That’s Right I Tweet… And You Should Too!
Nearly every time I tell my friends, family, and even coworkers that I’m on Twitter the SAME thing happens: They look at me like I just told them that I secretly play Dungeons and Dragons in my basement. Or Farmville. Or maybe that I run a secret Star Trek book club on the weekends.
Let’s be real – Social Media brings the geek out (see my post on it) But after only being on Twitter since December – I’ve tweeted 1,416, gained 662 followers, and been recognized on 55+ lists – and I’ve become a believer in the impact that it can have professionally.
In addition to all the geekyness and noise – we are talking about an extremely powerful tool that is growing at an incredible rate. On the twitter blog this month @kevinweil (Analytics Lead at Twitter) detailed the growth using the metric of Tweets per Day: “Folks were tweeting 5,000 times a day in 2007. By 2008, that number was 300,000, and by 2009 it had grown to 2.5 million per day. Tweets grew 1,400% last year to 35 million per day. Today, we are seeing 50 million tweets per day—that’s an average of 600 tweets per second.”
Friends, family, coworkers – let me tell you that is either a lot of Dungeons and Dragons, serious fake farmers, and a massive Klingon population- or, alternatively, we could be on to something here…
To be honest, I question why most of the same people giving me a hard time about being on Twitter aren’t driving themselves crazy thinking about what they are missing… about the potential opportunity cost of not being connected to people and companies that they otherwise may never have a relationship with. Think about this for a second – Are you in a job that sells services? Is your style the “consultative” sales approach? Do you have a medium to long sales cycles? Yes, Yes, & Yes and you are STILL not on Twitter? Beware – you are missing potential opportunities! Chris Brogan gives you the answer in his book, Trust Agents – page 165 – Twitter is a big time enabler by allowing you to Be In the Relationship Before the Sale.
Still not convinced? Check out Amber Naslund‘s recent post on how she made $100K with Twitter. It’s the same idea – Twitter enabled Amber to get connected to people in industries that interested her, and in turn it provided a network of potential clients that she would have otherwise never met. She talked “about everything from work to cooking to horseback riding to beer and cars and pets and books.” She was in the relationship before the sale.
So I am diving in – building community, learning, sharing information, and developing relationships. I’m making friends. I am not even thinking about sales, but I know that when the time comes and someone needs a good project manager or HR consultant, maybe they’ll think of me and give me an opportunity. And you? Well, you might be working the phone or hanging out at the oh-so-predictable business mixer with a stack of business cards. Or you can join me, try it out – build a network – cultivate leads and watch relationships grow. Then the next time that someone questions you about twitter you can proudly say – That’s right I tweet…. and you should too!
Jason,
We are practically in the same boat, statistically speaking, in regards to Twitter. I have been on since October and have found it to be very worthwhile. I have created better relationships with HR folks; more in that time than the entire time I have been in HR. This to me has been success.
I’m surprised how much effort it takes to convince people being on Twitter is not a waste of time. I wish the response, “I don’t want to know when people go the bathroom” was illegal. So if I can’t convince I just think, more power to me.
Like you I think, when a new opportunity arises (say for an HR Director), a Twitter connection is going to think first, who do I know on Twitter, and think of me.
I’m new to your blog. I’m glad I discovered it. I’m looking forward to reading more.
Jason –
This is a GREAT post. I live and breathe this concept every day – personally and professionally. I manage my company’s Twitter account and we’ve seen such a drastic change in the way people respond to us & include us … and essentially we’re doing exactly what Chris Brogan (and you) said – building the relationship before the sale.
A lot of my friends give me a hard time about Twitter too, but I just try to remember that they don’t understand what WE understand. Twitter is a very powerful tool and resource for all things business and personal. I’ve made so many connections, built so many relationships, and seen how it changes the business world. Just yesterday I wrote a post about my “Dove tragedy” and how Dove responded to ME via Twitter. Social media is just amazing really.
Anyways, I’m rambling –> Thank you for a great post!
-Elizabeth
Hey J – I think many people that use Twitter the right way, feel the same way that you do. Once you find the right circle, it’s easy to continue building up the solid online presence that is needed to continue building connections.
I really didn’t know anyone on Twitter when I first started. Things were slow for a couple months, then rapidly I begin building up followers, but more importantly, connections.
It’s a wonderful tool, and I’m glad that not everyone is on it. I only want those who add value to me. Not everyone will get enjoyment out of this tool, and that’s ok. Id rather it just be the people that bring value to my career and I.
Great Post J – I’m a Twitter novice…have you had much trouble distinguishing between Professional and Personal Tweets?
@Paul – I agree – the connections I have been able to develop in a short time has been worthwhile for me as well. Not everyone will ‘get’ Twitter or the power of the tool – just as not everyone will jump into social media in general. Rich is probably right in his comment. Thanks for commenting, I really like your blog as well.
@Elizabeth – Great feedback on the impact to your company after introducing Twitter. I would love to hear more about that! I’ll have to check out the Dove post.
@Rich – Totally agree with your post – it’s a great way to connect with people you otherwise wouldn’t have met, and then continue to build those relationships in a virtual way.
@Erin – No trouble there my friend – personally I like to keep my mix about 80% professional, 20% personal. I think people like to see the real, authentic you, so trying to maintain a tight professional persona that doesn’t reflect reality isn’t an approach that I would recommend. On the ‘following’ front – you have the power to follow who you would like – so keep it professional, weave in some personal contacts, or follow all celebrities and comedians if you would like. Choice is yours. Twitter also provides you the ability to list your contacts, so that you can quickly reference content from certain groups of the people you follow. And yes, I have already locked up the @sysev account, just in case!
I’m an early Twitter adopter – it plays well with other social media and is an important place to be. Also, short communication is practical. Thanks for sharing your thoughts – really like your blog!
Marsha, totally agree. I was ‘late’ as compared to some of you, but I love where it fits in the social media ‘spectrum’: short – microblogging – 140 character limited thoughts and communication – I’m learning a lot and building community at the same time! Thanks for stopping in and for the compliment.
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