Understanding Twitter: A Tell All Guide
November 24, 2009 by Michael Fleischner
Filed under Internet marketing
A number of weeks ago, a good friend turned me on to the social media phenomenon called Twitter. I have to say that I’m not a heavy user of social media and quite honestly don’t see the purpose. At least that’s what I thought prior to my experience. Three months later my thoughts and feeling have changed rather significantly.
Using Twitter starts with getting online and logging in every day. A friend turned me onto an application that allows me to make the most of a number of different Twitter functions. By using these tools and having hands on experience, I’m finding that Twitter provides a number of valuable resources for my day to day activities.
On a day-to-day basis, I’m involved with sales, marketing, account management and much more. Having a Twitter account gives me access to some of the leading authorities in my industry and others who have proficiency in the types of situations I deal with. Online social media tools allow me to connect with a variety of experts and others who have already solved many of my most difficult problems. Twitter provides direct access to many people that I otherwise would never communicate with. Celebrities, gurus, and industry experts are all available at the click of a button. Many celebrities will actually respond to you when approached directly. Truthfully I don’t know whether or not its their mom, personal assistant, or some hourly worker who is replying to my questions, but more often than not, they are filled with pearls of wisdom.
When you find a group of individuals who share your interests, concerns, and are willing to have a discussion around them, it enriches your experience. This is especially true as I have built a small following of people within my area of interest. When I have a question or topic that needs discussion, this group is there to share what they know and comment on my messages, also called tweets. Also called retweeting, the act of sending someones post to your follower happens frequently within the Twitter community.
Twitter allows you to easily filter your network of followers and those you follow. In addition, you can filter the information you receive from others. The good news is that you can respond to individual posts or chose to do nothing. The communication path is in your control. Another great thing about posts from others is that they usually contain links to helpful information on the web. You can follow these links or ignore them. Either way you have access to information you may otherwise never have found.
I resisted social media at first for a variety of reasons. Now that I have some experience with a tool like Twitter, I believe that I fully understand my initial hesitation. The reason why I didn’t use it initially was because I didn’t see the point. What I didn’t realize was that the only way to get the point of using Twitter was to first use it. Now that I have, I understand and appreciate the value it delivers.
Michael Fleischner is a marketing expert with more than– years of marketing experience. He is also the President and founder of MarketingScoop.com which offers helpful marketing tools and SEO training.
Tags: facebook, Google, Internet marketing, Internet marketing, Marketing, relationships, social media, twitter
