Ok, so the talk in town is how Twitter can used for ROI on business. Many business owner get overwhelmed by the lack of potential they may be reaching by not staying on top of the trends. I’m not sure what’s more annoying; those who refuse to believe Twitter is good for anything, or those who preach all words “tw” as though they invented it themselves. Seems it’s either your religion, or it’s not.
I enjoy my intermittent episodes on Twitter. Every time I log on, I use search.twitter.com to dig up a few more professed marketing experts to follow. For me, this happens in Starbucks, or when I’m waiting for sushi or just plain can’t stand the thought of trying to get a few more sentences of work done.
In my Twitter travels I came across a great article that explains how to explain Twitter to non-users. According to the article, the mistake most people make is comparing Twitter to their email accounts. With email, we feel an obligation to stay on top of our inbox and respond accountably. On the other hand, Twitter is more like the older world of newspapers. With a newspaper we can carry it around and read headlines as they catch our eye. There is no obligation to read the paper from the front cover through to the sports section, nor do we feel any remorse rejecting it in a pile of recycling. Such is Twitter – the information source that is always there and never an obligation.
When I first started using Twitter, I thought it would be fun to follow celebrities (and yes, I still follow Ashton Kutcher and Ryan Seacrest). But this got boring fast. What I really wanted was information that would grow me and keep me on the cutting edge of marketing. This is where I started building my rolodex of people to follow. First I searched for marketing generally, and tripped over the usual Seth Godins and Guy Kawasakis. I checked out who they were following and found a rich resource of marketing professionals. I also discovered Mr. Tweet, a Twitter application that recommends friends based on an overlap of who the people you are following are following. After this refinement, I was able to filter out the random natter and recieve a list of posts more relevant to my business interests.
I wish I had Twitter in University for now it’s one of my key tools for research. My Twitter account is a long list of tiny urls that direct me into random places on the information superhighway I wouldn’t otherwise stumble upon. I discover new companies, free webinars and new people I’d like to meet one day.
As for concrete results? I’m still waiting. I have yet to make my millions using Twitter so in the meantime I’m enjoying the view.
Tags: fiona friesen, Glue Solutions, social media calgary, twitter
