OK, I've joined Twitter, now what?

[IainW]

How do people find me?
If they want a holiday, how do I come up?

I have gone on other peoples updates and just don't get it? some updates are a few words long and mean nothing, how do I read what they are replying too?

I must be getting old - It seems pointless to me. How can I maximise Twitter to my benefit?

Iain

 

[sm1]

I think the fundamental concept is that you follow people and then they follow you. Once you have a decent amount of followers, when you broadcast your messages, they will see and may respond.

Cheers

 

[downsouth]

cant really see any business value in it. Hardy likely to be a place were 100's of followers flock to your business

Almost like a poor mans facebook status update

Overall not a fan

 

[IainW]

I think the fundamental concept is that you follow people and then they follow you. Once you have a decent amount of followers, when you broadcast your messages, they will see and may respond.

Cheers

How do I find people that may interest me?

Is there a place where you search? is this it?
http://twitter.com/invitations/find_on_twitter

I want to follow people in my line of business, how do i find them?

Iain

 

[faststaff]

It takes VERY little time to use (unless you get "addicted") and who knows what it can bring. For example, I've just tweeted a link to my blog, which is brand new. It was actually a post requesting used stamps and inkjets etc, so nothing really to do with my business. Now, I have only 16 people following me, but I asked them to RETWEET (send on to their contacts), and I've had 20 hits to the blog in about 20 minutes!

You can see my page at @uwdc

 

[sm1]

Sorry Iain, I don't actually use it myself, so not too sure how it works in detail.

Cheers

 

[IainW]

It takes VERY little time to use (unless you get "addicted") and who knows what it can bring. For example, I've just tweeted a link to my blog, which is brand new. It was actually a post requesting used stamps and inkjets etc, so nothing really to do with my business. Now, I have only 16 people following me, but I asked them to RETWEET (send on to their contacts), and I've had 20 hits to the blog in about 20 minutes!

You can see my page at @uwdc

Ok, I've just found the search facility.

You say you have 16 people follow you, how do they find you and why do they choose to follow you?
I saw that one bloke has 26000 followers, why? and does that mean everytime he updates, the 26000 get notified?

 

[newsvend]

If you are just posting product announcements etc you will have a hard time recruiting people. People like to see there is a human being there not a consummate salesperson or automaton.

For best results, use in conjunction with your company blog or newsfeed. Write an interesting story on your blog, then summarise it in less than 140 characters including the link back to your blog.

Use tinyurl.com or similar to shorten your blog urls.

 

[IainW]

You can see my page at @uwdc

Ok, I have seen your page - a picture plus different text posts underneath that mean nothing, so what am i missing?

How do i read all of your updates? or can't I?
when i read the text's underneath you pic it just doesn't make sense.

am i missing the point?

 

[Esk247]

i joined a few days ago...totally pointless in my opinion..the big names on their 'appear' to be total fake accounts and i cannot find anyone of any real substance..i've got 3 followers but alas they are just celeb lookalikes e.g. alan sugar...not real, it says in their description...therefore...rubbish in my opinion but i'm open to suggestions.

 

[debbidoo]

Ok, I've just found the search facility.

You say you have 16 people follow you, how do they find you and why do they choose to follow you?
I saw that one bloke has 26000 followers, why? and does that mean everytime he updates, the 26000 get notified?

You make a comment, then someone replies using your username like this: @yourusername. Their followers see your username and are curious, so they check out your profile. You say lots of really interesting things and share lots of useful links, so they think "Hmm he's worth following" and add you to their "following" list

Or, some people will look through someone's "following" list to see if there's anyone interesting worth following. Because you've said lots of interesting, witty things and shared lots of good links, they choose to follow you.

It doesn't happen overnight. It takes quite a lot of hard work to get people following you (unless you're famous). It's like a face-to-face conversation; if you're dull or overly salesy, people don't want to listen to you. But if you show an interest in what other people are saying, and reply to them, you'll start to build up a following.

Stick with it, it's worth it If you'd like an introduction to my contacts just follow me and send me an @ or a direct message and I'll introduce you to them all

 

[GaryMc]

Here is an example of how something like Twitter can be beneficial - but as debbidoo says, you only realise value through putting in some effort

http://www.ion.icaew.com/itcounts/16538

 

[catherinewoods]

I remain sceptical as to Twitter's overall benefits...

