February 26th, 2010 | 
Author: I’m working on a post about Twitter. After several conversations at PIMA and ICMG, and around the business, I’m hearing a lot of interesting comments about Twitter – and a lot of cliches that have little basis in reality – aka myths, like, “Why do I want to know what someone had for breakfast?!?!”
Before I publish my thoughts, I’d like to hear yours. Please comment and share below, even if a brief, anonymous sound-bite.
Are you using twitter? Why or why not?
Oh yeah, I’m also working on a music video of thoughts and images from ICMG. If anyone has an idea for a classic-rock track as the music bed for the vid, I’m all ears. (Already got Come Together by the Beatles – good one).
Qwik pic from last weekend…
My son Zach Wise, leading the Houghton College Army ROTC Color Guard.
Posted in Insurance-Technologies
I’m not a big Twitter fan, just never caught on with me and it seems that people my age are more drawn to Facebook than Twitter. Facebook provides a much richer platform for sharing in my opinion.
I have noticed in the last few months that there is less of the stuff about food from the people I follow and the ones that do only that I move out of my regulars list. Like anything else, you have to listen and interact to see what works for you. I have had a lot of success in using twitter to build a following to a new industry blog at http://insuranceecosystem.com and to my primary blog as well. A number of businesses have learned how to use twitter to their advantage. I think each business or individual has to decide on their own how to or not to use each part of social media. But don’t give up on it just because you don’t like what some people post. Don’t follow them.
I’ve been trying all the social media options to see which ones work to get the word out about my new product, Penny Stones. For the value I’ve seen, I’d rank them: 1. blog 2. linkedin 3. facebook and 4. twitter
Twitter takes the most amount of time/energy of them all. If you’re in an industry with specific issues, problems to fix, buzz/key words, etc. then it may be worth it to establish yourself as an expert: post daily, comment daily, follow other experts and get them to follow you. It just seems very high maintenance to me.
I prefer to blog and have those words essentially create a library for SEO for my blog/website. I’ve seen significant increase in traffic since I created my blog while I can’t say the same for Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.
Here’s the secret to twitter: It’s the new search. I really get and find more information than I post. Everything from thoughts on my customers minds (especially the ones I havent met yet) to traffic on the way to a location in an out of town venue. Search for your customers on twitter or your prospective customers… search on anything, that’s the real power.
I also find it interesting to have a live conversation with the globe, once again, less about me and my posts, but more about what folks are saying. For example, Canada USA hockey this week or the latest on the tsuanmi or the earthquake in Chile… Search twitter instead of google a few times and you’ll see what I mean.
The people who did not take up FaceBook are likely to reject Twitter as well, simply because, for whatever reason (e.g. age, privacy preferences, etc.), they don’t embrace social networking. On the other hand, just because someone embraces FaceBook does not mean they will automatically embrace Twitter, for these represent two very different kinds of social networking. FB is a “one-AMONG-many” communications tool, with rich content (profiles, pictures, videos, etc.) in addition to a short “status” update, whereas as Twitter is “one-TO-many” communications tool with just the short status. Therefore, FB is a social networking tool for those who want to relate generally to others while Twitter is a social networking tool for those who want to specifically relate to followers. Thus for me, I am quite content to link my blog (http://blogforthelordjesus.wordpress.com) to my FB and LinkedIn accounts only. I don’t use Twitter because while I am quite happy for people to read and benefit from my blog, I am not looking for followers; nor would its readers be interested in short, periodic, personal bursts from me. For others, Twitter could be an effective and appropriate adjunct to their communications strategy.
I only use Twitter if there is a specific event/activity I want to follow and hear ongoing updates/feeds. My time is limited and thus, I only read twitter/blogs/other updates when I am looking for something in particular or in my spare time. I find requests for good deeds to be particularly engaging when they come through on Facebook and find myself making time to participate in voting etc. Hope that helps!
Lot’s of questions . “why”? Why Twitter ? or any media ?
What are your goals ? Do you want to promote or educate ?
Is it about you or your end user ? What it the real demographics of this end user ? Is that who you want to target your information ? Who uses Twitter and why ?
Personally ….at 50 years of age …I don’t have time.
“time” is the new comodity . There are so many more ways to stay connected today . I simply don’t have time to add one more layer to my life . This may differ for a 25-35 year old . I see young adults texting and checking FB in church today !! “Really” ?
I believe you can get what you want out of Twitter, Facebook or any of the social networks. Twitter is great for tracking what is going on in your industry. Find the experts and follow them.
