did you get started?
• Why did you get started?
4. The people involved
• Trustees, your president or chairman, celebrities
• Founders
• Friends & Supporters
• Sponsors
• Say hello to new followers
• Say thank you to re-tweeters
• Facebook Fans
  
5. News
• Breaking news - what's just happened?
• Are you in local or national press?
• Has someone else tweeted about you? 
• Articles relevant to your cause
• Articles relevant to your location
• Articles relevant to your followers
6. Website
• Your website address
• Updates to your website
• Link to Facebook page
7. Images
• Post publicity photos via TwitPic or YFrog
• Old photos
• Press images
• Artist impressions
• Photos of people
• Photos of events
• New logo or branding
8. Fundraising
• How much do you need to raise?
• How much have you got so far?
• How people are raising money
• easyfundraising link
• easysearch link
  
• How people can help
• Link to donation website or page
• Link to online shops
• How much was raised
9. Ask a Question, then reply
• 'What do you want to know about us?'
• 'What would you like to see on our website?'
• 'What events would you be interested in attending?'
• 'How would you raise awareness for us?'
10. Use #hashtags 
• Get involved in #charitytuesday
• Recommend for #followfriday
• Or even #followmonday (#followtuesday, #followwednesday...)
11. Use occasions
• Say Happy Birthday
• Merry Christmas
• Happy New Year
• Happy Easter
• Happy Valentines Day
12. Help others
• Fundraising ideas
• Re-tweet other causes' messages
• Useful websites
• Useful blog posts
• Useful software
13. Be personal
• What kind of day are you having?
• What's the weather like?
• Are you going anywhere?
• Have you been anywhere?
• What are you doing today?
14. Ask followers to help spread your message

I am not suggesting that you take this list, sit down at your computer and tweet all of it in one go - as this will probably lose you some followers! But if you haven't tweeted for a while and have a bit of 'tweeters block' take a look down the list, choose one and tweet away.

Boost awareness with Twitter

Now that your website is sorted it's time to start getting people to visit it.

Twitter is a micro-blogging tool. It gives you 140 characters to tell people what you are doing, what you're looking at, how you're feeling, what you're thinking about. It's a quick and easy way to update your site and keep people informed without having to write whole blog posts.

I have previously covered how to use Twitter so I won't repeat it here, but here are some suggestions on ways to make the most of your Twitter account.

1. Find people

Spend some time searching for people who will help spread your message or that you want to speak to. If you are looking for sponsorship follow local businesses. Find people involved with the cause that already tweet who will re-tweet your messages. Find your local press to help promote events.

2. Talk to people
You can either send people a private message (Direct Message) or you can tweet @ someone, which everyone can see. Twitter is about building relationships, so spend time talking to people - even if it has nothing directly to do with your cause!

3. RT people
In Twitterland RT means re-tweet, and there is a button available for you to quickly RT a tweet you find interesting. This is a quick and easy way of getting useful news and information to your followers.

4. Don't spam people
Don't write the same tweet over and over, yes you want people to visit your website, but telling them to visit your site every 5 minutes is one of the quickest ways to lose followers! If you add a news article, tweet that with a link to the article. Every now and then tell new followers about your aims. This doesn't mean to say you shouldn't repeat ever, for example if you are running an event tweet about different aspects of it, who will be there, when does it start, where will it be, what's the theme. Remember different people will be on Twitter at different times.

5. Keep it up
You don't need to tweet once an hour, but you should try to keep it regular, one good tweet a day is better than 24 'visit my website' tweets. To begin try spending 10 mins a day writing a tweet, finding one tweet to RT and looking for new people to follow. As you get to know Twitter and can see benefits you may decide to spend more time on it.

8 Features of Accessible Websites (Part 1)

Welcome to the second part of our 'Social Media 4 Non Profit' series.

This week we'll be looking at accessibility, making sure that when you do drive traffic to your website your visitors can get to the information they need. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) launched a Web Accessibility Initiative with the aim of ensuring that all web content is available to users regardless of technology, disability or ability. This had lead to the development of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines or WCAG.


In this post we will highlight 4 of the 8 features that we feel are most important for ensuring your website is accessible.

