I have a confession. I am a twitter addict. And it’s just getting worse. I check first thing in the morning, right before bed, and a hundred times between. I may not post a lot, but I read a lot. And I learn.
Social marketing sites, like twitter or facebook, are a great resource for writers, or other business people. It allows you to get in contact with other like-minded people, exchange ideas, and get your thoughts known.
The importance of twitter as a business tool, and how it can help your business and brand, has been beaten to death by other bloggers, all better known and more knowledgeable than myself. That’s not what I’m here to tell you about.
I use twitter for work purposes. But that’s not what I spend most of my time doing on there. I watch and learn. I interact. I am making friends. I am part of a little cluster of other mom writers who get on twitter to share not only the challenges and triumphs of their writing career, but also about how their darling son or daughter just will not go down for a nap. Or how their husband is out late. Or how they can’t wait to get together with a group of friends for lunch. I share about my obsession with Two and A Half Men, and House. I share about my love of cooking. Ask my twitter friends how often I post about baking. They’ll tell you. (Have a loaf of bread making right now, actually.)
It is definitely important to build connections, make business contacts, and find ways to grow your business. But it is, dare I say it, even more important to build relationships. Be friendly. Be supportive. Ask questions, comment, cheer people on as they meet their goals. I remember the interactions I have that leave me smiling. And if I’m looking for a product or service, I’ll turn to those people first.
Make a lasting impression. Not just with a great product, but with a great personality.
And, in case you’re wondering, you can find me on twitter as @bluewingz.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree entirely. Taking part in social networks is becoming increasingly important – sometimes it feels like “keeping an ear to the ground”. Twitter and Facebook look (at the moment) like they may end up being the last ones standing once the shakeouts start happening.
I wouldn’t want to work for MySpace at the moment.
I agree 100% with your ideas here. Networking always has been a beneficial process, we now simply have more and more ways to do it. However, Social Networking, like Twitter, Myspace, and Facebook should be used as such and networking almost secondary. It’s about being social. Sites like LinkedIn and ZoomInfo are for 100% professional networking. I believe there’s a lot of confusion about that, especially with the Internet Marketing folks who think Twitter Spamming is completely acceptible. It’s not about flooding Twitter with obnoxious messages. It’s about socializing. Just like networking in person involves conversation, give and take, and socilizing. Meeting someone at a conference and going for a drink. If you’re at a conference, you certainly aren’t go to throw fliers and business cards at people as you run by them, right??
Diana, I think that is something that twitter uses forget. I see a lot of profiles that are based around promoting themselves. I don’t follow them. I think that it is perfectly fine to market yourself a bit, by leading people to your blog or article posts, but not all of them, all the time. I got a giggle out of the visual of conference viewers throwing business cards at people. Maybe using one of those big confetti blowing machines? That would be a much more efficient way of getting it done.
John, I never got Myspace to begin with. lol. The first networking site I actually used with any regularity was twitter, and that has only been in the last few months. “Keeping an ear to the ground” is a great way to describe it. I’m amazed at how quickly information can travel on twitter, and how quickly people respond and retweet relevant tweets. It’s a wonderful system, and it’s essential to be a part of that system if you want to get anywhere as a presence on the web.
Thanks for the great comments, guys.