The Savvy Book Marketer

Twitterquette: 5 Tips For Getting The Most Out of Twitter

 

In today's guest post, novelist Linda Poitevin shares some great advice for using Twitter in book promotion. 

Twitterquette: 5 Tips For Getting The Most Out of Twitter

Ah, Twitter. Even if you haven’t yet succumbed to its potential marketing lure, you’re probably at least familiar with this rapidly growing social media platform. With roughly 555 million active users—and another 135,000 jumping on board every day (source: Statisticbrain.com)—it’s a difficult platform for authors to ignore.

Just as with any other social medium, however, your success on Twitter will very much depend on how well you use it. And sadly, many authors aren’t using it at all well. Rather, they’re committing the kinds of faux pas that cost them dearly: in followers, in sales, and in just plain goodwill. These authors are oftentimes the same ones who complain that Twitter does nothing for their sales, claiming it doesn’t work, telling others not to bother, and abandoning the platform altogether.

In my experience, however (gained over almost three years of trial and error), the exact opposite is true: used properly, Twitter can be an effective part of your marketing strategy. And much of your success with it will be rooted in basic etiquette.

1.  Your profile: It’s fine to include something about your work, but your profile shouldn’t be just about that. Followers want to know something about the person behind the work. My own profile reads like this: Author of The Grigori Legacy, where police procedural meets angel mythology. Wife, mother, gardener, coffee snob. Twisted sense of humor. Prone to random tweets. As you can see, I identify my work, but then I tell people about who I am…and I guarantee I get just as many followers (if not more) because of my twisted sense of humor, coffee addiction, and random tweets asI do because of my career path. Have fun with your profile and make it unique. Then, before you post it, put yourself in a potential follower’s shoes and answer this question honestly: would you be someone you wanted to follow?

Oh, and please don’t include buy links to your book(s)! The only link that should be in your profile is one to either your website or your blog—anything more screams “sales pitch” and will turn off potential followers.

Why Google Plus is Essential for Authors

by Dana Lynn Smith

I can just hear some of you saying “not another social network to keep up with!” Bear with me while I explain what’s different about Google Plus and why authors need to use it.

Google Plus combines many of the features of Facebook (personal profiles, business pages, groups/communities) and Twitter (add people to lists called “circles” and follow them). An additional feature with potential for authors is “hangouts” where you can do live video chats.

More importantly, data from Google Plus is being integrated into Google’s search engine, which means that your activity there could have an influence on the amount of traffic that flows to your website through search results. Google Plus pages are even showing up in search results, so remember to make your profile keyword rich.

Learn More About Google Plus for Authors

Why Google+ Will be Critical for Your Blog’s Success in 2013, an excellent article by Larry Deane, explains the importance of Google Plus in more detail.

10 Steps to Developing A Niche Following on Google Plus by Amanda Blain has some great tips for growing your influence.

Are you already using Google Plus? Think about how you can enhance your profile and gain more from the site. If not, get started today!

And I invite you to connect with me on Google+.

Hashtags on Twitter - How to Create Your Own

Using hashtags on Twitter is a great way to find people to follow, contribute to conversations that appeal to the interests of your target readers, and attract people to your tweets.

For example, I can search on Twitter to find out who’s tweeting about #BookMarketing, and I can include that hashtag in my own tweets to attract followers.

In today’s guest post, Sue Collier shares her tips for creating hashtags in Twitter. Be sure to click through to her terrific list of hashtags commonly used by authors.

Hashtags on Twitter - How to Create Your Own

Twitter hashtags (#) are used to categorize tweets according to subject matter. If you attach relevant hashtags to them, your tweets are more readily found by others interested in your subject matter. This gives you a better chance to increase your followers and it makes it easier to interact with other “tweeps.”

I’ve compiled a list of hashtags that pertain to writers, authors, and self-publishers. But what if you want to create your own? There are no specific rules in place for doing so, so here are some tips.

Make it short. Since each Tweet is limited to 140 characters, your hashtag should take up as little of that as possible. Try to keep your hashtag to 10 characters or less.

What's the Best Way for Authors to Use Twitter?

by Dana Lynn Smith

Twitter can be a great networking tool, but many authors wonder about the most effective ways to use it. Here are some common questions:

How often should I tweet?