Occasionally, you find out what they ate for breakfast or that everyone in their office is wearing a Snuggy, but most experts stick to the topics. I have received some very helpful information in a pinch. Be careful, make sure you are following the experts and not some crazy glue sniffer.
Twitter is a way for me to stay connected with friends.
Personal friends: Because of their posts I do know a little bit more what is going on in their lives so when we are physically together the conversation is not “what have you been doing?” but “Tell me about (something I knew they were doing because of posts).
Business friends: I find Twitter to be a great information resource. If someone I trust thinks an article is worth reading, it probably is. It is also a great way to “listen” to what people are talking about. A business should look for their clients and if found interact with them.
Twitter saves me time. I post to Facebook and LinkedIn via Twitter. One tweet, three platforms updated. Twitter allows me to tap into multiple research assistants.
Twitter is more efficient. Because several of my neighborhood friends are on the platform it is fast and easy to organize a party. You may laugh, but one friend’s mother was killed in a car accident in Ft. Worth. Within a couple of hours friends had organized how we were going to help that family.
Like everything else, Twitter (and the entire social media sphere for that matter) is what you make of it. If you your network (or followers) consists of folks journaling their every meal or emotional conversation with their personal trainer, then perhaps you may find these tools something of a waste of time. However, if you put real effort into connecting with thoughtful people who have something to contribute to your life, your company, or your industry, the value of a hundred management consultants awaits you at your Twitter login. Since diving into the world of virtual networking, I have found and leveraged resources that would have otherwise been needles in a haystack, I have reached an audience with my company’s messages far greater than my marketing budget would allow using traditional means, I have kept abreast of industry events (including G2 on my competition) in 140 character increments – as opposed to the time consuming process of rummaging through countless industry pubs and email newsletters. The short answer here is that there is tremendous value to be mined from Social Media – the operative word is mined. Like anything else worth doing, it takes effort, it takes strategy, it takes planning, it takes ingenuity.
Mike,
I’m a daily user of Twitter and love it! As was mentioned above, I often get more information than I put out on the Twitterverse. Twitter has allowed me to increase traffic to our company blog http://www.foundersgrp.wordpress.com, increase our brand awareness nationally and locally and most importantly keep in daily contact with our clients (those that choose to follow us).
I use TweetDeck to manage my tweets, linkedIn and Facebook accounts – I keep it open all day on my desktop.
Great tool!
Mike,
Although I’m a frequent user of LinkedIn and Facebook, I haven’t taken to Twitter at all. Outside of not having the time to contribute or read various thoughts or a regular basis, I also like having a bit more depth behind the information given. This is difficult using Twitter. I primarily use it to keep abreast of event activities.
DEM
P.S. By the way…Great shot of Zach!! :-)
I have been able to make more connections on linked in and plaxo than Twitter. Blog has been helpful in putting a key message. Still figuring out Twitter.
Customers are on Twitter, so we can deepen relationships with customers there and show that we are an excellent business worth referring to friends.
I use Twitter very strategically. I send thoughtful Tweets with links to interesting articles, research studies, blog entries, videos that are related to marketing. My blog entry titles and links are Tweeted automatically. I make sure that I have strategic keywords in each Tweet. I do retweet other peoples’ Tweets if the content is valuable. The benefits I have received include:
1. Reduced Time-To-Trust with other professionals, leading to referrals and business. This does not mean Twitter alone gets me business, but for people I’ve met face-to-face it accelerates the cycle of getting to know them and having them trust me. People buy from people they like and trust.
2. If I do a Google search today, results from social networking sites (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube) affect those results. Having Tweets optimized with rich keywords helps you come up higher on search results.
3. I have a lot of business connections on LinkedIn. These are people I know from several networks over the years, including every board and committee I’ve served on (there have been a lot). I tie my Tweets to my LinkedIn profile. If I Tweet 1-3 times a day, my LinkedIn profile is updated 1-3 times a day, and my status change shows on the LinkedIn profile home pages of 680+ of my connections. My photo and status blurb are in front of these people daily. That’s great visibility for not much effort, but note that I am careful to not Tweet too much or Tweet weak content.
I think it depends. Business has every reason to be on Twitter. Where else can you get a message out instantly to constituents across the globe? Surely, an insurance organization needs to experiment in this space and relate to its customers’ needs for relevant updates, offers and news. Why not even have a poll to see which brand’s ad icon is more popular the “Lizard vs. the Lady” – it personifies the insurance business to a whole new level.
On a personal note, Twitter can be fun if you have enough of a social network (family and friends)who are active in using it.