Can Twitter actually help my business or is it a complete waste of my valuable time? This was the very question I asked myself only a few months back.
Perhaps you’ve pondered the same?
When people I respect started singing the praises of Twitter, I decided to give it a go. At first I just didn’t get it. However, after a short while I was shocked at the level of access to high profile individuals I was able to achieve.
This article reveals how bestselling authors and business professionals use Twitter to grow their businesses and reveals ideas you can employ to achieve Twitter success.
In fact, I used Twitter (and LinkedIn) to source much of what you see here!
First, What is Twitter Again?
“Twitter is instant messaging made available to the public,” stated talk show host and author Hugh Hewitt.
I think that’s a fair starting point. I’ve heard others call Twitter a micro-blogging platform.
Here’s what you need to know. According to the State of the Twittersphere report, each day 5 to 10 thousand new people join Twitter. Current estimates of total users top out around 5 million. That’s a lot of opportunity.
Twitter allows you to post updates (called Tweets) as often as you want (and limited to 140 characters). When you follow other people on Twitter, you see their tweets. When they follow you, they see your tweets.
It’s a constant stream of communication. The good news is you can turn it on or off as often as you like. Twitter also keeps a public record of all updates, which can be mined with Twitter Search.
Why High-Profile People Use Twitter
Twitter is not just a fad. When very high profile folks begin evangelizing Twitter, it’s worth closer examination. Here’s what some of those gurus told me:
Duct Tape Marketing founder John Jantsch identified three big advantages of Twitter, “(1) I get great insight when I ask questions, (2) let’s face it, I get traffic and (3) people on Twitter spread my thoughts to new places.”
Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com said, “We’ve found that Twitter has been a great way for us to connect on a more personal level with our employees and customers. We use it to help build our brand, not drive direct sales. It’d be like asking how does providing a telephone number for customer service translate into new business when they are mostly non-sales-related calls. In the long term, Twitter helps drive repeat customers and word of mouth, but we’re not looking to it as a way of driving immediate sales.”
Bestselling author David Meerman Scott said, “I have personally connected with hundreds of people I otherwise wouldn’t have, and I booked an interview on NPR and a big daily newspaper using Twitter.”
Copyblogger’s own Brian Clark said, “Twitter Search is an amazing way to see what people are saying about your products or services. For example, I’ll do searches for Thesis Theme and people will be asking questions about our WordPress Theme. I’ll use the reply function to answer the question, which has led to direct sales. Plus, my answer creates awareness of Thesis for others that follow me. It’s a form of constructive promotion.”
Be sure to check out this Business Week article that surveyed 18 CEOs and how they’re using Twitter to help their businesses.
Practical Ways Twitter Can Help Your Business
This is where it gets interesting. A lot of people are doing some very innovate things with Twitter. Here’s some of their stories.
The Twitter Plan
Cindy King, an international sales specialist, saw a huge boost in business inquires by implementing a strategic Twitter plan.
“Following the right people on Twitter was key. There are some people very gifted at building relationships on Twitter. As I followed these online community builders, I realized that some of them are also excellent direct response copywriters. They get their Twitter followers to take action,” said King.
“Light bulbs went off, and I spent a weekend putting together a tweet marketing plan and entered in 6 weeks worth of tweets, 5 a day, using TweetLater. I used a mindmap, created categories, varied times on tweets and used BUDurls so I could track results and improve my tweet plan the next time around. That was a month ago,” explained King.
When King finds a spare minute between projects, she logs into Twitter and watches what folks are talking about. When she Tweets, about 90 percent of the time she presents useful information and resources to her followers. The remaining tweets are surveys and questions. Following this strategy, King saw an 800 percent increase in inquiries about her business after she setup her Twitter campaign.
Getting In Front of High Profile People
B2B copywriter Terri Rylander took a much different approach. At first she was very skeptical of Twitter. “I looked at it but couldn’t figure out why people would continually send out messages about the size of a text message, unless they were a teenager. Twitter was for sending updates they said. I don’t have time for updates, and besides, who would care?” said Rylander.
She later came across a peer in her industry that was using Twitter and suggested Rylander follow her on Twitter. “That’s when I discovered Twitter as a business tool. I’ve been in my particular niche for over 10 years and know who the players are (though they don’t know me). When I checked who she was following on Twitter, there they all were! It read like a “Who’s Who” list.”
Rylander joined Twitter and began following and interacting with the people she respected. “Other than a cold call on the phone or e-mail, I would never have the chance to get my name in front of vendors, industry analysts, and industry experts. I’ve had a number of Twitter conversations that have also led to personal conversations.”
To stay top of mind with experts, she offers interesting links, responds to tweets, and posts her thoughts for conversation at least a few times a day.
Getting Traffic and Leads
Pam O’Neil, VP of Marketing at BreakingPoint said, “Twitter has all but replaced our PR agency as a large percentage of our followers are press and analysts. A writer for ZDNet wrote about us and linked to us based on something we tweeted and that resulted in a huge spike in web traffic and at least one deal with a major service provider.”
Mike Damphousse of Green Leads said, “Twitter is new to us. That said, in a few short weeks we’ve had definite increase in all sorts of traffic. Out of the normal inbound leads, the number has increased 15% and two of the inbounds are now active pipeline opportunities. We’ve found one extremely valuable partner relationship. We are also building PR relationships, although finding the contacts is a bit of a chore.”
Are you beginning to see the potential here?
A Few Tools to Help Your Twitter Experience
Twitter has a whole world of available support applications you can employ to gain the most of the service for your business. Here’s a few of my favorites:
TwitterFox: This Firefox web browser plugin allows you to view Tweets within your web browser (in a popup menu). This is very handy and eliminates the need to constantly go to Twitter.com.
TweetLater: This powerful service allows you to schedule tweets (much like you would schedule emails). Another very powerful feature is the ability to receive email digests of keyword activity in the Tweetosphere. This allows you to join a conversation or track topics and trends.
Ping.fm: If you have accounts with many services, such as LinkedIn and Facebook, this amazing site allows you to post updates across ALL of your social media sites in one single step.
Twitter for Facebook: If you are on Facebook, this application forwards your Twitter updates directly to Facebook as status updates.
And just in case you get addicted to Twitter, here’s some advice from one of the leading authorities on Twitter. Chris Brogan says, “Most people who see Twitter the first time either flat-out ‘get it,’ or they say, ‘why bother?’ Here’s what people miss. They believe one should read every single update that rolls across your screen of choice. Don’t. Just let it roll past like a stream.”
So what are you waiting for? Go check out Twitter and report back here with your experience.
Has Twitter already helped your business? If so, tell us your story.