1.Your website works in any browser
Accessibility doesn't necessarily mean that users can't use a mouse or need bigger text, it can be as simple as making sure your website works in a wide selection of web browsers. All browsers render your website slightly differently, and even a few pixels can make a huge difference to the accessibility of your website.

As an example, we developed a website that had white text on top of a blue menu background. In Firefox and Internet Explorer it looked great, but in Safari the white text had dropped from the blue menu background onto the white page background so users couldn't navigate from the home page, making the site unaccessible to anyone using an Apple Mac.

2. Your website can be navigated and used without a mouse
Some of your visitors may be visiting your website without a mouse - either they are unable to, or their mouse may be broken or they may be on a mobile device, so you need to check that your website can still be used. Try going through your website using the TAB, SHIFT+TAB and ENTER or RETURN keys on your keyboard. If it can't be done visitors who cannot use a mouse will not be able to access your website content.

3. The text on your website can still be read when made bigger
Again, this isn't just for people who have problems with their sight, but also for people who are using a netbook perhaps or have changed their browser settings. Each browser allows users to set their preferred text size, so you need to check that your website will still be legible if the text size has been doubled and that menus are still usable.

4. Audio content is also available visually (and vice versa)
Surprise, surprise - it's not just those with hearing and sight disabilities that would like alternative content formats. Maybe speakers are broken or a computer doesn't have a sound card, providing a transcript of an interview or subtitles to a video clip can help everyone. Likewise someone with dyslexia may prefer to listen to an interview rather than read it, so either provide an alternative format or ensure that the content can be easily read by screen readers.

It's all about your audience
We could go into much more detail about accessibility (and it may be a future series perhaps!) but this post is intended to highlight 4 of the basic areas that should be considered. Your target audience (for example a non-profit dance group will have a totally different audience to a charity supporting blind people) will determine how far you need to follow the guidelines - just remember it's your audience you need to please!

If you feel there is anything I have missed or should add please comment below, all feedback is welcome and it would be great to make this series a comprehensive information resource.

6 Things to Include on a Charity Website

Last week I blogged about our involvement with the TREAT Trust Wales and decided to write down some tips to help other non-profit organisations make the most of the web.

The first step in any social media/marketing campaign is to make sure that when people get to your website they get the information they need. The following information is what I would expect to find on a charity's website.

1. Tell us about your mission

Tell us what you hope to achieve. What your aims and objectives are and how you intend to fulfil them. It should be short & to the point so that we can pick up the message at a glance.

2. Show us a donate button

The main aim of getting people to your website is generally to donate some money - so make this as easy as possible! Provide a button that will take people directly to a page or website where they can make a donation. Whether you use PayPal buttons or JustGiving, make sure it is easy to find.

3. Tell us how we can help

If donations aren't the only thing you are looking for, make sure to include a section telling us how we can help. Whether volunteering, arranging an event or signing up to easyfundraising, for example, this information should be easy to get to and explanations or 'call to actions' should be included.

4. Show us what will money be used for

This is likely to be included as part of your mission, but it is worth mentioning again! Explain how you intend to use the money raised to reassure supporters that funds will be well spent.

5. Tell us what's going on

Show us that you are an active charity and let us know what you are planning or what you have done. If you are working on a project, let us know about progress, where money is being spent and how people, animals or communities are benefitting. Try to make sure it's kept up to date.

6. Help us stay up to date

Remind supporters how they can stay up to date, whether this is via a newsletter, Twitter or Facebook, and make sure that sign up options are easy and accessible.


There is much more you can add to a charity website, but these are the key points to help reassure and convince supporters that they should help you - and make it quick and simple to do so.

If you run or manage a non-profit website, let me know if you have any comments or questions and I'll do my best to help where I can.

Leave a comment on this post, contact me on Twitter or Facebook.

Don't foget to subscribe to future posts to make sure you don't miss next week's post.

Social Media for Non-Profit Organisations

In June we received a phone call from Melanie Davies of TREAT Trust Wales asking if there was any chance we could help out with their website. Not entirely sure what this would mean we arranged to meet up to find out exactly what they had in mind.

Once we met Mel and her husband Mike, and heard all about the trust and their plans to build a state of the art rehabilitation and therapy centre in Swansea, we were keen to get involved to help raise the profile of this worthy cause.

