I’m busting out of the Twitter 10 format to bring you my top ten reasons for why Twitter is one of the most powerful tools in your social media toolkit. Like any social networking site Twitter can be distracting depending on how you choose to use it & who you follow. I have personally found that not only is Twitter NOT distracting for me it helps my workflow & makes my job easier. Here’s how:
1. Goodbye Loneliness, Hello Happiness Working at home, especially with small children can be very isolating and lonely. Pre-Twitter I remember days where I searched job listings and thought about just going back to the grind so I could have real human interaction on a daily basis. Twitter completely eliminated that feeling of alienation. Any time I need to talk with someone who speaks in complete sentences and can relate to my ideas I hop on Twitter and get instant feedback. It’s very much like working with a huge team where everyone supports and respects each other. How amazing is that?!
2. Build Your Community If you are using Twitter mainly for self-promotion then you are missing the whole point. I have read articles that suggest your tweeting should be 20-40% promotion and the rest interaction. Don’t think of it as wasting time, think of it as building a community of people who support who you are and what you do. You wouldn’t go to a networking event and talk about yourself the whole time right? Same thing on Twitter.
3. Make Amazing Connections Seeking out people who inspire and challenge you on Twitter is a recipe for fueling your passion. I won’t deny there have been times I have jumped up and down or sat grinning at the computer because Twitter had connected me to people I have admired for YEARS, or in one case since childhood. It’s brilliant when someone you have been influenced by sees value in what you do & chooses to connect with you. It is like a massive pat on the back and that feeling of affirmation makes you more confident and able to push past any fears or insecurities.
4. Be More Efficient with your Networking I did marketing well before I started with OMHG-I used to send bazillions of emails, spend hours and hours on the phone and loose a lot of time seeking out people to connect with. Twitter has not eliminated that work but it has definitely more then halved it. Making initial connections via Twitter opens the door for when it’s time to send a personal email or see if someone is up for collaborating. You can lay the foundation for taking a business relationship to the next step.
5. Just Be Yourself Twitter is all about personal connections-it’s basically one big conversation. So it is the perfect opportunity to build your business and yourself by offering just one thing-YOU. People want to connect with your true self-whether you’re cheerful and bubbly or hilariously sarcastic. So much of the new marketing is based on building brands that people can really connect and identify with-but being yourself can be scary for a business owner. Twitter is the perfect place to build your confidence speaking in your own voice and that will transfer over to everything else you do-blogging, writing product descriptions, email pitches, you name it!
6. Find New Opportunities If you are a jumper, when you see tweets about job openings, calls for submissions, gallery openings, new stores, whatever relates to you, you can take the opportunity and dive right in. I am totally a both feet, heart in my hand kind of person so I always jump when I see something that is just SO right for me. It might lead nowhere but it could also be just the chance needed to open doors to brand new possibilities. So don’t hesitate when you see a tweet that speaks to you-speak up!
7. Meet Your Market If you are trying to market a product or service the most important thing is to know exactly who your market is. Nothing gives you the ability to see inside the lives of your customers and clients in a totally non-voyeuristic way like Twitter. It’s like an invitation into someone’s daily life. You can find out what your market values, how they talk and want to be talked to, what excites them, what upsets them, all the things that you need to know in order to really understand how to share what you’re offering. Then you can take all that knowledge and use it to help you define what your business needs.
8. Talk to People Who Are Really Listening By following and connecting with people who will appreciate what you do you can zero in on contacts that can further you and your work. Building relationships with magazine and blog editors, shop owners, trendsetters and also customers is so beneficial. It can help cut through all the preliminary “getting to know you” jitters and when you have a pitch or are ready to share a product the person you are emailing already knows you and is far more likely to respond. A large number of people who have been featured on OMHG or who are now contributing contacted me first through Twitter and built a friendship before ever asking for anything or I approached them after seeing how they interacted on Twitter. I love that!
9. Get Unstuck I am sure there are many people who use Twitter as a distraction or a way to avoid doing work. For me it’s the total opposite, I hop on Twitter when I am feeling stuck or frustrated and in a few minutes I am feeling ready to go back and focus again. I know this has a lot to do with who you follow, if your feed is full of incredible, talented and articulate people then every time you head over to Twitter you are going to be inspired!
10. Let Your Hair Down Twitter can be a place to party and just have fun too! I love our monthly #omhg Twitter parties and have been thinking of making them a weekly thing. There is nothing like having a big chat-fest with people you know and admire while also getting to make new friends and learn some tips & tricks. The ideas generated from our parties have also fueled a lot of my ideas and posts while helping me understand who my followers are (& why they are so totally awesome). So if you haven’t hosted or participated in a Twitter party please do, it’s SO much fun! We’re meeting today from 12-2 EST using the hashtag #omhg and I would love to see you there. I also found this fabulous new program for Twitter parties-Tweetchat, I’ll be giving it a try today but it seems like a great way to make meeting even easier.
How do you feel about Twitter? Share in the comments below or join us today for our party!