... however, the other day I mentioned (in my update) something about profiles I was writing about entrepreneurial women and I got a couple of really good suggestions of people to include.

I suspect the key to a successful Twitter career is to find the right balance between plugging your business, being amusing, interacting with other Twitterers and asking for help (because, y'know, everyone likes to help out).

Here's an article we wrote recently about Twitter's business applications, which you might find useful.

http://www.realbusiness.co.uk/news/...oes-twitter-have-a-business-application.thtml

Regarding finding followers, when I was starting out I did a search for 'entrepreneur'. Other people I've added I've found through the people I already follow. I assume other people do the same with other keywords.

PS You can find us on Twitter here!

http://twitter.com/Real_Business

PSS The one thing I dislike immensely about Twitter are the people who over-Twitter - the ones who post updates every single bloody minute of the day! Agh! I don't care about the chip wrapper you saw when you were on the bus on the way to the gym

(True story, by the way.)

 

[wordsinart]

I'm not sure that I like the concept of strangers following me - would I be like a cult leader or something?

Twitter - pah!
Faceblog - pah!
Bebook - pah!

(by the way, I'm a 46yr old Computer Science geek, and I've never got this whole social networking thing - either on the web or in real life)

I just come on here to be grumpy

 

[accountancyextra]

I'd certainly echo what both Debbidoo and Catherine have said above. It's like any other social media, you get out what you put in.

If you think that you can just go on there, plug your product and loads of people will buy it/ follow you, you'll be dissapointed.

Use it to build realtionships and offer people words of wisdom/ value. You'll then build up a following and that's where the benefits start to kick in.

It's also great for just saying "hi" to people or exchanging a few pleasantries throughout the day. There are quite a few of us UKBF'ers on there now.

Yeah, you've got to wade through the people who constantly post about what they are doing each minute. One guy just posts CD tracks all day. I guess it's what he's listening to at the time

PS, I already follow Debbidoo and have just started following Catherine, now I know she's on there

 

[accountancyextra]

I'm not sure that I like the concept of strangers following me - would I be like a cult leader or something?

Twitter - pah!
Faceblog - pah!
Bebook - pah!

(by the way, I'm a 46yr old Computer Science geek, and I've never got this whole social networking thing - either on the web or in real life)

I just come on here to be grumpy

And what a good job you're making of it

 

[debbidoo]

PS, I already follow Debbidoo and have just started following Catherine, now I know she's on there

Yep, you've inspired me to write a blog post about twitter addiction hehe

I think the business benefits in many respects are quite long tail. I'm chatting with a lovely Australian woman in London, we got chatting on the off-chance and are now planning a little project together. This project is just a bit of fun, but who knows what it might lead to? It might be in 6 months time, or in 2 years, but something might come from it. In the meantime I'm "meeting" some really interesting, fun people, learning all sorts of groovy things, and keeping in touch with people I already knew.

And I also have a live feed of my tweets which updates pretty much in real time on a special page on my website, so who knows, maybe a visitor there will see something I'm tweeting about and it will persuade them to ask for a quote for some work. You just don't know do you? It's all about the potential, and about the communication - and to me, that's really important

 

[Majjie]

I don't really get it either ... but I shall now follow some of you and see how witty you are! There don't seem to be any other kitchen designers tweeting.

I, of course, am not at all witty ... but I feed my tweets onto the front page of my website, which I think gives it a more friendly feel for visitors. (It's a bit amatuerish at the moment - but will look better on my new super duper site in a few weeks time).

And yes - of course they want to know that I've popped out to do some shopping.

Majjie

 

[wordsinart]

But what about us poor chaps who are going to be left behind with everyone having buggered off following others?

I don't have the time to learn to tweek, bebook or faceblog.

I have one daughter to pick up in 20 mins, the other to wait up for until 3 in the morning - when can people like me learn to tweek?

 

[jim_gold]

Yes I agree, you get out what you put in. Although to be honest I haven't seen much come out yet! Chris and I write a kind of personalised company twitter account - www.twitter.com/businessforsale - so feel free to follow us.