It's best to post several tweets a day, but it is hard to say what is the optimum frequency. Personally, I would like to post 5 to 10 times a day. Some people post several times an hour and repeat the same posts frequently, but that takes a lot of time and it may annoy your followers. And it's not a good idea to post unless you have something interesting to say.

As each new tweet appears at the top of people's home page, it pushes the earlier ones down a notch. Most people probably don't read beyond the first page when they log onto Twitter. If you make several posts at once, they will all be bunched together on your follower's screen. But if that person doesn't happen to be on Twitter at that time, they might not see any of your tweets if they have already been pushed beyond the first page. If you make several posts spaced out during the day, it's more likely that one or more of them will be seen.

You can save time by using a scheduling service such as HootSuite (the service I use) or SocialOomph (formerly TweetLater) to pre-schedule your posts on Twitter and other social networks. HootSuite is free but you can pay a modest monthly fee to be able to upload pre-scheduled tweets in a spreadsheet.

What can authors tweet about?

Most of your tweets should be about sharing and interacting with others, but it’s fine to make occasional promotional posts. Here are 7 ideas for tweeting:

Book Marketing Roundup

Welcome to my roundup of book marketing tips and resources for authors and indie publishers. 

Ebooks in Libraries

When marketing guru and bestselling author Seth Godin was asked about big publishers' reluctance to sell ebooks to libraries in a recent online interview, here's what he had to say:

"Libraries are like the radio for books. Not a money-maker for all, but a great way to spread an idea. I don’t think you can find a single author who suffered any damage at all because too many people took his book out of the library. Ebooks for libraries need to be tweaked, not killed."

Big Changes Coming to Facebook

The new "timeline" design for Facebook profiles will become mandatory on March 21 and the new fan page design goes into effect on March 30. You can upload a "cover" image for the top of the profile and page. It can be a photo or a graphic you create. It's best to make the image 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels high; otherwise Facebook will try to enlarge or crop it. Learn about timeline here and about pages here. Below is a screenshot of my new Facebook profile. Facebook will automatically insert your profile photo in the lower left corner.

Publishing News

Here are some articles of interest to authors:

BISG Report: Book Purchases Up, But Not from Bookstores 

Why I Joined Google+ Over My Dead Body by Sandra Beckwith, Build Book Buzz 

How Ebooks Made Reading Sexy Again, The Telegraph

Barnes & Noble Misses Estimates, Though In-Store Sales Rise Slightly

That's all the news for now. Here's to your publishing success!

5 Strategies for Marketing Children’s Books on Facebook

In today's guest post, Jo Ann Kairys shares some terrific tips for using Facebook to promote children's books. This post is part of the virtual book tour for her book, Sunbelievable.

I resisted Facebook (FB) for too long. But, the sudden shift from children’s book author to entrepreneur/marketer forced me to pay attention. Now, FB is my favorite marketing tool! I love the opportunity to share my commitment to children’s reading and literacy, connect with other authors, and maximize exposure to my book's target audience.

While FB can be daunting—because what I really want to do is write—I’ve narrowed down my FB marketing to these 5 strategies:

1.  Create a unique FB profile/timeline that reflects who you are. The timeline banner allows you to design creative, inviting headlines that showcase your work, highlight your story and brand your author personality. Make it an appealing display that invites guests into your world. You can change the banner any time—keep it fresh and imaginative with new images and updated profile photos. To set up a timeline, visit Facebook’s Timeline page. If you don’t have time to start from scratch, here’s a simple app that walks you through the process.

2.  Create a FB Fan Page. This is one of the best ways to reach your targeted children’s book audience. The name (title) of your Page is very important. Are you best known for your author name or your book name(s)? As a new author, I chose to create one Fan Page for my company, and one for events. Books have a life cycle that tapers off over time, so it may prove more valuable to brand yourself by author name or company. For instructions on setting up a Page, go here.  A simple tip is to create a vanity URL that shortens the Page name for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and visibility.

3.  Connect with FB children’s book authors and groups. In just the past year, I’ve seen tremendous growth in FB-based children’s book projects that invite participation. For example: Picture Book Month, Picture Book Idea Month, 12 x 12 in 2012. Also take a look at Read Across America, Reading is Fundamental, Children’s Book Insider and Collaboration Space for Inspired Children’s Book Authors and Illustrators. I’m not endorsing particular FB sites, but am pointing out some authors’ marketing initiatives that have garnered positive attention from authors, parents, schools, and media around the world. It’s fun to comment and join the conversation.