About the Author: Michael Stelzner is the bestselling author of Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged. You can follow Michael here on Twitter or check out his latest project here.
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Twitter is fast becoming the medium of choice to spread information quickly to numerous people. A business owners become more comfortable using Twitter, the instant word of mouth marketing Twitter provides will become invaluable.
Matt
I have made deals, made sales, and given and received opportunities all on Twitter. Twitter has been simply amazing.
And it drives insane amounts of traffic, too.
The best part is the ability to so easily nurture and grow your personal network and have fun at the same time.
We will see some very big names come across the twitter board this upcoming year.
I’ve just started a new blog, http://www.improvingtheweb.com – and immediately also started a twitter acount because I realise now that twitter is invaluable.
This article did a great job summarizing the benefits of using Twitter. Most people see Twitter as a time waster but it’s simply NOT the case. You get to interact with great people from all over the world and have conversations you wouldn’t get to have otherwise.
Hello Michael,
I have been on Twitter for a couple months now. At first I did not get it as Chris Brogan pointed out. After spending more time I started to interact with people associated with foods,organics,healthy living etc . This lead to reading their blogs and commenting. You will be surprised at how many people want to work with you and be part of your growth. The key is to post relevant information so your target audience reads your tweets. This advice coming from a novist is funny considering I am not tech savy and get confused reading some of the post on updates for programming and available tools on the net. The exposure from the people who have sampled my product and were kind enough to include on their blogs have improved my site and helped my placement on the web. I am learning more everyday and can firmly state Twitter is helpful to any business and to people at every level. Tweet on !!
Alfredo
I use twitter as a marketing tool (spread my brand, broadcast my posts, network by creating value for others), as a place to find useful information, and to connect with others when I want to take a break from work. I’ve also asked questions on Twitter and gotten answers which would have taken me a lot longer to find if I had tried to search for the answer on my own.
I’ve just recently started using twitter for the business account and I’ve seen an increase in traffic and inquiries in a very short time.
I use it to update the status on projects, what I’m looking at for future projects and even finding beta testers. I get instant feedback from people that helps me gauge the interest in what I’m planning as well as help with directing projects in progress by the very people that are my target audience.
Thanks for some great tips to help continue this expansion of my marketing plan.
Twitter is the equivalent of the secretary of a CEO who holds the key to who gets to talk to the bigwig and who doesn’t.
Try to find out what the CEO of Exxon is doing right now (or any 1.0 business that doesn’t use social media for that matter). Better yet, try getting a personal message to them.
If I want to know what Brian Clark is doing, or have him listen to a 140-character piece of my mind, it will take me 30 seconds with twitter.
Regards
Shane
twitter: shanearthur
Love this article! Some of my “business accomplishments” on Twitter have been getting Shaq to follow me, connecting with the founder of Blog World Expo, and Speaking at the Orem Utah Tweetup Panel and more to come!
One thing my wife, who still doesn’t use Twitter, asked once was:
Your article is yet another reason why Twitter is so great for business. Thanks! Because of these reminders, I just added my Twitter account to a clogging shoes website I run so my clients and potential clients can contact me directly and get answers to their questions. I’m going to keep a running total of number of sales made because of this simple Twitter Connection!
Thanks for this useful, practice article. I’ve read a number of “how to use Twitter” articles in the past three weeks since signing up for Twitter, and yours provided some of the most valuable info I’ve seen to date. While I’m beginning to see the potential Twitter has for many businesses, I’m still struggling to see how it can work for a business with a local vs. national reach. Our clients and potential clients are online, but not necessarily on Twitter. We’ll see how it goes.
Brian, this is one of the most powerful posts to date I have read on any blog-rocking hot. Our business from twitter has skyrocketed and picked up 3 huge accounts simply by following and interacting. Our subscriber base to our blogs has seen a great increase and we have seen an increase on all social sites activity because of ping.fm and hellotxt.com which we use daily. Thanks for this post- as it is PROOF that twitter is a viable business tool, if used properly, and can yield staggering results. Rocking hot!
My only concern with Twitter is it’s more fun than working…
Anybody have suggestions??
Great post, thanks so much for sharing your tips. I like to use Twitter for branding, but having mixed approaches seems to be helpful.
I’m still waiting for my tweeting ROI, but I’ve engaged businesses whose products / services I use in order to maintain or increase my customer satisfaction. Thus I’m part of other businesses’ ROI based on customer retention / acquisition /satisfaction scores.
Am recent new Twitter User and found your information very useful, especially the tools. I have also found Twitter Search an excellent tool to locate Tweeters with common interests or check on conversation chains. Now that I have topped 300 I am receiving more followers and business leads. TU for your informative article.
I started using Twitter about 6 months ago but I still have yet to figure out how to make it useful for my web design blog. I follow a bunch of people in the web design industry but how to get them to follow me is the question. After reading this post I think I understand that just posting tweets will not work, I will actually have to start to interact with the people I follow.
Excellent post, Mike!! I just retweeted and am sharing with my Facebook peeps!
I use Facebook and Twitter almost exclusively for social networking and have landed contracts for as much as $30k just by making friends on Twitter. There is no comparison to Twitter; the platform is a brilliant concept with such a wide array of uses and this post – with all the credibility of the leading experts – is perfect for those who don’t yet “get” Twitter!!
Cheers,
@marismith
What a great article! Full of info. I just joined TweetLater and BudURL because of your post. The idea of strategically scheduling my tweets is very appealing.
One of my twitter friends is trying to get some viral action started, so if you’re so inclined to join in, just tweet your Christian testimony in 140 characters or less.
Thanks, Brian!
Twitter is something every person and business who wants to grow should sign up for now. It has helped me network and build my own personal brand as well as I use it and am trying to grow my network for business purposes.
I’ve been a regular on Twitter for several months and just now starting to see the benefit. I think it takes time to establish yourself, especially if you’re just starting out. I’m addicted now!
Thanks for this great article!
Twitter is terrific; I was an early adopter. However, Twitter favors those that can bring their audience with them. It’s not a good bootstrapping tool. Isn’t it interesting that most case studies are individuals who were already celebrities in some way? Guy Kawasaki, Zappos, Barack Obama, etc. It is difficult to build an audience just by being engaging, clever and witty when few others know who you are.
If you are a bootstrapper or non-celebrity, by all means Twitter, but I suggest limiting your participation and doing it in conjunction with other social media tools, like Facebook, where it is easier to make friends and easier to be seen.
In a vacuum no one can hear you tweet.
