Tags
engage in social media, how to be successful on Twitter, how to improve your personal brand, how to stand out on Twitter, how to use Twitter, social engagement, social networking on Twitter, Twitter, ways to use Twitter for your business
Today is Twitter’s birthday. At six years of age and 140 million active users, Twitter is growing up fast!
I have to admit; I underestimated the power of Twitter. I signed up a few months ago; however, I didn’t understand the use of it until later. Why join Twitter if I am already on Facebook?
Needless to say, I eventually discovered its use. I started using Twitter in ways I never thought possible. Twitter’s power as a news source is astounding. Just by following different companies, personalities or business moguls, you are instantly connected, in real-time, to all news updates, without having to go to each individual website. I love that! I also love the endless cycle of growth opportunity that the life of a tweet opens up for you, as a personal brand, or your business. Using hashtags and connecting to related tweeters is an excellent way to grow your social media network, which taps into a much larger audience.
First and foremost, I use Twitter as a news source; I now spend at least half an hour per day reading through aggregated Twitter content that interests me. I then tweet my content updates, I tweet to send forth a message, I tweet to friends and colleagues; I’ve even started tweeting to potential employers. Guess what? It works! Employers applaud initiative and the extra legwork of research and will respond (at least some) positively.
I am by no means anything more than an excited Twitter newbie; however, the first advice I have for successful tweeting would be to generate interesting content in your tweet. The fact that you may be cleaning your apartment is to be appreciated, but no one will care. If you, however, provide content, post an interesting picture or open a debate, you participate in what is called social engagement. Like everything else in life, if you don’t give it time and love, it won’t grow. Brands are using social media to engage consumers, to lead them to convert. Why don’t you do the same?
The second advice would be to aim for targeted followers, related to your interests and line of work. They are the ones you share content with and the ones that most possibly will re-tweet. The more followers you can get on Twitter does not necessarily mean you are more successful online (except for Lady Gaga). Think of getting a million impressions (clicks) on your website, but no conversions (people actually purchasing something); it’s all due to bad targeting.
I can give you a personal example. I recently wrote an article on Jonathan Adler, after which I addressed @JonathanAdler with the link of my actual content. Much to my surprise, my tweet was re-tweeted to 19,715 followers, not once, but twice. This is the classic example of a win-win situation: the brand receives more press and I receive more traffic.
So don’t delay, start tweeting!
You can follow me at @MonicaSuma
[ Credit image: MediaBistro ]