Why Twitter?
When I first joined twitter in March of 2010, I wasn’t sure of where to start or what the true benefits would be. It might seem that most people today would know and understand the benefits but I regularly talk to folks about my experience and what I have gained over the last three years.
Research: There is a wealth of information available on twitter. This includes links to blogs, articles and research papers. With twitters search capability it is easy to find information or recommendations relating to a specific topic. I have regularly used this when working on projects for a client or preparing for a speaking engagement.
Stay Informed: News about national and world events, community posts about weather, traffic, special events and restaurant reviews, entertainment blogs, breaking news and eye witness accounts are all available on twitter. You can tailor those you follow to the information you want most often. I have regularly gone to twitter for access to major news stories.
From a business perspective, I have followed thought leaders in the area of Culture, Talent Development, Leadership, Social Media, Engagement, Performance Management and many other areas of Human Resources to stay up to date on trends and top issues.
Brand Sharing: As a business owner, twitter provides a vehicle for me to communicate my brand, share my expertise and information. What I tweet about, re-tweet or provide links to and the “voice” I use connects people and potential clients to what my business is all about and what it might be like to work together.
Community and Conversation: This may be one of the most important and maybe the most surprising for some. There are endless communities of interest on twitter; something for everyone. Search using keywords around your interests and you will find folks to follow. However, don’t stop there. Engage these folks in conversation, participate in a Tweet Up or Twitter Chat (more about these in my next post) and turn some of them into real life conversations. At the very beginning of my twitter experience, I read a post about turning your twitter conversations into real life conversations by inviting someone to have a phone conversation. The author volunteered to be the first one and I took him up on the challenge. We had a great conversation and I have gone on to have many great conversations as well as meet others in real life.
How have you benefited from Twitter?
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