Twitter: Business or Pleasure?

Hi, Folks.

Recently, I've been spending a lot of time on Twitter. For a long time, I just didn't get it. I always imagined a bunch of teenagers sending stuff like, "I'm checking my email" or "I'm getting ready for a date".

I did NOT want to be like this:



Frankly, that video shows you what my opinion of Twitter was.

And don't worry ... there are PLENTY of people that actually do use Twitter just like that.

But when I started noticing some of the more prominent marketers that I'm familiar with using Twitter, I decided that I might want to take another look. There must be a reason the "pros" are on there, right?

You've heard the phrase:

"If you want to be successful, do what the successful people are doing."

Thus began my journey in to Twitter.

I opened my Twitter account and I began looking for those marketing folks I mentioned. When I found them, I clicked "Follow". I started reading what they had to say. Some of it was ... well ... just silly ... but I like a little humor, so .... ok.

Some of the stuff they posted was pretty good. There were some solid ideas and tips being shared.

Learning some new tips on Twitter: Priceless

Then one day, someone asked a question on Twitter about recording on a Mac.

I've used my Mac to record audio for my web site, music demos, videos, etc... so I thought, "Hey ... I can offer some tips there."

All of a sudden, I'm tweeting. I typed in my little reply.

The person that asked the question replied with a "thank you" and we made a few tweets back and forth.

Hmmmm..... that was kinda fun!

I decided I would update my profile on Twitter to tell folks a little about myself.

I don't remember the original description but I remember that "Email Marketing Pro" was part of it.

Once I updated my profile, something interesting started to happen. People were searching Twitter for other people with similar interests. A few more people started following me on Twitter. A few of them would ask a question about Email Marketing.

Hmmmm.... What's this? Making new potential business contacts?

I also added something about being a bass player, a father of 5, etc....

More "followers" with similar interests started showing up.

My conversations are becoming more and more diverse. More people are interacting with me.

I am making new contacts. We're sharing tips back and forth.

Someone asked me about my business and if I had some advice.... I got a new client!

Old friends are finding me on Twitter and we're reconnecting.

Hmmmm.... this Twitter thing is fun AND profitable on many levels.

But here is where the real dynamic of Twitter has kicked in for me.

As I'm talking with people on Twitter, they have a whole network of followers, too. One day, I shared an email marketing tip with one of my contacts on Twitter. They shared a comment back to me and did what is known as a "retweet" where they publish my comment again for their followers.

Hmmmm... all of a sudden, their followers are introduced to me and what I do.

After a very short time, I'm getting close to 800 followers and I'm having some conversations about music, business, marketing, homeschooling, basketball, personal development, email marketing, old high school memories, and discovering new things all the time.

There are some absolutely amazing people on Twitter that we can all learn from.

There is no shortage of the "I just brushed my teeth" folks, but they're easy to ignore.

Think of Twitter as a world-wide social gathering. With the click of your mouse, you can decide who to interact with and how to interact with them.

So if you're still on the fence about Twitter, my advice is to jump in.

Then ...

1) Take time to seek out and follow people you are genuinely interested in.

2) Take time to see how the conversations flow.

3) Be genuine and add value to the conversations.

4) Go ahead ... have a little fun.

5) Be courteous and respectful ... even when you disagree.

6) Enjoy the journey and let it flow.

Yours in Success,

Brian Rooney
TrafficWave.net LLC