I’m almost positive that you have at least heard of the word once in your life, right? Although you may not be using the service right now, let me give you a couple of reasons why it could be useful to you.
The most common question: What the heck is it?
To sum it up: Twitter is really the easiest way to network with people across the globe without the travel expenses. Well, that’s my definition but to be a little more detailed, it’s a form of micoblogging. You have 140 characters to answer the question, “What’s happening?” You can share whatever it is you want to tell the world. Just be careful on what that is. When I mention Twitter to people they immediately think that it’s about people posting their daily food intake. And it really is not. Sure some people might do that but guess what? You are not required to follow them.
There are many ways you can use Twitter to enhance your life. Let me count the ways…
1.) Be in the know.
Interested in a certain industry or career? This is the easiest way to keep up on trends happening in any arena. Twitter is a real life timeline of trends and what is happening right now. And if you are not on it, how will you be able to keep up?
2.) Wanna stalk a celebrity without risking a restraining order or order of protection?
Twitter is perfect! Absolutely everyone is using Twitter and that includes celebrities. Many celebrities tweet often and share photos of where they are at the time and who they are with. Following your favorite person is a stellar way to connect with them and feel closer to them.
3.) Starting your own business or looking for a job?
Twitter is perfect for that as well. No matter the industry: health, media, business, entertainment, even dog catching, doesn’t matter, you can find a conversation happening about it on Twitter.
How do I find people to people follow?
This is a common question. Go to http://search.twitter.com/ and type in a topic, person, company, whatever you are interested in learning more about. You’ll get a list of tweets that include your query. From there, you can visit the people who are tweeting about your query, read their bio and decide if they are someone you deem worthy to follow. It’s really that simple.
How to use Twitter
Okay so now you have a basic understanding of Twitter and how you can use it. Let me explain how to use it. First thing I need you to remember is that this is networking. And the purpose is to build relationships so people will learn to know, like and trust you. When it comes to answering the question: “What are you doing?” feel free to share something personal but also strive to provide useful information to people who are following you.
What do I post?
Start of small. Follow a couple of people and just “listen” to the conversation happening. Then chime in. You can post a quote you like and then next post an article that you wrote, related to your industry or that you just found interesting or funny. But don’t stop there. Remember, I said this is about networking. Engage with your followers and others. Ask questions, answer questions, comment on something they posted or even retweet it. It’s how you get noticed.
Warning: Twitter is not a toy, it is a valuable tool (one of many) to build and expand your network. Just like you wouldn’t go up to someone you don’t know and start making demands and tell them what you want and what they can do for you, you don’t do that on Twitter either. No my friend, develop relationships with everyone because you never know who knows who, who knows who, who knows someone who can help you or you can help in the future.
I may have used some terms that you are unfamiliar with, so look to A non-fanatical beginner’s guide to Twitter (http://bit.ly/2cd7JM) for a description of terms. And when you do sign up on Twitter follow me at http://twitter.com/ChaChanna.
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