Thanks for mentioning our corporate Twitter work with @breakingpoint, although I would warn folks to not simply throw their brand up on Twitter and hope for the best. You have to listen to the conversations first and determine if your community is on Twitter (or any social network) and if they are how they communicate within the context of that network. I’ve seen too many brands and individuals jump onto Twitter thinking they have to and it completely blows up in their face.
Kyle Flaherty
I absolutely love the networking possibilities of Twitter. I have created joint ventures, gained fresh blogging and other writing opportunities, made great contacts and gotten to know some fabulous new people I never would have had a chance to meet otherwise! It’s an incredible source of both information and assistance as well!
I truly believe Twitter will only get bigger and better as time goes on!
@TeresaWrites4U
Great tips and strategies I can use right away!
Thanks
We’ve been very pleased with our Twitter experience and have not only made contact with new translators, we’ve also gotten projects from new clients. One of my resolutions for 2009 is to improve the quality and frequency of my tweets.
I, too, was initially skeptical, but within a week had re-connected with previous friends and clients, and met some very nice people.
I’ve also been exposed to new ideas and found myself visiting interesting and informative websites I would not otherwise have visited.
I do think, however, that success requires identifying some themes and topics that you can return to on a consistent basis, rather than strictly adhering to an impromptu “what am I doing now?” basis.
Wow – this was brilliantly written. You covered it all. You also helped me figure out how to develop my Twitter plan for 2009. Thanks!
Deb @debworks
Twitter is still in the early stages at this time and as more businesses jump on this will lead to an even greater growth rate. As more case studies and information show how Twitter can be used by business to increase their customer service at a low cost to them the more widespread it will become. The question is how to manage this growth and show companies how to use it effectively.
Great post Michael and Happy New Year
2 resources I wanted to share:
List of C-Suite Twitterers – http://www.ctweets.com
and
List of Brands the Tweet – http://www.brandstweet.com
Great post.
I’d add my own story (documented at @Mashable) using Twitter to drive the political robocall story during the election: http://mashable.com/2008/10/31/great-twitter-moments/
We also created a Twitter / Google Map Mashup to track robocalls Twitter users were getting here: http://robocall.twibune.com/
Regards,
Shaun Dakin
CEO
StopPoliticalCalls.org
@EndTheRobocalls
@IsCool
I think this article hit the nail on the head. I may have to implement some suggestions here
I’ve been in a love/hate relationship with Twitter for the last year. I think I left it alone for awhile because I didn’t understand it. It’s posts like these that help people like me continue to see the value. So I’m back on the Twitter Universe and tweeting away.
One cool tool that I recently came across is MrTweet.net. It helps you discover new relationships and people whom you should be following.
One more thing. If you start following more people, then more people will start following you.
Awesome! Great examples of why twitter rocks!
Wow! SUPER practical article! Thanks for the ideas and breadth of perspectives. Will be passing this one on to colleagues.
We have also seen Twitter benefit our company, Author Marketing Experts Inc. Our CEO, Penny Sansevieri (@Bookgal) began offering her tips and tricks for authors and almost immediately we saw our blog traffic rise as well as subscriptions to our Book Marketing Expert newsletter. Now we’re working on getting more of our authors to use Twitter – it’s clearly worthwhile!
I too was a skeptic of Twitter. I’d known about it for a while before I actually tried it. Once I did, though, it quickly became a huge part of my life. I’ve connected with people I never would have otherwise, and lets me keep in touch with friends and family very easily.
Of course, you have to make Twitter work for you; you have to go out and follow people, otherwise it will get boring with only 6 followers.
I agree with Thomas Schmitz. When you’ve got a big, built-in audience (Kawasaki, Scoble, etc.), Twitter and other social media will enhance and expand your presence online. And it usually does it rapidly as the large audience spreads the word.
If you’re small, just getting going, trying to stake your claim online, Twitter is not going to be an instant gold mine BUT if you step back and “study” Twitter, you should be able to find a variety of ways to make it work for you.
Listen to conversations, join in if/when you’ve got something to contribute, find like-minded folks and really get the hang of how the Twitter medium works. If you want to immediately jump off the tallest diving board, go for it, but a gradient approach to Twitter will probably bring you much better returns.
Great article Michael! I started tweeting last summer as a result of hearing a piece on NPR. Just last month I used it to get the word out on a free teleseminar I offer to freelancers, and the word spread like wildfire through the retweets. My sign ups tripled over a 24 hour period as a result of the kind retweeters in my network. No way I could have done the same through any other channel with just a few requests to my peeps.
And I, too, have been able to connect with people who I’ve always known of but never contacted–and our conversations are “comprehensive,” not just business but the everyday stuff that tends to make relationships sticky. Again, something not doable as quickly through any other medium I know of.
We certainly do live in interesting times!
Trish Lambert
@trishlambert
Hi Michael,
First of all, wishing you a very Happy New Year!
Thanks for writing such an awesome blogpost and revealing ways on how to use Twitter to grow your business. And thanks to @MariSmith for tweeting about this blogpost!
Btw, you got a thumbs up on StumbleUpon and a Digg from me.
Best Wishes,
Shinil.
@shinils on Twitter – http://twitter.com/shinils
What I like most about Twitter is that it allows you to eavesdrop on what your customers are saying. You can find out what they think of you, your competitors and what issues they are grappling with. Then I can jump in to help when appropriate.
Hey Mike,
Thanks for TwiterFox.
At first I thought (about Twitter) what is thing?
But, now I’ve realized how important it is to make new contacts and get your message out there quickly.
I love it!
Very well done, thanks for bringing this to my attention @marismith. Thanks for compiling a (yet another good, solid) list of tools.
I too was perplexed with Twitter’s value, but using it and watching others helped make some things clear to the point I felt it was worth integrating into a marketing plan (shared my thoughts a few weeks back).
I’m even redesigning my business cards around social media properties I frequent, while using some of the tools you mention to syndicate content to those properties.
Thanks again, and keep it rolling!
Great post with lots of wonderful tips, just linked up my Facebook profile, didn’t know about that.
I started using Twitter about a month ago, and it has drawn people to my new blog which is a blessing.
I have also met a number of interesting people that I otherwise never would have met, and they share lots of good ideas and advice.
Also, to my surprise people found me and started following me too.
I also highly recommend Twitterfox, it works great. I have been a Firefox user for about 3 months now and will never go back to IE again.
I just posted similar thoughts on Twitter on my blog last Friday with a followup yesterday. I had similar thoughts as Terri Rylander, and thought it was fairly useless at first. Like Terri, I saw the light. I don’t use it so much for self promotion as for market awareness. It’s all in finding the right people to follow, and how you follow them. The signal to noise ratio can be a killer.
I’ll have to check out some of the tools mentioned in the post. Some look very interesting.