4. Focus on engagement. Fill your posts with compelling data, news, and resources to build credibility in that arena—for example, children’s literacy or reading tips for parents. There’s a universe of mommy bloggers and daddy bloggers on FB interested in your content: the Mom Bloggers Club and Read Aloud Dad , to name a few. A fill-in-the blank question at the beginning of posts is a popular way to engage fans. “Your favorite children’s book is ___________.” Encourage comments and reply quickly (within one hour is best). Make it easy for people to get in touch with you by using a contact form. FB’s ContactMe app is easy to customize and install.

5. Aim for consistent, proactive growth. “Likes” help build fans, and promotions are an optimal way to encourage them. Children’s authors frequently offer FB book giveaways as a way to grow their fan base. For example, “From now until date one person will win a free name of book for simply “liking my Facebook Page.” Place such a comment on your website and FB Timeline. Surprise your fans with occasional “off topic” posts, and offer generous thanks for readers’ comments. Check your Page’s Insights metrics. I always see a spike in reader activity when I begin posts with exaggerated nouns and verbs, as in, “I’m so excited to share this good news!”

I love the way FB helps me network and grow meaningful connections. It’s a great way to share your story, and isn’t that what authors do best?

About the Author

Jo Ann Kairys is co-author and co-illustrator of Sunbelievable, a children's picture book and Mom’s Choice 2012 Gold Medal winner. After a successful career as a published author in the medical field, she now loves writing for young readers. Through storytelling, she hopes to promote literacy and a lifelong love of books.

Pinterest – The Hottest New Social Site

Everyone's buzzing about Pinterest, a rapidly growing social site that's all about creating and sharing collections of images (photos or illustrations) that you find around the Web or create yourself.

Pinterest calls itself a “Virtual Pin Board’ and members can use it to share their favorite artwork and books, organize recipes, plan weddings, post travel photos, and more.

The site is basically a giant online bulletin board that people pin images to. As a user, you create "boards" geared to different topics or interests.

As you're cruising around the Web, you see an image that you'd like to share with others and you "pin" it to one of your "boards."  When someone clicks on the image, they can be directed back to the website that the image came from. You can also upload images from your computer.

You can post images related to your personal interests or hobbies, as well as images related to your book. You can also "follow" other people or boards, "like" or comment on images, and "re-pin" other images on the site to your own boards. 

To the left is an example of a book cover that someone posted on a board called "Must Reads". You can see that it has attracted 218 likes and 113 comments, and it's been re-pinned 5,393 times.

Pinterest can be integrated into your Facebook timeline, and you can add a “Follow Me on Pinterest” button on your website and cross promote the site through your other social networks.

After an incredible growth spurt in late 2011, Pinterest is now attracting nearly 12 million monthly unique visitors and generating a lot of buzz. Shareaholic recently reported that Pinterest is driving more referral traffic to websites than Google Plus, LinkedIn and YouTube combined. (Referral traffic is defined as visitors who land on a website through a link from another website.)

Naturally, many businesses are taking advantage of this new way to promote their brand and their products visually. But it's easy for authors and other entrepreneurs to get caught up in "shiny object syndrome," chasing after each new thing that comes along and losing focus on what's most important in their business.

Should you join Pinterest? Here are some things to consider:

• How well does your book topic lend itself to sharing relevant images? Travel guides, cookbooks, and gardening books would be a natural, but authors in many other topics can probably find relevant images to share. Novelists could share images related to the storyline or setting of their book. Children's authors can share images from their books. All authors can share their book covers and images from their blog posts.

• Is Pinterest a good use of your time? The good news is that Pinterest doesn't require as much time as other social sites like Facebook. 

• Is Pinterest something that you would enjoy doing for fun, to share images with friends and family or others you meet on the site? I have found that people pin a lot of beautiful artwork and photos and it's fun to browse the site.

If you think you may want to use Pinterest, I recommend signing up right away so that you can secure the user name of your choice.

Right now, you have to be "invited" to join Pinterest. You can ask someone who's already a member to send you an invitation, or click the red "Request an Invite" button at www.Pinterest.com.