If you mention you come from this forum, we'll be more inclined to follow you back. Can't see the point in having a bunch of people following us that seem to have absolutely no interest in what we do, judging by their 'tweets'.

 

[accountancyextra]

Yep, you've inspired me to write a blog post about twitter addiction hehe

Don't forget me when you're rich and famous

 

[wordsinart]

This 'following thing'.....could Mr 'Ready2Mix' of the broken keyboard start following me if I tweetbooked?

That would be freaky

 

[debbidoo]

Yes I agree, you get out what you put in. Although to be honest I haven't seen much come out yet!

yes there's a lot of twaddle there (and I'm probably guilty of a lot of it, I just can't help myself ) but there are some really interesting people too. Some of the people I follow are really interesting, post plenty of good links, give good advice etc.

Don't forget me when you're rich and famous

No worries - as long as you don't mind me blaming you if it all goes belly-up

 

[IainW]

Thanks to everyone for your imput.

I'm now going to get a modern haircut, some modern jeans and then start using Twitter to my advantage. Looking young and trendy at the same time
If you say it's worthwhile then thats what I'll do.

Thanks to debbidoo and catherinewoods, I'll read in a minute what you have written. I'll update some more info after "whatever happened to the likely lads" or maybe i should tell the world I'm about to watch that

cheers
Iain
my twitter thingy is http://twitter.com/WilliamsHoliday

 

[HC-Martin]

You'll pick it up Iain - I'm your first follower (ohh err)!

 

[MGDigital]

OK well I'm diving in here too. Been curious about Twitter for a while now so just set up my account at http://twitter.com/MGDigitalLtd.

I already have Barack Obama as a follower! So if anyone else wants to join the illustrious ranks of my followers then please feel free

 

[debbidoo]

I already have Barack Obama as a follower!

Really sorry to pee on your parade, but I think he uses an auto-follower

I'll pop over and follow you

 

[IainW]

Thanks you Guys,

I've now returned from watching the likely lads so I'll go and start returning the favour.

Merci
Iain

 

[Michelle Carvill]

How do I find people that may interest me?

Is there a place where you search? is this it?
http://twitter.com/invitations/find_on_twitter

I want to follow people in my line of business, how do i find them?

Iain

Hi Iain
There's an application call Twollow http://www.twollow.com or the actual Twitter search has come on leaps and bounds in the last few weeks. If you search on Twitter for keywords - it will bring up who is posting with those words and you can check out and decide whether they are the right people to be following.

If you want to highlight that you are 'tweeting and promote your Twitter handle - then check these out...http://www.carvillonmarketing.com/?page_id=535

Happy tweeting... keep at it and it will all make sense...

 

[annethedonn]

I think it's called twitter as it's for twits lol! I joined and really don't see the point of it. I get invited to far too many of these things. Who's interested in what complete strangers are doing at any given point in time anyway? It's very odd! But then I don't like Facebook or any of those sites so there you go!

 

[SeanandTheBrush]

I think it's called twitter as it's for twits lol! I joined and really don't see the point of it. I get invited to far too many of these things. Who's interested in what complete strangers are doing at any given point in time anyway? It's very odd! But then I don't like Facebook or any of those sites so there you go!

You don't see the point? You have missed out. I think it it sad when people miss out. It is a shame you don't like twitter as I have two great articles that say it can do the world of good.

Twitter is the way forward. It has been said twitter is killing paid email marketing. The reason for this is due to the 'Follow Factor'. People choose to follow you! I have worked with some clients who have a number of followers on twitter. In fact one of my client can put out an offer on twitter and sell out in less than two hours. When they where emailing people less than 20% where being opened.

I am in the process of putting out an eGuide on twitter that will be made FREE to my followers. I also put out a 'Tip Of The Day'. If you want to follow me on twitter you will find me @seanandthebrush.

If your looking for help or advice on twitter, just tweet me.

Thanks

Sean and The Brush

PS. Don't expect me to follow you on twitter, not unless your tweets are some of the best.

