OK, I've joined Twitter, now what?

[angie@thesetupdesign]

Twitter use for business generation requires patience, but it doesn't just have value for networking, it is also a resource which can be very useful to get quick answers. For example, if you have an error message appearing on your computer, just post it on twitter and you may be surprised at how quickly someone resolves the issue for you.

If you are looking to use twitter purely for business networking, you will need to establish yourself as, real, honest, trustworthy and an expert in your field. All of this takes time, and if you are not frequently posting useful information then people who follow you out of pure curiosity will simply lose interest. You need to make sure that your followers are encouraged to view your blogs, your broadcasts and so on. Once people get used to you and see value in following you the next time they are looking for a skill you offer, the likliehood is that they will think of you first.

Think of twitter as another form of free advertising and use it as much as you can to promote yourself and your business.

Often offering free advice or insightful blogs will drive traffic to your twitter page. Once you have the traffic, you have an audience to, that's all you need.

Patience is a virtue, and twitter doesn't offer a quick fix for business generation. Good luck

 

[Michelle Carvill]

Another few things to consider:
I read a piece the other day advising that if you have a 'theme' to stick to that theme. I tend to Tweet about the stuff I am working on - so it all surrounds, marketing, social media, usability, consumer behaviour etc. There's another chap @michealglass that tweets about 'Agency' issues - and then you have webdepot re web design etc. So you can 'position' yourself accordingly - based on what you do.
I tend to stop following those 'tweeters' that talk about the chicken sandwich they are eating, watching the football etc. (The 'So what' factor...applies) - make your tweets count.
In line with your personality - put up an image / photo that again, positions what you want to convey. I just posted a blog post about 'what our photos tell others' http://www.carvillonmarketing.com/?p=598 and in Social Media - that's what people have to go on - what you look like! So think about that too.
Best wishes
Michelle

 

[Emcar Vending]

The only place my photo would do any good is over the mantlepiece to keep the children away from the fire

 

[Crunch Breaker]

Hi - you might like my Blog post on this

'I'm all of twitter, but is it relevant...?'

http://leaptomorrow.com/blog/?p=34

 

[cricket]

What's the difference between twitter and blog? Whichever, i think you have to be an expert on whatever you write for the world and his dog to read. I've seen blog about what business owners had for breakfast (who cares?) to what made their business successful. Great way to give away trade secrets to the opposition.

Extreme care is needed in how you write and the content I would have thought.

 

[maxine]

Seeing as we are all talking about Twitter I thought I would post a link to this article that I found interesting to understand the whole followers/following thing

http://amnesiablog.wordpress.com/2009/03/22/how-to-spot-a-twitter-user-with-a-fake-follower-count/

Obviously the fake-followers bit doesnt apply to me as I only have 19 followers and you are all on here anyway

 

[maxine]

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

Is that the done thing then Debs, to get an intro to people or does one just nosey around and follow people that they find that look interesting?

 

[Kay]

I'm a relatively new Twitter user and have found it fun already. I just searched for people I already 'knew' from elsewhere on the 'Net and followed them. They usually follow me back. Then I looked through their lists of followers and followed the ones which looked interesting.

As well as posting work-related things, they also post of lot of fun, interesting and useful links. For me it's just a way of socialising, meeting new people, and finding new information. I tweet occasionally about one of my own websites or blogs, but I agree with those who say you have to put something in before you can expect anything out.

(BTW, Debs - I'm now following you.)

 

[BusinessIdeas]

I haven't joined yet but I will try and find the time later today - I think

 

[ayqazi]

This is all really fascinating, but there is one thing I want to know.

If I want to get political on twitter, but want to keep those thoughts away from any potential business customers, would it be best to create two separate twitter accounts, one for the business and one for personal life?

Or shall I keep topics that could potentially be controversial in a separate account?

Thanks

 

[catherinewoods]

This is all really fascinating, but there is one thing I want to know.

If I want to get political on twitter, but want to keep those thoughts away from any potential business customers, would it be best to create two separate twitter accounts, one for the business and one for personal life?

Or shall I keep topics that could potentially be controversial in a separate account?

Thanks

I would think if you wanted to get controversial, a separate account would be a wise idea.

But be careful not to fall into the trap of making your business account really bland and all about business. I'm more likely to pay attention to someone's tweets if they're interesting.

 

[Michelle Carvill]

It's over to you really. From a business perspective, you may choose not to 'share' certain things with clients - and so you may want to set up a separate 'anonymous' account. However, the real power behind social media is indeed the transparency and honesty of a conversation. I am always mindful that clients 'follow me' - but letting them get to know a little bit about 'who I am' isn't a bad thing. After all - that's the beauty of social media, it's an online conversation - it enables freedom of speech, unites the like-minded and engages a range of opinion. I'm not talking about the 'flaming' of the early 2000's - but 2010, where we are now, it's a powerful resource for transparency. So to answer the question - if your political views are going to significantly upset your clients - then of course, you may decide not to share those with your clients. If on the other hand, you have stuff about yourself that your clients may not know but there's no harm in them knowing - then be who you are, be transparent. It becomes very obvious to me when social media users are being too 'robotic' in their conversations. Let it go a little, be real - (you can still do this and be professional) - after all, people do business with people - not 'carefully thought out branding messages'.
Best wishes
Michelle

 

[vvaannmmaann]

A total waste of bandwidth.Don't believe the hype!

 

[vvaannmmaann]

And then I read this.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sciencea...ners-with-dotcom-darlings-in-new-venture.html

 

[Whites Electrical]

A waste of time!