~jon
If possible, I’d love to see a sample of Cindy’s tweet marketing plan. I’ve tried to brainstorm ways to do something similar but have never actually followed through.
It would be great to see a template or even her actual tweets over those particular 6 weeks. So, Cindy… anyone?
Thanks for your great discussion!
I want to give a shout out to Roger C. Parker (who commented here).
Here’s a man who has sold more than a million books and just joined Twitter only a few weeks ago. Yet he gets it…
I think his idea about having a plan and specific topics to talk about is critical.
Happy New Year!
I own an indy coffeehouse and started tweeting yesterday. Got two new customers today directly from my twitter post. Nice.
That was a great read. I love hearing quotes from some of the top people using twitter.
Great blog, Michael! My FAVORITE new Twitter tool that I’m using is Twitterbar. It’s a Firefox add-on/plug-in. You Tweet from your browser address bar! http://www.chrisfinke.com/addons/twitterbar/
Just checked TwitterLater and it looks like it’s going to help tremendously! It’s much easier to set things up all at once in advance when I have the time, like I do with my wordpress blogs.
And as usual, the commenting is a great followup to the article. Love the twitterbar, thanks Nicki
Awesome information, was totally unaware of just how many people use twitter. I just signed up and will use your advice about grow my business http://www.enterdablogger.com
Take care
Great guide, Mike, and I can’t find a fault with it except for one bit: Ping.fm.
I used to use ping.fm for broadcasting the same message to everything including Twitter. No longer. Now, every tweet is manual. Every Facebook and LinkedIn status update is also manual. I use ping.fm for the more extraneous outposts that I rarely log onto but I know others use, e.g. Friendster, Livejournal, Bebo, etc.
When someone is broadcasting the SAME message everywhere, there is a question of a person becoming a robot. I prefer to be a person to other people.
- @ariherzog
I think it’s basically because a lot of people are using Twitter today, but tomorrow can be a different story. Its all about getting access to people – yesterday it was MySpace, today its Facebook and Twitter. Tomorrow it can be something else.
Twitter at first glance does not seem to make any logical sense, you join, make a profile, post a short tweet message, maybe follow a couple of people, after reading some profiles, and then think, well now what ?
The strange thing is that it is just a very simple idea, based around sending snap shots about your personal thoughts, life, ideas, or just fun stuff, and before you know what is happening, you have attracted the attention and a follower who likes your tweet comments, then more and more seem to follow, i still don’t understand it today, but after only a short time trying it, it seems to work, which to be fair is great, as the main post describes here, it is a tool now used by main stream business.
twitter has helped me triple my traffic.
Fantabulous post! I gave it a stumble and a RT.
I wasn’t sure about Twitter at first. I just thought it was basically another IM tool. It’s much more than that, though. I’m networking with a ton of different people – some just for fun and some are actually writers, editors, and (potential) clients and/or sources. The DM feature is awesome, too. I’m loving Twitter now (I’m @MicheleTune and @rawjuiceblog) and look forward to even more Twitter-related success in 2009.
Happy New Year!
Michele
I love Twitter. It’s my water cooler. Also, as I am currently neck-deep in projects and not blogging as much as I would like, it’s a way to me to keep a relationship open with the folks who are interested in my stuff.
There are days I love it too much, though. Seductive little critter that it is.
When this blog had a tweetfest awhile back with everyone writing a story in the 140 spaces, I still thought Twitter was a plaything where the most profound thing would be “Omg, I swallowed my gum.” Then, other VAs and writers like Copyblogger and John Jantsch began pushing twitter and I decided to give it a try.
I am a ’savor’ person and I don’t follow everyone who follows me. I still get overwhelmed by the traffic…with fewer than 100 follows or followers. I check before I follow; I don’t care for the auto-follow idea. I also prefer the manual updates. A tweet doesn’t read quite the same on FaceBook or LinkedIn. I will post the same update, but it needs re-wording. I’ve been in a post/comment campaign for VAnetworking.com and use my updates to raise my count; the t-shirt arrived and proves I will write for clothes.
Great article, Judith! You’ve answered a lot of my questions and gave me great ideas. Thank you so much for tweeting the bit.ly link :^)
I’m definitely forwarding this link to some Twitter skeptics in my circle.
Twittering has become a part of life, so obvioulsy it has great business benefits…twit …twit…twit
Twitter certainly is getting much more mainstream these days with more people trying this platform. I dont yet rate it as an alternative to PR agencies or a replacement for marketing teams but twitter certinaly if used effectively is a great new channel for reaching a targeted audience.
At SinoTech Group (http://www.sinotechgroup.com.cn) we are getting more requests from our Brands and Agencies to manage twitter as a channel in a digital campaign… I wonder if 2009 is the year we get some serious competitors to twitter in the micro-blogging space?
Cheers
Matt
http://www.twitter.com/sinotechian
Twitter has helped me grow my speaking business by driving enormous traffic to my blog: http://jessemuhammad.blogs.finalcall.com/
Hi Michael,
Great article.
I’ve been seeing plenty of “Twitter doesn’t work” articles, so it was refreshing to see mini case studies of how it “works.”
I think Terri Rylander’s comments were excellent, she joined Twitter and began following and interacting with the people she respected ….
Following and Interacting is the real secret of Twitter.
Eoin
You’ve given me encouragement to seriously look into Twitter for my stock investing blog.
Thanks!
I’ve tried recently to use Twitter to grow a text message concept Multiplayer Text Message Games. I use TweetGrid.com to search for topics and respond to users that match my sites profile. I’ve seen traffic spike. You can see at My Twitter Page
Thank you! I had an idea what the hype was (Kawasaki’s face lights up when he talks about it), but I had no idea what exactly these people with 50,000 followers were doing with Twitter. Now I know! Thanks!
now got an idea how to attract the viewers and moreover posting some interesting facts and messages will attract some viewerss to our blog and need to work hard on that
regards
aartha
lexar 8GB flash card-$0.51
@ http://budurl.com/jv3k
Mike,
Wow. Great information. Couldn’t have come at a better time for me. Here’s a personal experience.
I was reading tweets from my followers, and noticed an interesting tweet. I followed the tweet to a website . The first headline was a shout about how the writer detests parking tickets.
I recently launced a website about fighting parking tickets in New York City. I sent a direct message tweet about our mutual interest in parking tickets. The writer presents a challenge faced by millions of motorist who try to find parking space in cities. My partners and I provide a solution that eliminates or reduces the cost of parking tickets.
A great match. I can communicate my message to a wider audience about a subject both of us care about, thanks to twitter.