So, we wrote a proposal outlining changes we could make to the website, including ways that their website could bring in some additional funds, plus suggestions on how to use social networking websites to spread the word and increase awareness. They were delighted with our ideas but weren't sure where to begin. We have so far updated their website, set up a Twitter account and facebook page for them. Helped them sign up to the Amazon associates program and easyfundraising.

It's still early days with TREAT, but already there are people who now know more about the trust than they did last week, and we have already generated additonal cash for the trust.

Unfortunately we can't help every charity or good cause that gets in touch, but we can share some of our ideas with you to help you make the most of your online presence. So on this blog starting next Wednesday we will post some ideas and suggestions on how to improve your website, make use of social networking sites and even generate some cash towards your charity, cause, group, club etc.

If you have a question or topic you'd like us to cover leave a comment on this post and we'll do our best to help. If you do take any of our advice, we'd love to hear from you and feel free to link to your website, twitter account or facebook page.

See you next Wednesday?

Search Engine Update

Due to the lack of blog posting and changes to the website, I was interested to see what effect this would have on our website search engine rankings... so here you are:

web site design swansea from position 51 to 14
website design swansea from 20 to 5 - PAGE 1!
web design swansea from 17 to 16
swansea web design from 37 to 30
web designer swansea from 19 to 16
web development swansea from 13 to 4 - PAGE 1!

So, as long as you have content that is targeted and relevant, and that the site is updated sometimes, you will do well in the search engines.

I am confident that the process could be sped up, but am none-the-less pleased with the results. To prove it is working (because there is no point being on page 1 of Google for phrases no one searched for!) we have had clients who have found us on Google give us a call.

To help improve your search engine rankings give us a call on 01792 222302 to find out how to best improve your website.

How to...Add goals on 43Things

See my previous post regarding 43Things.

As I said that I would add a 'How To' every Friday, I felt it a bit wrong to fall at the first hurdle. So, to get you started on the right track this is a mini guide to 43Things.

Step 1 - Visit www.43things.com

Step 2 - Click 'Sign Up'
It's the big blue button on the home page.

Step 3 - Fill in your details
It's not a big form, just enter your Username, Email, Password and the letters from the box. Click 'Create an account'.

Step 4 - Enter your goals
Simply write your resolution in the text box and click 'I want to do this'.

The website is so easy to use. You can add little diary entries to help you track progress and set reminders.

Complete your Goal
Once you have completed the goal select it and click 'I'm Done'. You get a congratulations message and the chance to help others by writing your story.

Cheer Others
When you find people and goals you want to support you can send them a cheer to help them along. So let us know if you set up an account and we'll come and support you.

Good luck!

Do we need SEO?

Since starting my SEO project I have spent a lot of time searching the web to find out about search engine optimisation, what other people are doing and techniques that work. There is a lot of discussion on the web at the moment about why you don't need SEO. A lot stemming from this post - 7 Reasons Why You Don't Need SEO .

While I disagree with the statement, I agree with everything that is said in the post and I was quite relieved when I realised that the majority of issues highlighted are generally not an issue with websites we design. We build websites with clean and semantic coding that comply to web standards, and are generally search engine friendly.

However, there's only so much we can do and while we can help and advise you throughout, things like writing content is down to you. Especially on a content managed website.

Content & Link Building
To get peole to link to your website for authentic 'link building', you need to start giving people good content. This is why people and companies blog, why How To guides are popping up everywhere and why company sites are containing more news and useful information rather than just promoting their products. Link building can also get a bit out of hand. It only works if the links to and from your site are relevant, they need to make sense and be useful to your users.

How do you feel when you read content that doesn't really make sense because it's just been crammed full of keywords? If your content is well written, and gives people the information they need the keywords will be there, userswill visit AND STAY on your site and other websites will link to you. It's all very logical really.

And the answer is...
I think we need SEO, but you shouldn't necessarily be paying through the nose for it. If you have had a website for a few years the chances are you may have just missed out on the SEO wave and your site may not be best optimised. Although if your site is more than a few years old it may well be time for a change anyway....

