How To Grow Your Business With Twitter, Part 1
02.22.2010
Describing how to grow your business with Twitter is a dicey and difficult issue, and I’ve been thinking about this post for a long time. It actually been weighing on my mind and has inhibited my ability to move forward with other posts, simply because I was not sure how to approach this important topic. So, let’s start with the negatives and move into the positives.
What are the negatives? Well, much the opposite of what many think, you cannot jump onto Twitter and start talking about what you sell or how you consult or how what you have or do is going to greatly enhance someone else’s business–or life. Quite simply, it’s not that simple. Unfortunately many who have set up a Twitter account, followed a few people, and have had a few follow them back, posted about what they do and how good they are at it, or listed information on a house they are selling, or that they are a Social Media Marketing expert, find it all for nothing. Then what do they say? “Twitter is a waste of time.” Well, if approached in this fashion yes, it is. Remember the movie “The Graduate” and the cocktail party where the guys says “I want to say one word to you, just one word: Plastics.” I love that quote! So here’s the Twitter version of it: “I want to say one word to you, just one word: Relationships.”
Yes, Twitter is about building relationships, and unfortunately that can be easily overlooked. Yet, it’s not about “Let me know how I can help your business.” The idea is to be MUCH more sincere. How? Easy, interact with people that are on Twitter, but do it sincerely. That means interacting with people who Twitter about things that interest you! Don’t ever look at a person as a ‘mark’ or ‘prospect,’ and you will actually develop more than relationships, you will develop friendships, as I have. When you find yourself looking forward to seeing your friends pop up on Tweet Deck or Seesmic, you will have gotten it–until you’ve reached that point, you haven’t.
In Part 2, I’ll talk about a specific experiences we’ve had developing relationships and actual friendships!
Tell me about your Twitter experiences, have you developed any great friendships as well?
Preston Ehrler, Webvantix
