If you are going to spend time on Twitter, it is as important to understand why people use Twitter as it is to understand how to use Twitter.
What makes people want to be followed and to follow you? Exactly what makes Twitter tick? Here are a few reasons why people (and businesses) Tweet: Keeping in touch.
Twitter is great for networking with friends, customers, prospects even the media.
A single tweet can let everyone know what you are up to.
This can include new product releases, blog posts, sales, or simply providing value back to your followers with tips and advice.
Making new contacts.
Over the past month I have connect with an accountant in California, an SEO specialist in Denver, and others who have helped me to grow my business.
These are people that I would never have "met" outside of this environment.
Event Planning.
Tweetups have been forming all over the country in which a group of people interested in meeting face-to-face gather at a specific time and place.
Many times these are associated with an event that is already taking place.
Do you have a facility that would accommodate such a meeting? Set the time and place and start sending out Tweets.
You will be surprised at who shows up.
Activism.
It is easy to find people on Twitter that are willing to support your cause.
The best example of this was Barack Obama's campaign managers used the @barackobama Twitter account as an tool to find and organize support for their candidate.
Twitter has even been used by severely ill people to help find donors or get medical assistance.
Marketing and business development.
Twitter is a tool that can be utilized by businesses of any size.
Because of the level playing field, Twitter can give small businesses an edge they could not afford otherwise.
Let you customers get to know the face behind the business.
Use Twitter as a tool to build your brand.
Let followers know what you stand for and what makes you different.
Monitoring your brand and reputation.
Most Tweeps (a term used to refer to people posting on Twitter) are not shy about speaking their minds.
This is especially true when it comes to things they like or dislike.
You can monitor and measure what they are saying about your product or service in real time.
On a recent webinar, I selected a product represented by one of the participants.
We did a search and there was a recent Tweet where a person had a poor experience with one of their franchisees.
The participant was able to respond to the person in near real-time and resolve the issue.
Where else could this have happened? Monitter.
com allows you to set up three search phrases and monitor Tweets.
You can set this up in the morning and keep it running in the background of your computer to check periodically.
You can reply to the Tweets right within the program.
Keeping up with the latest news.
Not long ago I was at a conference in Las Vegas.
There was a power outage that covered a good portion of the city.
People around the world heard about this outage within seconds of it happening.
Long before the media had time to report the incident.
When a US Airways plane crash-landed in the Hudson River, the first photo was submitted by a Twitter who tweeted "There's a plane in the Hudson and I'm on the ferry to pick up the people.
" Simplicity.
Twitter was created from the idea of allowing people to post status updates and that is what it still does.
It has evolved way beyond the basic "What are you doing?" However, it still helps to keep things short and sweet.
Twitters limitation of 140 characters is its greatest strength.
It takes practice to get your message across in 140 characters or less, but it is an art worth developing.