To help you get up to speed fast, I have created the Pinterest Guide for Authors. This 35-page ebook contains numerous screenshots, so it's a quick and easy read.

Do Your Tweets Have Enough Klout?

In today's guest post, author and book marketing expert Steven Lewis explains how to use Klout to enhance the effectiveness of Twitter as a promotional tool.

Do Your Tweets Have Enough Klout?

by Steven Lewis

Twitter could be a significant source of traffic to your website but how do you know if you're using it right?

I joined Twitter when it launched in 2006 and I lasted about a week. It just wasn't obvious what it was for — I didn't know anyone who used Twitter and I didn't know how to find people interested in the same things I was. What's the point in a telephone if you don't know anyone else who has one? It wasn't until the third time I joined (January 2008 to be precise) that I "got" Twitter and I'm glad I did: Twitter is now the second biggest source of traffic to my blog after Google. It's important to me, therefore, to be tweeting as effectively as possible. That's where Klout comes in.

Klout is a free web service that uses several metrics to measure your "influence" in Twitter. I might have 6,000 followers on Twitter but that doesn't matter if those followers never mention me or retweet (forward) what I say. Klout measures your influence by looking at your:

"True reach": how many of your followers are actually engaging with your tweets.

"Amplification": how likely your followers are to respond to you

"Network influence": how influential your network is — being retweeted by someone with 20 followers is less impactful than being retweeted by someone with 10,000 followers who pay close attention to them

You get individual scores for all these metrics and an overall score out of 100.

Top 10 Ways to Promote Your Facebook Page

Social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter can be effective tools for building an author platform, making valuable connections and promoting books. In today's guest post, book marketing guru John Kremer shares some terrific tips for getting more "likes" on your Facebook page.

Top 10 Ways to Promote Your Facebook Page

by John Kremer

A prominent Facebook page can be crucial to your book marketing and book promotion campaigns. If you want your Facebook fan page to be effective and stand out, you have to get people to find and like your page. Here are 10 ways to promote your Facebook page.

1.  Customize your Facebook page URL.

I was surprised to find a Facebook page with more than 45,000 fans – and yet no vanity URL. Vanity URLs make your Facebook page much easier to remember – both for you and your potential fans. For example, my book author page is http://www.facebook.com/thejohnkremer.

You can set up a vanity username by going to http://www.facebook.com/username.

2. Put your Facebook page URL in your email signature.

Now this is pretty obvious. You already put your website or blog in your email signature. Now add your Twitter profile and Facebook page (one or all of them, if you have more than one Facebook page).

3. Write a blog post about your new Facebook page.

Give people reasons to like your Facebook page. Make a list of 5 to 7 reasons on how they will benefit by liking your page.

4.  Tag other people’s high-traffic Facebook pages in your updates.

Hitch your wagon to a star. Refer to, tag, and link to other Facebook pages, especially those with tons of fans or those targeted to your interests or Facebook page focus. Their fans will often come back to check out your page.

5 Steps to Adding Social Follow Buttons to Your Website

You may have noticed the social follow buttons at the top of this blog's sidebar. Clicking on the first button takes visitors to the signup page for my blog's RSS feed. The others link to my pages on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn and Goodreads. Soon I will be adding two new buttons to link to my YouTube channel and my podcast. Below are some tips for adding similar buttons to your own blog or website.

1. Search online for the button images that you want to use. Although you should not use illustrations without the permission of the artist, these particular buttons are so widely used that I don't know of any way to determine who the original artist is. You may need to resize the buttons to fit in the space you have. My buttons are about 40 pixels square. I use the free Microsoft Office Picture Manager that came on my computer to resize images.

2. Upload your button images to your blog or website server. The images need to be stored somewhere online so that you can link to them.

3. Locate the URL for each of the social sites that you want to link to, such as your Facebook page, LinkedIn profile, etc.

4. Use the following HTML code to create a link for each button:

<a href="LINKURL" target="_blank"><img src="IMAGEURL "></a>

Replace "LINKURL" with the URL of the web page that you want to link to. Replace "IMAGEURL" with the URL of the place where your image is stored. Be careful not to alter the code or add additional spaces. Here's an example for my first button:

<a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BookMarketingMaven" target="_blank"><img src="https://bookmarketingmaven.typepad.com/Feed40.png "></a>

Because I wanted three buttons on each row, I placed a <br> line break code after the code for the third button, to force the fourth button to the next line.

