Everyday I ask myself. Is twitter an effective medium. My answer is yes!
I am learning to be smarter on twitter and it is paying huge dividends. You need to be a leader and you need to work on it every day.
Here are some things I have learned…
Watch time spent on twitter. Are you in love with the twitter superstars and retweeting all of their great content. Please stop, no one cares if you are the carrier of the message. You need to be leading the conversation. Engaging from time to time is cool, but honestly someone who has over 50,000 followers is not concerned about you retweeting his/her message. Lead – Don’t Follow!
Use twitter to carry your message. Your message should be on your website or blog site. Twitter is perfect for getting the news out to people. Also, last year, I called on four local newspapers on a big story and received zero response. I wrote a blog and spread my message on twitter and other social media sites and received coverage from local television stations. Lead by publicizing your own content – Don’t Follow other companies and wait for them to break the story.
Talk about other people and companies accomplishments on your blog site as well as on twitter. I have really found that writing comments on other blog sites can go a long way in building a relationship with other companies. Also, take time to recognize very cool companies on your own blog site. This information will get noticed and ultimately it will show that you care about others outside your company. Lead by Serving Others -Don’t just wait for others to comment about your services.
Engage by focusing on topics and showing your expertise. Use twitter as a way to get the message out to people and to answer quick questions. From here, move the conversation to face to face or email to share more information.
Bottom-line, step up and be a leader…It’s the best way to maximize your time on twitter.
Picture MoBikeFed
Hi Brent,
Thanks for the tips and sharing your knowledge.
Gavin.
This is one of the best posts on Twitter I’ve read anywhere, and you know I read a lot about Twitter! The advice you give for how to maximize the effect of Twitter and stop playing around with it is brilliant, and I will definitely be passing it along. Yes… I’ll just be the messenger, but I’m proud to carry YOUR message! Way to go, my friend!
Susan
Wow! I know you read a lot on twitter. Coming from you, this really means a lot. Please feel free to add your own thoughts and experiences as well. I really appreciate your comment. As I stated, I know a lot of my friends on twitter are leaders and I am glad to be associated with them as well.
Brent
Great post Brent!
Thanks Jim!
[...] as possible what your point is. You will be surprised how more people will read your message. (Twitter get this – 140 characters) They will not all agree with your message, but at least they are checking you out and you are [...]
Great post Brent! Thanks for being on top of how to help us use these tools to enhance our lives both personally and professionally. I’m so glad we’re friends. You’ve taught me so much. Keep up the great work.
Bonnie – Thanks for your note!
Brent
Bonnie
Thanks for your kind words! I am glad you like the posts and find them helpful.
Brent