It’s just one example among many shared by commenters to your post. What started out as a diversion is exploding into a powerful communication medium.
Is twitter the latest pet rock project on the net or will it survive it’s new found popularity?
I have been able to connect with people I never thought I would and am building relationships with some of them.
I really like the 140 limit causes you to focus if you are sending a marketing thought or wanting peeps to go to your site or blog. I use it to promote latest blog posts for italkblog.com and to build friendships.
I found Barack Obama was using twitter for his campaign and decided to follow him even tho the elections are long over and he followed me back- automatically- proly using twitterlater and he was my 500th follower .
I think I will write a post about this one, I know there are peeps reading my blog that are not twitters yet.
Happy New Years
http://twitter.com/Mark_Ayers you follow me I will follow you
Mark
Do you have to be a twitter-holic to reap the benefits, or can you be a successful weekend twitterer?
I’m not certain yet whether Twitter has had any significant impact on my business or blog, but I do subscribe to the school of thought that any networking is good networking. And Twitter does provide an excellent opportunity for real relationship building.
I love the idea of using Twitter as a PR service. I’m active on Twitter, but never thought of it that way.
This was an absolutely fantastic blog post! The uses of Twitter are endless, all it takes is a little creativity and persistence to find what works for you. The best part is Twitter is scalable to whatever your needs are. It doesn’t matter if your an enterprise sales rep for a Fortune 500 company or a small business owner. You can benefit from the collectivism of the Twitter community and the extra reach it enables your business!
I especially love the relationships you can build and people you can meet through Twitter that otherwise would not be possible.
Since one of the services I offer is PR, seeing someone say that Twitter had “just about replaced their PR firm” was not what I love to hear (gulp!). But I do think that if you can’t afford to hire a PR firm, it’s certainly a great tool for DIY. In fact, I started getting tweets on my mobile phone just to get a jump on the HARO listings (help a reporter out).
I’ve only been tweeting for a few months but definitely see my visibility growing. On the downside….like any other new marketing tool, I think it takes a while to get comfortable with how you’ll use it. Am hoping that I will scan more and read less, since it’s taking up a lot of my time right now.
Thanks for the great article Michael. I realize I haven’t given Twitter the attention it deserves. It’s so clear, the applications are truly unlimited.
In gratitude,
Laurie Hayes
This post is excellent! It´s has lot information very useful. Thanks!
This is an excellent post. I have been using Twitter just because everyone else was. I now have a better understanding of its benefitsfor meas a blogger.
Lets not forget Twitter can become addicting!
I really enjoyed this article and passed it on to a few friends. Thanks for the info, I am new to Twitter and this has really helped my thinking of how to use it.
I really appreciate this post and I’m glad you linked to the Business Week article too as it has such great info. I think we’ll be amazed in Jan 2010 at the progress we see out of Twitter and how businesses use it over this next year. As I’m reading the comments here, I’m still amazed at how much doubt your readers have at the power twitter and social media offer us. I’ve been having a little fun writing about my “affair” with twitter for the past few months on my first blog. But now, that just doesn’t seem like enough. I feel obligated to help push the twitter tipping point as best I can. As a past telecom professional, MBA/CPA type with love for business strategy, I see opportunities for businesses everywhere. Thus, my partner, @alanunderkofler, and I launched http://www.twitterattraction.com which is devoted 100% to Twitter and it’s grandeur. I’ll be writing a post over the weekend linking to this fabulous post and discussing my continued inspiration from the writers of this blog and of course twitterfriend @copyblogger, Brian Clark. “M Wallace was right.”
Angie A. Swartz
@aaswartz on Twitter
http://www.twitterattraction.com (on Thesis)
http://www.squaremartinimedia.com (on Thesis)
http://www.sixfiguremomsclub.com (done before I knew about Thesis
Excellent post! I began using Twitter a few months back and initially didn’t “get it” so I began by following industry colleagues. I work at home and having TweetDeck open is like office chatter so I’m never alone. I like to follow those located internationally because someone is always twittering when I’m working at 2am. I get my news, comic relief and inspiration, learn through informative links, and I chat with those I would not otherwise speak with. The value has been amazing! I own a small bookkeeping & support business and my network is fairly small now, but I’ve already gained 2 new clients. I’m even more excited about 2009!
@kellywilliamsva
When I first saw Michelle MacPhearson using Twitter I thought it looked stupid! LOL About a month later I heard Ed Dale praising it’s usefulness. I immediately became a Twit…
Hello! My name is Wendy Merritt and I am a Twitter addict!
Thanks for the great tips and links
blessings,
Wendy
Twitter: WendyMerritt
I’ve gained a couple of contracts since I started using it 3 months ago as well as a number of interesting people and gained lots of knowledge on just about everything that I’m interested in.
If you’re not a spammer, follow me: http://twitter.com/AgentVladimir
I just added Twitter to FaceBook it looks like you add updates and read all tweets from your FaceBook page
Nice tips. I started using twitter around six months back. Till now it has been a very useful tool for me. It is contributing to the growth of my blog. But, some times I feel I have addicted to twitter.
Here is a new one how to get new followers. I have a new blog post up that tells you how to get new followers on autopilot once you take a few minutes to set it up.
I know I could tell you right here, however as a new blogger I am openly admitting I want you to visit my blog, maybe leave a comment and if you like contact me to be a guest blogger.
Shameless plug I know, however using this simple set of instructions I have on my blog will get you followers.
I have added well over 100 in less than 24 hours and I cannot stop it now if I wanted to.
Twitter like other social media marketing paths is in the numbers.
You will like what I have to say if you really want to grow your followers, fast and on auto pilot.
Takes a small amount of time to get going maybe 20 minutes.
Yes it is legal, moral and ethical
I found twitter a great way to meet other people that like the same topics that I do. It’s fun way to share the question what am I doing.
wow! thanks for sharing. that was really informative, now i know what twitter is. Thanks a lot.
The world of social media is a fascinating one. We’ve just started using twitter and are amazed by the unusually powerful 140 characters.
This is a great article and a great site – which is referenced in Seth Godins ‘Meatball Sundae’ – a good read.
I didn’t get Twitter at first. Avoided it like the plague for a year. Eventually tried it out as part of a book project I’m working on – and surprise, surprise – loved it.
Great post Michael. Like Jeremy above, it took a few months for the ‘Twitter Penny to drop’ but when it did, it was awesome!
I now see it as only fair that I tell as many people about it as possible……well it would be wrong not to, wouldn’t it?
Great Twitter tools links. Here is another one for investors and day traders: http://www.stocktwits.com/
Hey peeps
I have been applying a technique with Twitter over the last few days to increase followers and it is proving itself well.
