Are you one of those people wondering what the point of Twitter is? I know I was. Twitter seemed to take one tiny element of Facebook (status updates) and stop there. But to think of Twitter as Facebook-lite is to completely miss the point. Here’s my top four reasons for getting your tweet on.
Marketing
A warning: Twitter should never be used purely as a sales channel or somewhere to go on about how great you are.
Nobody will listen if all you’re saying is “Buy our products”. That’s not to say that Twitter can’t benefit your business though, you just have to understand the medium to make the best of it. The thing about Twitter is that it’s a level playing field. If you don’t connect with other people, no-one is going to connect with you. The obvious exception here is if you are a celebrity. Assuming you’re not, you need to start making connections. You can do this by ‘Following’ people who have something in common with you or what you do. If they say something interesting; reply to them, or point other people to their Tweets.
This kind of mutual appreciation is where Twitter (and to be honest, business in general) really starts to work. I’m much more likely to consider using a company if a friend recommends them than what amounts to a cold call. But as you build connections, you’ll start to find people much more receptive to your suggestion to check out your “latest update to the website” etc.
Staying in touch with world events, live!
Staying up to date with current events can be tricky. Of course you can watch the TV news and read the papers, but what you’re getting is an organisation’s opinion on what is (and therefore what is not) worth hearing about. Enter the hastag. A hashtag (any keyword preceded by #) is the way for anyone to contribute to a live, unedited stream of information about any topic. Anyone searching for the hashtag in question will get live updates from around the globe as they are being written.
Here’s an example; a search for #ukelection or #leadersdebate will currently put you in the centre of the debate surrounding the impending general election in the UK. Another current example; a search for #ashtag gives announcements of flight cancellations and delays, lift-sharing schemes and other news connected with the Icelandic Volcanos. If I were the sort of person to use a term like ‘grassroots movement’ I would use it now. Thankfully I’m not.
Sharing things you like
Imagine you’ve just heard Tesco is selling everything at half price for the next 24 hours (which it isn’t) you could very easily tell all your followers and share the discount love. And if you were going to post that kind of thing often, you could even think up your own hashtag. #amazingdeals for example. You could become know as the ‘Dealmaster’. Just imagine!
It’s just good fun
And finally, using Twitter can simply be good fun. Only today I got caught up in a rather amusing game, the object of which was to replace the word ‘Heart’ with ‘Arse’ in song titles. Anyone could join in simply by adding #songsthatreplaceheartwitharse to their Tweet. Juvenile? Yes. Entertaining? Judge for yourself. Here are my favourites…
- When The Arseache Is Over – Tina Turner
- Why Does My Arse Feel So Bad? – Moby
- Write Your Name Across My Arse – Terence Trent D’Arby
- You broke my arse in 17 places – Tracy Ullman
- Theres a hole in my arse that can only be filled by you – Extreme
- Quit playing games with my arse – Backstreet boys
- Arse Shaped Box – Nirvana
- There must be an angel (playing with my arse) – Eurythmics
And a few of my own suggestions…
- My Violent Arse – Nine Inch Nails
- Arse Attack Man – The Beastie Boys
- My Arse is the Worst Kind of Weapon – Fallout Boy
You can signup now at twitter.com
And oh yes, you should follow me on Twitter!
Let me know if you can think of any other good uses for Twitter.
Pete Clark
Cogdon, Clark & Tranter
