Business Tips

We turn on the nightly news, and they’re talking about what people are Twittering.  Local businesses have “follow us on Twitter” signs in their windows.  It’s everywhere.  For such a simple concept, there are still a lot of people who don’t have the slightest clue about what Twitter actually is.  We’re here to break it down for you.

Simply:

Twitter is a website where people post status updates (tweets) about what they’re doing, reading, watching and listening to.

I like to think of Twitter as my own personal news feed.  If another Twitter user, one of my clients or a fellow wine lover is interested in following what I have to say on a daily basis, they can “follow” me.  Some days I tweet a lot (like Saturdays during College Football season), but some days are busier than others.  On the slower days, I might post tweets to articles I’m reading online, a 3 second review of the wine I’m drinking that night or my thoughts on the guy who brought a Starbucks cup into Panera.  My dad prefers to post links to his favorite vintage songs on YouTube.  It’s a little different for everyone.

You may be thinking, who cares what I’m doing?  Well, you’d be surprised.  Our society is shifting less toward the company and more toward the CEO or company representative.  There’s a focus on relationships.  Personal branding and networking is so important in today’s competitive business world.  Social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Yelp all provide opportunities to create a brand for yourself and your interests online.  I believe Twitter is the king of them all for one simple reason; Your Twitter community stretches far beyond your friends, family and colleagues.

Set up an account. Even if you don’t have any intention in twittering right now, it’s still a good idea to claim your business or personal name on Twitter.  Go to the website and click “sign up”  www.twitter.com.

How to find the right people to follow: One of the great things about Twitter is that you can connect with people who love the same things you do.  Maybe you’re interested in ketchup, wine, Garfield, boat building or business development?  Whatever it is, there are people tweeting about it all the time.  Go to search.twitter.com to try it out.  When you find someone interesting, click on their picture and find the “follow” button on their profile.  You can always “unfollow” them later if you decide they’re not as interesting as you thought.

Post your first tweet: I know so many people who spent days trying to figure out what to tweet.  It’s true that this concept may take some time to get used to.  Don’t think about it too much.  If you want to see what I’m tweeting as an example, click here:  http://www.twitter.com/angeladenby

Why do I want followers?: Well if you’re a business, it’s obvious why you would want more people to see what you’re putting out there.  If you’re starting an individual Twitter account, followers are good because you have a better chance of someone replying to something you say.  Twitter is all about the conversation.  Keep in mind, quality is better than quantity.  Ten miscellaneous followers will probably not compete with one follower who shares your interests and finds value in what you’re saying.

Who has time for Twitter? Twitter was created for use on the go.  You can easily set it up with your current cell phone and send messages like you would a text message.  You can do this in your Twitter settings area, it’s very easy.

140 Characters or Less: One last thing, you can only post a total of 140 characters in each tweet.  If you have more to say, you need a blog.  You can link your twitter followers to your blog if you have one.  Check out Blogger to set up one easily and for free.

For more information:

Twitter Power -  This is a great book for someone who wants to really learn everything there is to know about Twitter and how to use it best.

Twitter 101 for Business – The Twitter website provides a great resource for business Twitter usage complete with case studies.

Twitter Guidebook – As you begin using Twitter, Mashable’s Twitter guidebook is a great resource for learning more.  If you’re ready to get started with Twitter this very minute, check out this resource.