5 reasons you should change your mind about Twitter

With more and more businesses using social media, people are beginning to worry that they are missing out on something if they’re not using it. But what is the point of Twitter?

Not so long ago, I didn’t see the point of Twitter. From the outside, looking in, Twitter made little sense to me and I didn’t think Twitter was important.

Now that I know how Twitter works I’ve changed my mind! I can give you 5 good reasons why you should join your friends, mentors and competitors on Twitter.

Tweets are public and searchable.

This means that you can look for tweets relevant to any search term, organisation, or individual. Unlike Facebook where you need to be a “friend” or a “fan” to get access to a person’s messages, you can simply search for the topic you are interested in and find people who are talking about it. Twitter enables you to build a network of relevant, valuable connections fast – with people you didn’t even know existed!

Google cares about fresh content.

If you care about your visibility in Google, you will want to know that fresh, new content matters. The new emphasis on fresh content means that tweeting regularly may help establish your Twitter account, and your website if you link to it, as valuable sources of information. Using Twitter has certainly helped me to think more seriously about what I can share to give more value to my customers, and how I can use a combination of Twitter and my website to keep my internet presence fresh and up to date. Google is also trying to find a popular way of including Social Media in it’s search results, but not everybody is happy with the solution so far.

Every Twitter user is within your reach.

Before Twitter, your favourite celebrities, artists, journalists, and business speakers were out of reach. You would need a good reason to contact them, and you’d need their address or telephone number. Now, we’ve got Twitter:

If you read something in the news, you can now write a question on Twitter and have a brief exchange with the journalist who wrote the article. Simply look up their @username and include it next to your comment.

If you watch a TV program that has a hashtag (#) you can include it in your tweet and suddenly you are having a conversation with other people who are watching the show, and possibly even the people who were involved in making it. Simply keep your eye out during the program for any word beginning with # and join the discussion by including it in your tweet.

When you find business people who inspire you, Twitter is a great way of making a connection with that person. You can reply to their tweets, ask them a question, and comment on their work. Twitter enables you to network with people you’ve never even met.

And this works both ways. If your online presence demonstrates what you do and gives people a reason to talk to you, then people will want to seek you out and talk to you about what you do. Twitter makes it so easy for them to do so.

Twitter has super-charged the “word of mouth” effect

The power of “word of mouth” is, I think, universally acknowledged. When someone talks about a brand, product, or service, the people who know and trust that person take notice. Quite suddenly you can gain business on the back of one person’s recommendation, or loose business based on their criticisms.

The thing that struck me when I started using Twitter, is that Social Media (in all its forms) is the “New Word of Mouth”. A vast number of recommendations or negative reviews are broadcast on the internet, and just because you’re not using Social Media, doesn’t mean that you’re not being talked about. This is not to be feared.

Truly, Social Media is a good thing for word of mouth. It makes it easy and effortless for people to make recommendations and share information about your business – and over any distance too! You can use this to your advantage and here is one example:

If you ran an event or workshop you could give the event a hashtag (e.g. #youreventname), and encourage everyone who attends your event to give their feedback on Twitter. People like to tweet about what they’re involved in, and anyone discussing your workshop, training, or service is giving you more exposure! People who like what you do will also follow you, and promote you to their followers. And so your visibility grows.

Twitter keeps you ‘in the loop’.

Twitter is valuable because allows you to bounce ideas off people, find opportunities, and build relationships around your business. This is invaluable for someone like me who works alone, from home.

Most of the people I follow have blogs that keep me up to date with what is going on in my industry, and they are inspiring, busy people, leading by example. They keep me on my toes, and give me things to think about.

How much contact do you have with other people in your industry? Do you know what your competitors are doing? Are you doing something every day to improve or grow your business? Twitter can help with all these things, and more.

If you are seeking inspiration and support, you can find it on Twitter. On Twitter, people are talking about what they are doing; they are also sharing information and resources that can help you focus your business and your time.

If you are already using Twitter, how do you use it, and what made you decide to use it for your business?

Tagged with: Internet Support, Networking, Small Business, Social Media, Twitter

Categorised as: Social Media, Teach Me Useful Things