I’ve been on Twitter for a while now, and I love the idea of it: say your piece in 160 characters or less. I often want to blog, but feel like I can’t come up with enough material for an entire blog piece, and Twitter has been the perfect solution for me. I can Tweet the random thought that just popped into my head, or a brief status update, and not feel like I need to struggle with more content to go along with it.
Using Twitter to Socialize
Social networking definitely isn’t new. Chances are, you’re already on Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Flickr, and/or any number of other social networking sites and services. Twitter is just another way to socialize on the web. Grab your own Twitter account, and you can “Follow” all your friends–catch their latest updates, and let them know what you’re up to as well. You can even Tweet on the go: Twitter allows you to tweet from your cell phone.
Using Twitter to Network
Just type a few key words into Twitter’s search, and you’ll pull up all the most recent tweets on that subject. I’ve found this really useful for hooking up with other graphic and web designers. Now I have a network of others in my profession that I can exchange ideas with. Frequently, my contacts will post links to blog articles with helpful tips and tricks of the trade. It helps me keep up with the latest design trends and best practices.
Using Twitter to with Your Business
Just like your customers follow your blog, they can also follow you on Twitter. You can encourage this by feeding your Twitter updates into your blog and including a “Follow me on Twitter” link. The key to using Twitter to promote your business is to keep it real. No one wants to follow someone whose Tweets are just ads 24/7. People want to know who you are and what you’re about. Let that show in your Tweets. If you’re a photographer, Tweet about how much fun that last newborn shoot you did was. Tweet about a helpful new photography trick you just learned. Tweet about the new blog entry you just posted that has super cute pictures from your latest senior session. Be genuine. This lets your customers/clients relate to you as a person, and helps develop trust in your business.
And with that, I’ll say that I just added my own Tweets to my site! You can check out my latest updates down in my footer, and even find a link to follow me on Twitter. I’d love to network with you! But I’ll just warn you now: I tweet about food. A lot.