Truth… People communicate the way they like to be communicated to!
We all do it. If you like email, you tend to use more email. If you like Facebook, you spend more time on there then Twitter or LinkedIn. It's like living in a bubble of our comfort zone. The cornerstone of effective communications is being where people want to meet you, not where you want to meet them. You need to make yourself accessible and work on building a following. And that's what most people are looking for with their message… a following of people who will engage with them and share their content with others!
On any given day… I have clients email, call, Facebook message, Tweet, LinkedIn message, text messages and more. If I am not where they want me to be I will miss potential opportunities. What are you missing?
Tiger Woods on Pintrest
Google+ was going to be the Facebook killer, but it just does not have the traction of any of the other Big 3! Love him or hate him… Tiger Woods has only 31,948 likes on Google Plus, 2,552,726 on Facebook, and 2,210,463 on Twitter. Pintrest is the latest darling of the Social Media world. It's fun and beautiful, but lacks content and substance (Tiger is not there, but Golf Digest has a Pinboard with his name and photos).
Tiger, like most celebrities, has millions of followers and only follows 15 people on Twitter. Twitter is one of the most utilized social media properties, but also one of the most misunderstood properties. People just don't get what you can do with 140 characters, and its so visually boring. And if you follow more than 100 people, when you refresh the screen, all the most recent tweets are gone (scrolled down the screen below).
[box size=”large” style=”rounded”]A Twit Tweets… but if a Twits too much… then the Tweeter is a TWIT – and we call that TWAM (Twitter Spam)[/box]
During my presentations, I cover Facebook first (most people know and use it), LinkedIn second (people use it but are always willing to learn more) and Twitter third (I have never had at least 1/2 the people raise their hands to say they use it). When I ask who understands it, even fewer people raise their hands. Well I think I have come up with a metaphor that makes it more understandable.
People compose tweets with all the necessary components (#-hash tags, @-mentions and using url shortners) to compose within those 140 charter limits. There are millions per minute being served up. And unlike Facebook and LinkedIn, you DO NOT need to be connected with the Tweeter to be able to read their tweets. In some people's world it's just noise or static… and they are right.
Think of this static like thousands of radio or TV channels (waves) in the air, You need to have a TV or radio, that allows you to tune in the channels you want to listen to, and ignore the ones you don't. That's what makes Twitter so powerful and the most used tool to disseminate breaking news. Once you learn to dial in the right information, you will be amazed on how useful and powerful it can be. In a future blog I will talk about how to tune in an utilize those channels to build and promote your business.
What are your thoughts on using Twitter for your business?
Looking forward to more about tweeting!
I can’t Disappoint Ellen : ) Thanks!
Whatever Twitter is supposed to be aside, it has become a powerful broadcast medium. It’s quickly becoming the preferred news channel. Just check out the #breaking hashtag for a stream of live news. I’m sure it will morph over the next year, but businesses that are not using it to broadcast their message and engage their customers are really missing out.
Great Points… Thanks for the comment!
I didn’t understand Twitter prior to this article and still do not get how it will help my business. I do have a Twitter page and have tweeted in the past. Several people follow me just because I am in healthcare, I believe, but are probably not impressed with my output.
I get that it has helped in riots and the like but don’t see how it applies to my business.
Guess I need your help Brian.
Annie… I will address some of that in the next blog post! But I appreciate your frustration! : )
I am one of the few people in my network who has actually closed sales from connections on Twitter. In fact, the traffic to my blog from Twitter is often about 10 times that of any other social network. Twitter rules!
But like any other marketing, Twitter takes a consistent effort to gain results.
Love to hear that Heidi… and I totally agree with the effort to gain results!
I’ve never been taught how to REALLY use Twitter, so I stumble along. Still don’t know what hash tags are for.
Helpful! Thanks! More on Twitter, please.