If you're not, you're probably making a huge mistake.
Twitter, in case you're not aware, is a service where people post up to 140 character updates on topics of interest to them. Those updates go out to the people who have chosen to "follow" them.
In essence, Twitter is a place where you build an audience of people who have similar interests to yours, then communicate quickly and efficiently with them.
It's taking the world by storm, growing at phenomenal rates, and more importantly, becoming a key communications element in the lives of many.
I have to admit, when I first looked at Twitter, I didn't get it. I saw a bunch of people there cheerfully announcing that they were going to eat lunch, that they were having a great day, and that they had just broken up with their boyfriends. There was no way I was going to join any service that helped me to more efficiently waste time, even if it didn't cost me anything.
But my attitude, and the world of Twitter has now totally changed.
Literally, it's a place to build a following and to proactively build and manage the conversations in which I'm involved.
And, it works with the media too. I've had a number of media contacts who have initially contacted me, started discussions, and even fact checked using Twitter.
Here are some tips to effectively use Twitter to build your business.
- Decide what areas you want to be seen as an expert on in Twitter, then post primarily (solely?) about those topics
- Regularly post thoughts, opinions, facts, and links to articles written by others on those topics.
- Don't fall into the trap of talking about stuff that people don't care about. Sharing details about your personal life and activities limits your audience.
- Be interesting, scintillating is even better!
- Search for and follow the top leaders in your areas of interest. You'll see what they're posting about, and it will start to build your audience.
- Post regularly, at least daily. Hey, it's only 140 characters! You can do this! Start today, even if you only have 5 people following you.
- Regularly invite people already associated with you to follow you on Twitter. Put it in your newsletter, on your website, on your blog, on your business cards, in your email footer, etc.
- Fill out your Twitter profile to let people know who you are and what you do. They oftentimes will use the content of your profile to determine whether they should follow you or not.