You may find it easier to write your code in Word, but I recommend copying it to a text editor like Notepad before pasting it to your website.

5. Place the HTML code on your website where you want the buttons to appear. To place the buttons in the sidebar of a blog, you will paste the code into a blank widget (called a "typelist" on Typepad). I added a line of text (Follow the Savvy Book Marketer) just above my button code.

Next, place the widget in your sidebar where you want it to appear. I put my buttons at the very top of my sidebar so they are immediately visible. I also include text links to each of my social networks beneath my photo, lower down in the sidebar.

Social Sharing Buttons

As you can see, beneath the social follow buttons at the top of my sidebar there are some "social sharing" links that allow visitors to recommend my site to their social networks. There's also a Facebook "like" box farther down my sidebar, and Facebook "comments" features at the bottom of some of my blog posts.

In the August 23 issue of the Savvy Book Marketing newsletter, I am featuring an in-depth article on how to install these social sharing buttons. If you're not already getting the newsletter, subscribe today and you'll also get a copy of my free Top Book Marketing Tips ebook.

Are You Making These 10 Mistakes on Facebook?

Some authors try sites like Facebook for a while and then conclude that social networking doesn't work as a promotional tool. The keys to successful book promotion on Facebook are to learn how to use the site effectively and to stay with it over the long term.

Here are some common mistakes that you may be making on Facebook, along with tips on how to avoid them.

1. Failing to showcase (or even mention) your books on the Facebook profile.

I am amazed at how many authors don't even mention their books on their Facebook profile. Be sure to include a description of your books in the "About You" section, which is on the Info screen of your profile.

Another good strategy is to call yourself an author in the current job title that you list in the Employers section of the profile, then list your business name or book name as your current employer. Both your job title and employer name show up at the very top of your profile, which gives you great visibility.

2. Forgetting to add website and social network links to the profile.

Be sure to link to your website, Amazon sales page, Facebook Fan Page, and other social network accounts in the About You area and also in the Contact Information area.

3. Being too promotional or pushy.

If you're too passive, you probably won't get much benefit from social networks like Facebook. If you are too aggressive, you may turn people off. No one wants to read a constant stream of "buy my book" messages, and it's not a good idea to post blatant promotional messages on other people's profiles and pages. Find a balance where you can actively network and share news and information about your book and your business, without being annoying.

4. Sending blank friend requests with no introduction.

It's good manners to introduce yourself when sending friend requests to people you don't know, and to greet people that you already know. Click the "add a personal message" link on the friend request screen, say hello, and mention why you want to connect.

5. Failing to set up a Fan Page to promote your books or business.

Many Facebook users still rely on adding friends and networking through their personal profile. But the Fan Page is more suited to business use and Facebook users are getting more used to "liking" and interacting with Fan Pages.

How the "New" Facebook Affects Authors

Networking on social sites like Facebook is one of the best ways to promote your book and yourself online. If you're already a Facebook user, you have probably noticed that they have made a lot of changes to the site recently, including:

• Removing the information box beneath the photo on the Profile, which was a great spot for highlighting books.

• Completely revamping the Profile and Fan Page, including adding a personal summary and photo strip to the top of the page, redesigning the Info screen, and moving the tabs to the left column.

• Changing the way that custom content is created for Fan Pages.

• Changing the structure of the News Feed, making it more difficult for your posts to be seen by all of your friends and fans.

• Changing the structure and functionality of newly created Facebook Groups.

• Displaying more ads on the site.

• Changing the Privacy Settings.

It can be confusing to navigate all of these changes and to figure out the best ways to get maximum exposure for yourself and your book on Facebook.

In the completely revised third edition of my Facebook Guide for Authors, you'll find detailed step-by-step instructions for getting the most promotional value from the "new" Facebook, whether you're a newbie or a longtime Facebook user.

Why Your Facebook Friends May Not See Your Updates and What To Do About It

Spread the Word About the "New" Facebook News Feed

The Facebook News Feed, in the center column of the Home page, is where you see the posts of people, pages and groups that you follow on Facebook.