I have gone from around 80 follows to nearly 900 in about 1 week.
What I do is just go through people in my niche ( IM ) and just begin following people. I spend 20 mins each day just following other people and you find that most will follow you back. The other advantage if you follow ‘Big’ players in your niche is that people will seach them out to see who they follow too and in turn may follow you !
Try it out.. Hope that useful to you
Good luck
Dean
http://www.DeanHolland.com
Oh yeah.. Happy New Year to you all !!!!
I put up a lot of resistance to Twitter, but I finally caved and followed the crowd. It’s already proved it’s usefulnes in a matter of a few days.
I can see I’m going to get very hooked very quickly. Thanks for sharing the resources.
Paul Hancox / paulhancox
Hey Everyone!
I am really blown away at the response to my article here.
Please keep me posted regarding innovative uses of Twitter for my future articles on Twitter.
Mike
Mike, thanks for the great summary of the value of Twitter. I started as a casual user but have change as this channel provides access not only to people with distinctive knowledge but to people with similar interests. Both evolve into me providing better services and also attracting customers for http://YourSmartKitchen.com
As an aside, I use HelloTxt.com in addition to Ping.fm
good article with some great tools. i hadn’t heard of tweetlater – very useful.
Hi Michael,
Thanks for the great article on twitter, I’ve been looking for information to give me an overall idea of what its all about and how to use it, and you’ve provided me with some great ideas as well as some very useful tools!
Thanks!
Derrick
(One Month Blogging Newbie)
http://www.TheNetExperiment.com
Most people either don’t get Twitter (one extreme) or they totally get it and they get addicted. I wrote a blog post describing the attributes of a Twitter addict: http://www.findandconvert.com/blog/2008/youre-addicted-to-twitter-if-you/.
Wow, I hope this is what my blog looks like when it grows up…
!! Now I really have something to shoot for! This is incredible… what a wealth of information. I’ll be bookmarking this for sure! Thanks for the Twitter tips!
Michael – this is a very helpful post including some good tips for us newbies. Good inspiration for me to make Twitter part of my 2009 Business Planning. You make it sound like fun!
Good post. I’m certain the tips will help me promote my freelance writing.
I can see why so many people think Twitter is fluff when they first see it. The benefits are hidden just under the surface – you have to crack the crispy skin to find the goodness underneath. I think it takes a little bit of work.
I wrote a blog post recently about how I justify Twitter to my clients (I’m always trying to persuade people to use Twitter): http://kendallcopywriting.co.uk/2009/01/07/why-twitter-method-in-the-mayhem/
Extremely useful – thank you.
I read the article and it seems to supply general information. I love to see a specific strategy and measured results of someones success on Twitter. How could Twitter help a site like http://www.worldclassnutrition.com I opened a Twitter account in May of 2008 but lost interest because I could not measure any results.
I think many people are using Twitter to keep up with family and friends. Reading your article made me think about who I am following on Twitter. I may have to deactivate some people. It’s just like MySpace and Facebook. I think it could come down to separating professional and personal. I’ll give this some thought.
Great Post! I am just starting to join the twitter band wagon and this put a lot into perspective.
I say follow the big guys. Stay right at your computer and pick the brains of the top people in your target interest area. Twitter is all about sharing. Learn something and give something back. It can work for you if you have a plan and make contact with the right people.
Thanks for the great info/facts here
I’m certain that Twitter has impact on my blog.
Thanks for the great info. At first, I’m sure I made misitakes, and just let go and kept on giving. I put book tips up, article mkg tips up, asked quesions and was so happy with results,
got 1/3 of my traffic from Twitter,and even got over 150 telesminar attendees from my tweets. Satisfying work if you ask me! My lists are building well from twitter and article marketing-my 2 favorites!
Judy
The best part about Twitter is that it has the feel of a far-smaller community than it really is. Seeing posts about the mundane aspects of everyday life from some major players makes everything feel a little more intimate than the ordinary blog.
It’s taking me a while to learn and understand all the ins and outs of Twitter, but am loving it! Can’t wait to get my iPhone in the next couple of weeks so I can be mobile with it!
I’ve just started a new blog and find this article very helpful.
Hoping soon to see the benefits soon. I’ve had a Twitter account for a few weeks but never fully explored it.
Thanks so much!
Leslie B
Support M.S. research!!
Visit My Political Blog-
The Progressive Patriot
http://www.theprogressivepatriot.net
Excellent Article, Michael, Thank you for compiling and Sharing All of this Great Information about how Twitter may be used to Grow Your Business!
We ReTweeted (RT) it for you as well!
We hope this helps!
Thank you again, Michael, for the Great Article and information and Everyone Have a Great Day!
I’m finding so many great people and customers on Twitter that I’ve written 4-5 different articles on my blog just focused on Twitter! I’ve received sooo much traffic and sales from Twitter and it’s growing by leaps and bounds every single day.. Great article!
I completely agree that social media is the way to go if you’re really going to be successful at blogging. And blogging in and of itself is taking off just as quickly as sites like twitter and Facebook. In a recent article about the hottest job skills of 2008, it shows that the demand for blogging skills has increased by 4 times that of the previous year. That’s impressive, particularly in this economy.
YES, twitter has brought me good traffic and I also use that Twitter for Facebook thing. That also brings me some amount of traffic and I’m loving it.
I love Twitter!!!
Thank you for the article. We have been hesitant to use Twitter for quite some time! But we are ready to give it a try now and see what the hype is all about!
Thanks again for all the info!
http://www.hippygourmet.com/blog
Good post, but am looking to build network of similar interest and this helped some
, thanks
Like some others, I didn’t get the initial appeal of Twitter. “Why would anyone care about IMs of someone’s current doings?” I finally got around to checking it out last week and do I ever regret waiting so long.
In the promotion of my website, it has been an extremely effective way to find a targeted audience. Plus, you can’t beat the instant access to some many “big brains.”
Thanks for the article. I’m finally one of the Tweeple.
I have shared my expereince on using twitter here: http://tinyurl.com/bxfdpk , a first hand input from a someone who have just started using it.
Thanks for great info.
However, Twitter has become so crowded and people go only there to publish but seldom read.
Focus blog community like this is more effective to grow your business.
Thanks for great info on twitter. I’d like to say to new people. post in 140 characters to attract your audience. Give away tips with a link to a freebie, so they can get to know you as the go to person in your field. Our mkg on twitter has paid off well. lots of new targeted visitors and even some sales!
Thankful for twitter,
Judy Cullins
PS As me how in a tweet to coachjudy
What a great article, I love twitter but its so addictive.! Hopefully affiliate links will gain more signups, but at the moment i`m just enjoying the fun chat and meeting new friends from around the globe, keep up the good work.. warm regards.