 

[BeautyScientist]

Well I got an enquiry about doing some paid work on Twitter while I was reading this topic.

Its probably not much use for flogging products, but it is a good way to get yourself known to people you might not think of contacting or indeed don't even know about.

It is fun too.

 

[jamesbiggin]

I am still not quite getting the Twitter thing, but I am going to persevere with it. I reckon it is a slow burner and you need to give some time to it and allow people to pick up your personality - that way you talk shop or away from work stuff and get something out of both.

My Twitter is steelcitym and I would be more than happy to follow or be followed by UK business people or just people interested.

 

[IainW]

Blimey this post goes back a couple of weeks.

Update from me, I have now grasped Twitter and it brings in 1 client a week and I can keep up-to-date on my related business and personal interests.

A lot of people just talk about their websites and provide links to it - and quite a few of them our from the UKBF, I was under the impression for good social media networking it should be a good balance of personal and business chat - but alas this is not the case in most.

I take the opposite approach and write 70% about me and 30% about work, this seems to bring in sufficient interest in me and my business.

See my SEO & Internet marketing chat and find out about me as well.

Twitter is something that should be looked into and run on a regular basis but mustn't override other forms of marketing - if you use it for marketing that is.

Cheers
Iain

 

[am:pm graphics]

My Twitter is steelcitym and I would be more than happy to follow or be followed by UK business people or just people interested.

Following you Good luck for tomorrow!

Pauline

 

[CompleteTrainer]

70% about me and 30% about work

Like anything in this world, you get out what you put in. I used twitter to post links to my business opportunities (often free stuff), to mention my blog, and also personal stuff.

People like to buy from people - even over the internet! (my business is ecommerce).

I have four blogs, two business two personal, I have twitterers who pass on my links, and I pass on theirs. I have 164 followers in my business area and personal contacts - for example everything from HR Managers to Morris Dancers!

Does it work? It does for me.

CT
twitter ID completetrainer

 

[cricket]

I think anything that contains the word 'Twit' is a good enough information source.

 

[DuaneJackson]

cant really see any business value in it. Hardy likely to be a place were 100's of followers flock to your business

We get more than a few hundred visits to the KashFlow site a month directly from Twitter.

Update from me, I have now grasped Twitter and it brings in 1 client a week and I can keep up-to-date on my related business and personal interests.

But you're only using the web interface. If you used a tool like Tweetdeck then you'd get more out of it - plus you'd also know what I just said about you on there,

 

[iboxsecurity]

i agree with duane there is plenty of business value in twitter in addition to personal branding.

I tweet over at twitter.com/seanprice for all my personal stuff which includes day to day gripes with software and the web, geek links, business links, ideas and the like and so has enabled me to connect with various other entrepreneurs a like and we have begun several small projects.

As for business tweeting we do very little at the moment twitter.com/iboxsecurity reason being that our twitter accounts are set to private for the time being (long personal legal story behind that but will be visible in the coming weeks - you can still follow and be followed though!).

Our latest twitter account twitter.com/iboxlive for a new project coming soon....

And if like me you use alot of web services (amazon AWS, mediatemple, mosso, Google apps etc) then follow twitter.com/appstatus for updates on their online status and failures as they happen.

There is nothing to LEARN as it were with Twitter or any of these other social networks - they can all be seen (if focused on the right crowd) as FREE advertising with few constraints.

 

[neshthompson]

When I started using Twitter I didn't see the point either but then one day I 'got it' and since then have found it very useful. Many other people have had similar epiphanies from what I've heard.

From a business point of view it can provide many things, traffic to websites and blogs, new information (as new stories, articles etc are passed around a lot quicker virally), prospective contacts (people who will know and help your business) and conversation with customers, contacts and prospects. In my experience the medium of Twitter allows for more open contact with people who wouldn't normally be accessible. Try cold calling a CEO of a company on the phone and it is almost impossible to get through, but there are a lot of CEO's on Twitter and many will reply and chat on Twitter.

I think the right attitude in using something depends on your expectations and attitude to using it. You can attribute the same to blogging, forums and web sites. There are many frivolous blogs and forums out there but that doesn't mean blogging and forums are 'bad' per se. Twitter is the same.