Many Facebook users are unaware that there are actually two feeds now, one labeled Top News and one labeled Most Recent. You'll see a link to both feeds on the upper right side of the News Feed.

By default, the Top News screen is visible when you visit your News Feed. This screen shows the "most popular" posts, meaning the ones that are getting the most "likes" and comments.

The Most Recent feed shows the most recent posts from your friends (rather than the most popular ones), but there are actually several options for viewing that feed. If you click on the Most Recent link, then select Edit Options, you will find two choices:

• Friends and pages you interact with most

• All of your friends and pages

On this drop-down menu, you can even select what sort of content you'd like to view, such as status updates or photos, or view the posts from friends that you have assigned to lists.

Savvy Tip: If you click on the Most Recent link, you "should" land on that screen the next time you return to your Home page.

What many Facebook users don't realize is that because of these various News Feed options, not all of their friends and followers will be able to see the posts that they make on Facebook.  Here are a few ways to increase the odds of your posts getting into the Top News screen and also getting noticed in the News Feed:

Create Custom Facebook Content with iFrames

Did you know that you can display custom content on your Facebook Fan Page, featuring images, text, videos, sign-up forms for opt-in mailing lists, and more? You can even offer exclusive content to people who “like” your Page.

Facebook is phasing out FBML and switching to iFrames as the coding language for creating customized content on Fan Pages. If you have already installed the Static FBML app on your Page, you can continue to use it until Facebook decides otherwise, but you may want to explore switching to iFrames.

Most authors will need to use a third-party application or hire a web designer to help them create custom content with iFrames. A number of developers are creating products and services to meet this need. Some, such as Fan Page Engine are packaged templates, while others offer more customized solutions.

The developers who created the Static FBML app have already created a free app called Static HTML: iframe tabs. This application works in a similar way to the old Static FBML app – just install the app and then enter the HTML code to create your content. If you’re not skilled with HTML, try creating a page on your own website or blog and then copy and paste the code into this application.

Another option is the iFrames for Pages application from Wildfire. Learn more about this app (be sure to read the comments on that article if you have any problems installing the app) and then install the app. Using this application, you can choose to upload an image to display on your Page or enter HTML code. As of this writing, the iFrames for Pages application is free and the developers say that users who install it while it's free will not have to pay later.

Both of these applications include Fan Gate functionality, which encourages people to "like" your page by displaying premium content to fans and displaying a promotional message to non-fans. For example, you can create a welcome screen that invites visitors to "like" your page and receive an instructional video or free ebook. Once they click the “like” link, they will be taken to another page where they can download their free bonus.

If you have created any custom content for your own Facebook Fan Page, please share a link the comments section below and let us know what application or program you used.

Use Twitter Replies the Right Way

I have noticed that many Twitter users don't fully understand the Reply function. In this screenshot you can see the Retweet and Reply buttons that appear beneath each tweet:

When you click the Reply button, it opens a blank message addressed to the person you are replying to.

Replies are a great way to interact with other people on Twitter, but I see a lot of replies that say things like "Excellent point!" When making a reply, it's best to reference the post you are commenting on and to make a comment that invites a response. The recipent of your reply can see the entire conversation thread by clicking on the bubble icon in the upper right side of the message.

A common mistake is using the Reply function to share a tweet with your followers. If you use the Reply button (or post any message that begins with someone’s Twitter user name) that tweet will only be visible to people who are following BOTH of you. Here’s an example:

@TonyEldridge Should You Mention Your Competition In Your Marketing Message? http://dld.bz/35Qs

If I want this message to go out to all of my followers, I need to use the Retweet button or manually type RT in front of the message, so it looks like this:

RT @TonyEldridge Should You Mention Your Competition In Your Marketing Message? http://dld.bz/35Qs

Rather than Retweeting, I often copy and paste the message and then acknowledge the original poster at the end of the message, like this:

Should You Mention Your Competition In Your Marketing Message? http://dld.bz/35Qs via @TonyEldridge

Using someone’s user name anywhere in the message, other than at the beginning, is referred to as a Mention. The Mention will be visible to all of your followers and it will show up in the other person’s @Mentions mailbox on Twitter. Replies also appear in the @Mentions mailbox.

Excerpted from Twitter Guide for Authors. For more book marketing tips, follow The Savvy Book Marketer @BookMarketer on Twitter.