I completely disagree with the commenter above (Free PPC) who says:
“However, Twitter has become so crowded and people go only there to publish but seldom read.
Focus blog community like this is more effective to grow your business.”
Twitter is becoming busier, but that just means you might have to be more thoughtful with how you use it. And to say that a blog community is more effective is missing the point. Not every organisation has the time, good fortune or persistent effort required to build a successful blog like Copyblogger.
For some businesses, Twitter is a better option because the bite-sized posts require less commitment and can potentially provide similar rewards.
The key to any social media marketing is deciding what is appropriate for that organisation. And not every company is going to be able to blog well.
Good post and i like twitter for sharing things with my followers and to RT than anything
For business people it do work, so that can stick on tweets
I’m new at Twitter and looking for a way to more efficiently tweet. TweetLater might be my ticket. Thanks!
I use twitter to update everyone on my music. After reading this article, I will have to use it more. Thanks so much for the great article!
Michael Stelzner has put together a worthwhile intro to Twitter. His thinking here is more insightful than articles I’ve read about Twitter on Forbes, Guardian and the New York Times.
Myself, I’m thinking that Twitter is going to be essential to how I think about the internet within six to twelve months. So I get it. Getting it in six months from now would have been a considerable disadvantage.
Thanks Michael. Let’s chat soon.
Stan Faryna
My unofficial blog
Being a newbie I read everything with interest. As I am in the final stages of getting an ebook out there it is very useful to know that I can make this tool work with me.
In comics, especially webcomics, Twitter has become a vital part of the business plan for many creators. I noticed upon visiting some websites that the tab that used to link to the cartoonist’s blog or webforum had been replaced with a link to Twitter.
Comics in general are a strange beast because the business and personal aspects of the community are pretty fluid and interchangable. Tweeting among the comics community is pretty hazardous for the person with a vested interest. I’ve learned business related news from the same people who informed us about what they had for breakfast. Some users seem to get their business and familiar contacts mixed up which can lead to some embarrassing mistakes. Fortunately, for all, the beat keeps playing and all tweets are washed away, or more appropriately, buried under a mountain of more tweets.
http://www.twitter.com/darrylayo
Hey Folks;
Thought you might want to read my follow on article:
The Dark Side of Twitter: What Businesses Need to Know
See http://www.marketingprofs.com/9/dark-side-of-twitter-what-businesses-need-to-know-stelzner.asp
ALSO, thank you all SO much for your wonderful comments. I greatly appreciate it!
Mike
I enjoyed the post, and I really “want” to get the motivation to join Twitter and start learning all about it.
But I really missed the objective results in your post. Vague “increases” and percentages aren’t enough. And branding? Branding can be accomplished by buying park-bench ads.
I’m going to suck-it-up and join Twitter, I’ll probably become addicted in no-time.
thanks for the great post,
Chris
Hi I am using Twitter since last 6 months or so and its really nice to be with twitter. The instant messaging system helps you to populate your brand with just one post to the thousands of people.
You will get a handsome amount of traffic and with following others as they can see your tweets instantly.
Good post.
I’ve been messing around with Twitter for a couple of months now and agree it adds a lot of punch to any marketing campaign once you get to grips with it.
A couple of useful application are Twollo and Twitterfall. Both keyword targetted – one to find and follow and one to keep up to date on terms of interest to you.
Neil
Thanks Neil,
I think the key is “get to grips with it” still werkin’ on it!!
and my marketing side….
Thanks for the post you have some good and insightful information . I recently read a blog post about Twitter that you may like to read: http://www.impactexecutives.com/journal/clivesexton/2009/03/to-twitter-or-not-to-twitter-i.html
Hi!
Yes, definitely the key words are “once you come to grips with it” – a slow and somewhat painful experience!!
Intesting how the vast majority of people on twitter are over 30 rather than below.
great post… i am touring our town speaking at business networking events on social networking sites – and didn’t know about Ping.FM – who’s fired?
OUCH.
I’m making Sunday March 29, 2009 My Twitter Day.
I’m going play around (not spam) to see what the big deal is and hope this not another hyped up platform.
Great article! I’m one of those people that don’t quite get Twitter. I run my company’s blog (www.gettingspotted.com) for online video and signed up with Twitter recently in hopes of promoting the blog as well as to attract clients, but this looks like it’s going to take some research. However, reading everyone’s success story and high praises for Twitter it seems to be worth my while.
Well done! I am just starting to join the twitter band wagon and this put a lot into perspective.
Most of one’s followers are following for a reason, figure out WIIFT (what’s in it for them) and then offer it up… As an example, most of my clients are discovering FB and Twitter for their businesses, I demonstrate the WIIFT, by offering that same concept – currently FB and Twitter Tips for a business… A business must always keep the concept of WIIFT at the forefront of their business… doesn’t matter who the customer/client is… they are with you (following) for a reason.
This is an interesting read. And i am glad i came across it.
Thanks for sharing this freely unlike most others that will sell it.
As an investment representative with investment numerous portfolios, i need a means of gathering and harvesting clients that will seek funding for their projects and one of the ways i would recommend is what you have suggested here.
thanks
God bless.
The sales and marketing process is first and foremost about relationships building. Without a relationship nothing ever gets sold. Social media is an excellent opportunity for any small business owner or entrepreneur to reach potential prospects and make relationships without leaving their office or spending loads of cash.
Twitter is a big part of the new social media opportunity and shouldn’t be ignored. One caveat is that you need to look at Twitter or any social media opportunity as just that, a media, just like print, radio, adwords, tv or direct mail. It’s a tool in a marketing arsenal that needs to be monetized, tested and measured for it to be considered a viable, time worthy investment in growing a business.
We discuss how to apply the laws of Gravitational Marketing to both online and offline media regularly in our daily web show WTF?.
I was thinking “well…ive heard people seem to be using twitter to help grow a business” etc. and to be honest before reading your article i really did not see how it could be so beneficial, but now i have read it i can see so much potential for this brilliant, fast growing site. I am literally signing up right now just because of you! i wander how many more people are in the position i am (was now, thanks to you!) in thinking “is it really worth the time?”.
Once again i commend you on your information packed, brilliant article.
Regards,
Nathan
Caterfix
Thanks to this article, I just signed up for TweetLater.
Great article. This badboy is getting saved to my desktop so I can check it out again tomorrow–I don’t think I retained half of the info.
This is a very good primer on how to use Twitter for your online buseiness.
I have recently launched my personal training website and was advised by many business experts I read about to add a twitter link. I had my programmer add a link to my homepage but not much has happened.
