7 Ways to Use Twitter For Fun & Profit
ByThe more I use Twitter, the more I have come to rely on it. It’s fast, fun to use and has become an essential business tool. In spite of this, I frequently get questions from people who have heard of Twitter but have never used it. The gist of most of the questions is “what’s the point?”
To answer these questions I thought I’d share what I get out of Twitter.
1. Learn what leaders in my industry are doing
By following the leaders in my industry on Twitter I can see what they’re up to. I learn about teleseminars, blog posts, joint ventures projects they enter into as well as a bit about their personalities.
By keeping on top of what leaders in my industry are doing I can make sure I don’t fall behind or miss any new information. I can see what these people see as important and who they value.
And don’t worry about following people you don’t actually know. One person I follow write “Public service announcement: following me on twitter is not the same as stalking me.”
So follow away.
2. Keep on top of new technology
Several people I follow are using technology very effectively in the marketing and running of their businesses. By checking out links they post to new tools they find useful I can discover new tools for my business without having to do the research and testing myself. This saves me time and keeps me up to date.
3. Getting in touch with future joint venture partners
I’ve noticed it is getting harder to reach people by email (see yesterday’s post & comments if you don’t know what I mean). Contacting people via Twitter can be a useful way to get noticed.
Replying to someone’s Tweet can be a way to get on their radar … assuming your reply is intelligent or humorous. Sending a direct message lets someone know to watch out for an email from you.
In fact, I’ve had at least one VA tell me the best way to reach the person in question was via Twitter.
4. Keep up with your real friends and colleagues
I know a few of the people I follow in real life … or at least virtual life. These are people I talk to, email or do business with. By following them on Twitter I know what they’re up to, what’s new in their life or business. It’s a quick and easy what to stay current with people I don’t see daily.
5. Know what’s happening in the world
As a writer I can’t work with the radio on … it’s too distracting. And since I don’t get in the car every day (where I usually listen to the radio), I don’t always hear what’s happening in the world. That is, until I started following the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) on Twitter.
Several times a day they send Tweets with headlines of the day’s news. I can see at a glance what’s going on. Usually the headlines are enough for me, but if I need more information I can just click on the link to read the entire story. No more feeling out of touch.
6. Make world events more personal
Occasionally world events impact someone I’m following on Twitter. The recent hurricanes are a prime example. By reading their Tweets about how current events are affecting them personally makes these events more real. They’re not just interesting or shocking events happening on the news. They are impacting people I “know”.
7. Let people get to know you
Look at all the ways I use Twitter and use them to guide you in making Tweets to your followers. Show off your business knowledge, share new technology you love – or hate, recommend books, people or websites, announce events or new products, comment on how current events are impacting you.
Above all, remember Twitter should be a conversation. So don’t be afraid to “talk” to people you follow on Twitter.
Happy Tweeting.
Andrea J. Stenberg
Have I missed a way to use Twitter? Let me know how you use Twitter by leaving a comment below. If you’re not currently on Twitter why not give it a try? Sign up and start following me to see what it’s all about.
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[...] The way we talk to each other had changed dramatically. First email, now Facebook. Andrea Stenberg at The Baby Boomer Entrepreneur often gets asked what to do with the social media site Twitter. To answer those questions, Andrea wrote 7 Ways to Use Twitter For Fun & Profit [...]
Andrea, great article. I might have to do my own riff for mediators who wonder about twitter.
BTW, what happens when you have two businesses to tweet about? Separate tweet handles? Does it add to confusion and how do you wrangle all those tweets.
I’d love to use Tweet to stay in touch with the mediators in my mentoring program between coaching sessions or calls. I’d also like to create a network to capture news and meet JV partners for my media network, Yoomer Media and blog, This Marriage Thing
Any advice? Thanks, Dina
Dina,
While I personally only have 1 Twitter account, I know others who have more than one Twitter persona. Some Tweet for more than one business. Others have a professional Twitter persona and another more personal one.
If you wanted to create Tweets for those in your mentoring program – and you wanted to keep those Tweets private – you could create a separate account just for that and check the “protect my updates” box in the settings.
The real trick is to keep in manageable. You don’t want to spend so much time managing your social media than doing actual work. On the other hand, 140 characters means you have to keep your messages short and sweet (or should that be short and Tweet!).
Andrea
[...] J. Stenberg, The Baby Boomer Entrepreneur presents 7 Ways to Use Twitter For Fun & Profit posted at The Baby Boomer Entrepreneur by Andrea J. Stenberg, saying, “Ever wondered how to [...]
Most of all I enjoy the tech alerts!
Just came to twitter and enjoying it.
Thanks for this excellent post.
Great post!
I use Twitter for research – I’ll sometimes poll my followers to see if they have ideas or inputs on anything from how they use the GCal sync to how to decorate a wall in my breakfast room. I’ve gotten some great answers.
Cheers!
Misty
Misty,
The great thing about using Twitter for research is your feedback is pretty instantaneous. People are more likely to reply since it’s only 140 characters.
Andrea
Great ideas presented here. One thing that I don’t see is how you can promote your business through using Twitter. Your blog postings can automatically go as a update and you can post “status” updates to let people know what you are up to as well.
To your success!
Stephanie
[...] J. Stenberg, The Baby Boomer Entrepreneur presents 7 Ways to Use Twitter For Fun & Profit posted at The Baby Boomer Entrepreneur by Andrea J. Stenberg, saying, “Ever wondered how to [...]
Nice job on the post.
You missed how boomer consumers can use Twitter for consumer information to boost their consumer power.
I blogged about it today on The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide at http://boomersurvive-thriveguide.typepad.com/the_survive_and_thrive_bo/2009/03/twitter-rapidly-rolls-in-consumer-information-for-baby-boomers.html.
Rita
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