What is Twitter and Why Should You Use It?
Twitter is part social network and part micro-blogging.
What exactly does this mean? On Twitter you make posts (called Tweets) that answer the question, "what are you doing?" These posts must be under 140 characters.
Yes characters, not words! Hence the micro part.
You then follow people on Twitter and read their Tweets.
People can follow you, thus reading what you're up to.
Before you know it, you're part of a larger conversation.
There are many reasons why people use Twitter.
Here are my top ones: 1.
It's a Fast and Easy Way to Communicate With Clients You can use Twitter to keep in touch with clients, prospects and your followers.
Short, sweet and useful Tweets keep your brand in front of people.
2.
Brand Recognition Twitter takes the Rule of Seven and puts it on its head.
You could easily be sending seven Tweets a day.
That's a lot of times to have your name in front of people.
3.
Reputation Management If you're not on Twitter, you don't know what's being said about you.
Your name or your brand could be trashed and you wouldn't know about it.
If you don't know, you can't fix it.
You also don't want someone hijacking your brand by sending false Tweets under your name.
Even if you're not planning to spend much time on Twitter yet, at least sign up and get your brand covered.
4.
Research Twitter is a fast and easy way to do research.
Send out a Tweet to your followers if you need to find something or need to know something fast.
Response can be almost instantaneous.
5.
Trend Spotting Since people are sharing their best tips in their Tweets, you can quickly spot new trends by what's being talked about.
You'll also discover new technology, industry news and problems others are having.
All this is in an easy to digest 140 character Tweets.
6.
Be On the Leading Edge Twitter is still new enough that those who come on board are still early adopters.
This is important because you may still be able to grab the name you want - both your personal name and your business name.
Also, by getting on board early, you can build your Twitter tribe with little competition.
7.
Strengthen Bonds By connecting with friends, colleagues, clients and joint venture partners on Twitter you can keep in touch.
The 140 character limit means it's easy for them to follow you without taking too much time.
An email is easily ignored or left until a less busy later that never comes.
Tweets are instant little notes that Twitter followers seem to read.
8.
Attract New Clients Don't make this your primary focus on Twitter.
Users can smell a "marketplace molester" a mile a way.
A good rule of thumb on Twitter is to make sure only one in five Tweets are about your business or industry.
The rest, get personal.
Twitter gives you the ability to get personal in bite-sized amounts.
And when you do talk about your business, don't make it a sales pitch, at first.
Try sending them to a blog post they might find useful.
It's about building a relationship, not closing the deal.
9.
Find and Connect with Influencers By following with industry leaders and influencers, you have a better shot of being heard by your Tweets than from email.
Many people automatically follow people who follow them.
Once they're following you, if you have something interesting to say, they'll stay on board.
10.
Search Engine Optimization One useful feature of Twitter is you can see what are the most popular terms (twemes) being Tweeted about.
This can be extremely useful for your own SEO.
By keeping an eye on what people are Tweeting about, you can make sure you incorporate these terms into your own Tweets, blog posts and web pages.
11.
Drive Traffic to Your Blog or Website Sending Tweets about blog posts or free offers can drive traffic to your site.
Send a private message to new followers inviting them to read a relevant blog post or sign up to your ezine can dramatically increase traffic.
Use a tool like TweetLater to make the process automatic.
12.
Keep Current With Local and World News Subscribe to the Twitter feed of your favorite newscast keeps you up-to-date.
When I'm working I can't listen to the radio; it's too distracting.
But following the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Twitter feed means I can see the top headlines of the day.
If there's something I want to look at more closely I can click the link.
I'm no longer caught having missed breaking news during the day.
13.
It's Fun Twitter is fun and fast to use.
I can see what people are up to at a glance.
I can comment on other people's Tweets.
I can vent frustration or share successes.
I can get to know people and they can get to know me.
All in 140 characters.
If you're not on Twitter yet why not give it a try?
What exactly does this mean? On Twitter you make posts (called Tweets) that answer the question, "what are you doing?" These posts must be under 140 characters.
Yes characters, not words! Hence the micro part.
You then follow people on Twitter and read their Tweets.
People can follow you, thus reading what you're up to.
Before you know it, you're part of a larger conversation.
There are many reasons why people use Twitter.
Here are my top ones: 1.
It's a Fast and Easy Way to Communicate With Clients You can use Twitter to keep in touch with clients, prospects and your followers.
Short, sweet and useful Tweets keep your brand in front of people.
2.
Brand Recognition Twitter takes the Rule of Seven and puts it on its head.
You could easily be sending seven Tweets a day.
That's a lot of times to have your name in front of people.
3.
Reputation Management If you're not on Twitter, you don't know what's being said about you.
Your name or your brand could be trashed and you wouldn't know about it.
If you don't know, you can't fix it.
You also don't want someone hijacking your brand by sending false Tweets under your name.
Even if you're not planning to spend much time on Twitter yet, at least sign up and get your brand covered.
4.
Research Twitter is a fast and easy way to do research.
Send out a Tweet to your followers if you need to find something or need to know something fast.
Response can be almost instantaneous.
5.
Trend Spotting Since people are sharing their best tips in their Tweets, you can quickly spot new trends by what's being talked about.
You'll also discover new technology, industry news and problems others are having.
All this is in an easy to digest 140 character Tweets.
6.
Be On the Leading Edge Twitter is still new enough that those who come on board are still early adopters.
This is important because you may still be able to grab the name you want - both your personal name and your business name.
Also, by getting on board early, you can build your Twitter tribe with little competition.
7.
Strengthen Bonds By connecting with friends, colleagues, clients and joint venture partners on Twitter you can keep in touch.
The 140 character limit means it's easy for them to follow you without taking too much time.
An email is easily ignored or left until a less busy later that never comes.
Tweets are instant little notes that Twitter followers seem to read.
8.
Attract New Clients Don't make this your primary focus on Twitter.
Users can smell a "marketplace molester" a mile a way.
A good rule of thumb on Twitter is to make sure only one in five Tweets are about your business or industry.
The rest, get personal.
Twitter gives you the ability to get personal in bite-sized amounts.
And when you do talk about your business, don't make it a sales pitch, at first.
Try sending them to a blog post they might find useful.
It's about building a relationship, not closing the deal.
9.
Find and Connect with Influencers By following with industry leaders and influencers, you have a better shot of being heard by your Tweets than from email.
Many people automatically follow people who follow them.
Once they're following you, if you have something interesting to say, they'll stay on board.
10.
Search Engine Optimization One useful feature of Twitter is you can see what are the most popular terms (twemes) being Tweeted about.
This can be extremely useful for your own SEO.
By keeping an eye on what people are Tweeting about, you can make sure you incorporate these terms into your own Tweets, blog posts and web pages.
11.
Drive Traffic to Your Blog or Website Sending Tweets about blog posts or free offers can drive traffic to your site.
Send a private message to new followers inviting them to read a relevant blog post or sign up to your ezine can dramatically increase traffic.
Use a tool like TweetLater to make the process automatic.
12.
Keep Current With Local and World News Subscribe to the Twitter feed of your favorite newscast keeps you up-to-date.
When I'm working I can't listen to the radio; it's too distracting.
But following the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Twitter feed means I can see the top headlines of the day.
If there's something I want to look at more closely I can click the link.
I'm no longer caught having missed breaking news during the day.
13.
It's Fun Twitter is fun and fast to use.
I can see what people are up to at a glance.
I can comment on other people's Tweets.
I can vent frustration or share successes.
I can get to know people and they can get to know me.
All in 140 characters.
If you're not on Twitter yet why not give it a try?