It’s easy to sign up and get a Twitter account up and running. The hard part about Twitter is what do I do next? How do I make Twitter work in Halifax, Dartmouth, Truro and elsewhere?
Firstly, whether you use Twitter for business or for personal use, I want you foremost to have fun with Twitter. Remember that we are connecting and chatting with people on the other end. Some of the most interesting Twitter accounts have humor and fun pouring out from them.
Secondly, you may ask me…”What do I say?” Here are a few suggestions for you to get you started:
- Talk about something you are passionate about; that hobby or interest for example.
- Find people talking about interesting things and chat with them on Twitter.
- Share links to web pages and information that you found interesting and useful.
- Share great tweets from others by retweeting them to your followers.
- Have a profound thought? Put it on Twitter and send it out to the Twitterverse.
Thirdly, you might just look around and see what’s out there. Starting off, you may just want to search for people and conversations, and watch what is going on. You can learn a lot from what others are doing on Twitter.
Now as a business, you will want to connect with others and share what’s going on with your business. This is to be done in a two way fashion via conversations, as much as possible. This is not to be broadcasting or selling to the masses. Twitter is about building advocates and people that refer your business. People will “Pull” the information out of you. Don’t try to “Push” it at them.
Most importantly to note, Twitter & social media are only the start of great conversations. When ever possible, you should try to meet people for a coffee or get together as a group in a Meet Up. Don’t just limit your Twitter to online.
As a business, you want to meet as many people face to face as possible, when ever possible. These people could be your customers. At the very least, they could become advocates for what you do and sing your praises.
I want you to understand that it will take a while for you to get good at Twitter. As you use Twitter, you will learn new skills and ways of communicating better. So try to use Twitter each day and establish a presence there. Don’t be afraid to reach out and say “Hi”. There are a lot of great people on Twitter.
So what’s our walk-a-way for today? Twitter and social media applications are social tools. The longer you have lived, the more social skills you should have developed. These skills are a valuable asset for your Twitter experience. Just think of all the great things you have to share. So let’s get sharing.