How does someone with a small following and unknown reputation create a huge following?
Even with solid twitter posts, how will people see it if they’re not following you?
I’d love to hear feedback from anyone
Great post and exactly the kind of info I will need to share as I attempt to grow TwitAgent. Part business venture part social media experiment. ciao for now!
I find it hard to figure out what the best tools to use. In socila media, there is just so much clutter now and it is hard to hear through the noise. To twitter or not not twitter. I think one really has to look at their lives and ask, ”what is it really that I am doing here with my life?”
Dont be a wage slave and dont be a twitter addict!
We were on the fence about Twitter for quite awhile. However, we signed up and our customers have really appreciated us letting them know about specials and new products. It’s so quick and easy that I think it’s definitely worthwhile.
Joe, do you do email promotions? You might look into sending a “follow us on twitter” campaign.
Great post!
Thanks for a good post. I constantly use Twitter.
Cool article. Thanks. We use twitter but not the way it is supposed to be used, at least until now. Going to sign up for TweetLater.
Now You can buy twitter followers. through a company uSocial. they are providing twitter marketing services i.e. adding bundles of twitter followers on payment based service
. check more on my site
I use Twitter to promote my website and telling peoples what services i provide to him. Its very effected because you immediately have a response from others to find what peoples want from you or your services.
Great article, as usual! I haven’t tried TwitterFox yet, sounds like a great tool.
Here’s a good example of a small business using Twitter well. It’s not so much the number of followers that’s impressive, it’s the way people interact with them so much. Do a search on ‘healeo’ and you’ll see what I mean.
http://twitter.com/Healeo
Great advice!
I also offer something value to businesses using Twitter. I create custom designed backgrounds. I am rated #1 in the Twitter design industry and you can find us at TwitterBackground.com. There’s tons of free backgrounds too, so def check it out.
Thanks,
James F.
a question – what did you use BUDurl to track with your plan?
As something of a novice i must admit that this tweeter thingy is amazing.Coming from me of course that means nothing…ohhh got to go…. SHE who must be obeyed is calling.Probably to do the little jobs she has been asking me to do for the past 40 years
I too was a bit sceptical about Twitter, but I recently jumped on it as well. Signing up does not take forever and it’s quick and easy to “tweet”. And don’t forget there’s a whole lot Wordpress plugins to make your life a little easier as well!
a little interesting note, though: 60% of people who tweet stop tweeting after 30 days. if only I had written the source for that piece of info!
Wonderful article on how Twitter can help your biz. I am a writer and author of books. I am using Twitter to help build my “author’s platform” and increase my global visibility so that people will want to buy and read my books.
I learned some helpful things from your article. The information about TweetLater is particularly helpful. Thank you!
Hey Michael. Thanks for some very good information on using Twitter for business. I’m pretty comfortable with it for my own “personal” use, but I’m still fumbling with it trying to figure out how I can use it to help my local offline businesses grow their business. We’re in an area where Twitter is just beginning to show, so I’m hoping that the main value is getting my business clients there before their market is there. Once again, thanks for a very informative post.
Cool article. Thanks. We use twitter but not the way it is supposed to be used, at least until now. Going to sign up for TweetLater
Very nice article with some good points. Thanks for summing them all up in one place
You’ve given me encouragement to seriously look into Twitter for my stock investing blog.
Thanks!
If you put the time into learning the ins and outs of any social networking platform you can find much success there. I personally love and have made money using Twitter for my business. There is a learning curve however.
Great post!
Thanks for the informative article. Twitter is a great tool. A lot of people thing its too time consuming, but if used well it will create traffic to your company.
Happy Tweeting..
I used the ping.fm service to update all my notifications on every single social network site. This is such a good time saving tool to hit your audience immediately and quickly.
I love this great new age networking tool! I have been on twitter for a little over 3 months now. I have not used it really for any business needs, mostly just personal needs. I enjoy the updates from people I follow. One of the people I follow is very helpful with his posts regarding apple and apple products (like the iphone) whenever I have a certain question about something, I tweet him and he responds quite quickly and always accurately. It is something that (i’m not going to lie) did not like at first. My friend introduced me to it, and he is on it constantly. He uses it for his business and upcoming screen writing career. Great tool!
Thanks for great info. I constantly use Twitter.
what i really love about twitter is how it keeps you up to date. Love it when i get a tweet that informs me of news, sports, new sites, etc. i posted a cool blog on my site about how to use twitter for your business.
You pulled a lot of thought and ideas together in one place there. Good research and good thinking.
I am a college student that is new to Twitter. After reading this article I realized that a lot of people/businesses use Twitter to network both professional and causal. Well done!
Great wake-up article on Twitter. It’s a difficult medium to assess and you presented useful concepts. Thanks!
I have decided today to start a TWITTER account. It was recommended by a friend. I’ve read all the helpful comments and decided where can I go wrong. I started a new and well needed business in Arizona (www.arizonahomedelivery), and think TWITTER will serve a huge purpose.
What a year since I originally wrote this post. Thanks for embracing it!
Mike
Great post. so relevant these days. Everyone is looking for a way to grow their business using Social Media. The amount of comments and interest is no suprise! Keep up the good work.
great article! I like Terry Rylander’s business social networking perspective. make no mistake, twitter is an essential business and web marketing tool.
I’m using Twitter as one of the key lines of our company promotion. As for me, I still didn’t catch how to convert your followers to your customers, what to post so that it will not sound like intrusive ad. After reading your post I have some ideas in mind which I’d like to switch to. Thanks for the inspiration.
I started twitter a few weeks ago, since then I’ve begun to love it. What started out as a love hate relationship it’s allowed me to network with people in my industry alot easier. News and updates happen in quickly which makes for a great social communication app.
I have decided today to start a TWITTER account. It was recommended by a friend. I’ve read all the helpful comments and decided where can I go wrong. I started a new and well needed business in Arizona (www.arizonahomedelivery), and think TWITTER will serve a huge purpose.
Check it out and give me some suggestions or constructive criticism. I need all the help I can get.
We were starting up a new FSBO company (for-sale-by-owner). when the wes site development was delayed we started using Twitter (also Linked-In & Facebook) for past 5 weeks to jump start building brand and seed the soil for SEO. I was sceptical about Twitter but now find I enjoy it and add followers every day. Getting re-Tweeted (after only 5 weeks we rank in 98.3% percentile) and getting direct messages in good numbers. We launch our web site on Monday and I will report back in a month about inter-relationship I see, if any, from continued Tweeting. paul@propertyplace.ca
We do not love twitter. But I think we have to go there too, this article is very useful for us. Thanks.