Twitter’s not as pointless as you thought it was
May 14th, 2010
Lots of people are on Twitter, but many people I talk to in business aren’t fully convinced yet. I understand. When I first heard about Twitter, admittedly, I thought, “What is the point of that? Can’t you do the same thing on Facebook?”. I was very cynical about the whole thing. To me, it seemed like yet another venue for self-indulgent people to post self-indulgent things. And it is, in part. Twitter has become something more. I have grown to love it, and I recommend that people, especially in business, use it.
Making Connections
The cool thing, for me, about Twitter is the connections that I’ve been able to make with people in the design industry. These relationships have been really helpful and inspiring. I may not have made those connections had I not followed them on Twitter and dialogued with them. I’ve also made some great connections with people in related industries that have led to business opportunities. Twitter is great because of its conversational qualities. People expect you to be engaged and reply to their Tweets. This opens the door wide open with opportunities to expand your network and build relationships. Obviously spamming is not cool. Unsolicited DM’s or @mentions are just as annoying as spam emails. Just remember the golden rule when Tweeting, and you should be fine.
People expect you to be engaged and reply to their Tweets. This opens the door wide open with opportunities to expand your network and build relationships.
Great Content
This is one of my favorite things about Twitter. I have come accross some of the most usefull and interesting blogs, articles, and resources through people I follow on twitter. The chances of me finding this great content on my own are slim. There is so much information on the internet having this kind of network of content gatherers is priceless. Usually you follow people with general interests as yourself, so, usually what the link to is useful to you as well.
Marketing
Twitter won’t work miracles, but if your not using it, I think you could be missing some opportunities. There are lots of “eyeballs” on Twitter, looking for what you offer. Having a presence on Twitter can only have a positive effect on your business marketing strategy. What’s better is that it’s free! But be careful that you’re not just Tweeting about special offers and events related to your business. It’s a good idea to post links to industry related content, or just things that you think your followers would find interesting. When someone is constantly selling, it gets annoying. The Golden Rule applies here too.
If you haven’t tried Twitter yet, give it a shot. Give it some time. Be engaged. I think you will like the results.
Resources:
Sign up! Get tweeting!
Hootsuite
My favorite Twitter client. Schedule tweets, view stats, and multiple columns. Nice little owl mascot too!
Tweetdeck
Another great Twitter client. The iPhone app is nice.
Twhirl
Another popular client
Big list of Twitter clients
Show Some Love
This entry was posted on Friday, May 14th, 2010 at 3:45 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
One Response to “Twitter’s not as pointless as you thought it was”
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Twitter is awesome! It’s helped me in so many ways. Like you mentioned, great content is constantly being shared on Twitter. And I’ve made connections with many incredible people through Twitter.