How to... use Twitter

You may have noticed a block on the right hand side of the main website titled 'Twitter Updates'. For those of you that don't know, Twitter is a micro-blogging tool. It gives you 140 characters to tell people what you are doing, what you're looking at, how you're feeling, what you're thinking about. It's a quick and easy way to update your site and keep people informed without having to write whole blog posts.

Follow and be Followed
Once you have set up your account with Twitter you can find and follow people - your friends and family, companies (for example Firebox are on Twitter) or people you're interested in. You can even send direct messages.

What are the Benefits?
These are the benefits according to me...feel free to Tweet or blog others.

• It's easy to do
• It eases you into blogging and the mentality behind it
• You're likely to find some interesting people, websites and blogs
• It's fun (really, I enjoy tweeting!)
• It's a great way to promote new services, products and events
• You can add a feed to your site so it's always getting updated

Step 1 - Sign Up
First of all you need to set up a Twitter Account so go to http://twitter.com/ and click 'Join the Conversation'. Simply fill in your details and off to go!

Step 2 - Your first Tweet
Now the pressure is on - what will be your first tweet? Tell people why you have started, tell them what you are thinking RIGHT NOW, tell them what you had for dinner. The more interesting the better. Maybe you want a theme for your tweets? I have found a guy that tweets everything he has to eat, for Picseli it's all about the company and what we are up to.

Step 3 - Find some Friends
It can take time to get a huge following on Twitter, but so that people can find you - you need to find people. So look up your friends or send them an email, go to http://search.twitter.com/ and search for people tweeting similar things to you then follow them.

Step 4 - Keep it up
So that people who find you want to follow, you need to make sure you keep tweeting! If you have decided on a theme - stick to it. Why not provide links to useful blog posts you've found? If you have decided to set up a feed on your website there is nothing worse than it showing your last tweet was months ago!

As a first step why not follow Picseli?

ADDED 27/11/2008:
A great list of ways to use Twitter can be found here http://www.doshdosh.com/ways-you-can-use-twitter/

Quick SEO Update

I am not the most patient of people when it comes to seeing results and thought I would check today to see whether the changes I have made to the website have made a difference. In many cases the results have improved by up to 2 pages!

web site design swansea from position 194 to 173
website design swansea from position 161 to 154
web design swansea from position 176 to 157
swansea web design from position 179 to 172

I know that the results do fluctuate regularly based on everyone else's changes and Google's feelings, but I was pleased to see that we are progressing.

Keywords

Having done some research into what Google users search for I will focus my SEO efforts on 'web site design swansea' - wish me luck!


The whole Picseli site has now been indexed in Google, so this is a good time to start a concentrated effort to get the site well ranked.

Current Position

According to http://www.mynameissteve.com/google-page-rank picseli.co.uk currently ranks at position 175 (page 18) in Google for 'web site design swansea'. However when I did the search myself found us at position 202 (page 21).


For 'website design swansea' we can be found on page 17 (position 161) and for 'web design swansea' we're on page 18 (position 179). Not bad as a starting point, but still plenty of opportunity to improve.

Beat the Credit Crunch

This is a difficult time for everyone (and probably not an ideal time to be starting a new web company) but it has happened before and people have survived. BSS did, for example. It was hard, and redundancies were made, but BSS is still going strong and believes they will get through this one too. To do this they have put a lot of time and effort into marketing as they strongly believe they can help others get through it!

Online marketing is the way forward
One of the cheapest ways of marketing is online, via your own website. Obviously BSS is lucky, having it’s own web department to handle it, but there are steps you can take to help you along.

How do you compare?
The Internet is the first place many people look for a new product or service as they can easily compare a lot of companies and products before making their decision. So what you need to ask yourself is – does your website offer people enough information to properly compare you and your competitors? If not, then the chances are they are using your competitors.

Improve your site
Over the next few weeks I will be sharing with you some of the things BSS has done (and Picseli will be doing) to improve our websites and promote ourselves.

Proof is in the search engines
Picseli is a brand new website, the first content was uploaded on 21st October 2008. So this is a clean slate and it is my job to make sure the website is found in search engines and I will share some of my tips with you. This website will be my proof to you that the work we do does make a difference.

Need a hand?
However, if you are keen to get your website up to scratch please give us a ring now on 08702 402777 or email Rhian@picseli.co.uk to arrange for a website health check to find out what your website could be doing better!