I just posted about the five reasons I use Twitter. In hopes that I may have persuaded a few people to give Twitter a shot for themselves, here are a few tips for getting started.
1. First of all, even if you’re still not sold, you should still protect your brand by securing your name, and your company name on Twitter, before someone decides to get on there as you. For example, Paul doesn't actively use Twitter (yet), but he has set up two profiles — one for himself and one for PR 20/20. (Another brand management tip — go to Twitter search, pick a keyword, like maybe your company or brand name, and see what people are already saying about you.)
2. It’s generally not a great idea to tweet as “YourCompanyName” unless
you are only posting about company info. But unless your company does
really cool stuff, that would probably be boring and nobody will want
to follow you. (For an example of a Twitter brand that works, check
out
@BaconSalt.)
3. When you set up a profile,
include as much information as you can.
Don’t leave stuff blank, upload a photo of yourself and link to your
Website. People are more likely to follow you if they know you’re a
real person, especially one who seems interesting.
4. Arguably, in any area of social media there becomes a gray area
where
your private and public self start to merge. I think this is
especially true with Twitter, particularly if you are using it to
network for business, because you don’t’ want to lose your voice or
personality. This might sound scary, but really, it’s pretty cool to
actually get to know people.
5. Whether you think it or not,
people rarely post stuff like “I’m
eating breakfast,” “I’m bored,” and “watching TV. I love LOST.” Its
actually more like “reading an interesting article about the bailout at
URL,” or “if you’re in the Cleveland area tonight, check out this
concert,” or “I’m traveling to Boston next week, anyone want to meet
up?” This is useful stuff, for information and for networking.
6. If you give Twitter a try,
give it time. Twitter is difficult at
first. Start by following anyone you know (or even vaguely know).
Then look for people you admire in your industry — most major bloggers,
for example, are probably on Twitter. Follow people and see the kind
of things they tweet about. Then, post your own updates that are
useful to others (but don’t constantly only promote your own content).
When you feel comfortable, send someone an @ reply like “hey I liked
your blog post about XXX” or “thought you might be interested in this
article.” Relationships will build organically, and the whole thing
becomes really, really cool. (And very valuable, in my opinion, both
personally and professionally.)
Want more information on using Twitter for your business? Check out
the free Webinar,
How to Use Twitter for Marketing & PR, TODAY
(Friday, Oct. 10) at 2:00 p.m. EDT.
(And if you’re on Twitter, or want to be, follow me
@LaurelMackenzie.)
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