I've been hearing and reading about Twitter for a long time now. And then a few weeks ago I read a really negative report on it. The report basically said that unless you're marketing to teens and 20-somethings AND you have a gazillion people following you, then it's a waste of time.
As with most things, I try and come to my own conclusion - especially when it comes to Internet Marketing because there's so much hype out there.
What is Twitter
Twitter is a micro-blogging service. Basically what that means is instead of writing a long blog post that can be anywhere from 200-500 words, you have 140 CHARACTERS to answer the question, "what are you doing now?"
That question may leave you thinking "what's the point of that?" While there are those who write about mundane things like what they're having for dinner, you can carefully choose people worthy of following so you won't get that nonsense.
What to Twitter About
Try to add value to Twitter by tweeting something insightful or helpful. For the most part, I've chosen to tweet about my line of work - internet marketing and web design. I provide a bit of what I'm working on for a client and then offer a tip associated with the task. I've also referred people to a web site or a blog by providing the url which Twitter turns into a tiny url.
Who to Follow
There are all kinds of tools for people to find you on Twitter and you'll quickly see, right after joining that people will start to follow you. It's a nice courtesy to follow them back, but certainly not a requirment. Clicking on their profile will allow you to see what they've tweeted about and you can decide whether they look worthy or not. Some people probably don't care about quality and instead go for the quantity approach. Click "follow" under their profile picture to begin following a new person or business.
Twitter Tools
When finding people or subjects to follow on Twitter, visit http://search.twitter.com.
To find twitterers near where you live, visit www.nearbytweets.com.
Conclusion
Spend a few minutes each day Twittering and see what comes of it. As with most things, you have to give it time. Twitter is one tool I definately recommend because of its ability to connect you with thousands of people on a relatively personal level.
Have a good Twitter story to share? Write me and we'll talk about it here.
Looking for Internet Marketing advice? Follow me at http://twitter.com/leslietrosset.
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