08 Jan 2010
At various social gatherings over the holidays the subject of Twitter frequently came up.
“Oh, I don’t use Twitter, it’s a complete waste of time.”
“Yes, Sarah, but have you got any work from it?”
“I’m glad you’ve got the time to muck around all day.”
“No, I’m far too busy for that.”
“What’s Twitter then?”
And it got me thinking: what do I use Twitter for? And why do I love it so much? In no particular order, I use Twitter for:
Keeping me up-to-date with the world of blogging, Social Media marketing and SEO by following the likes of @mashable, @copyblogger, @problogger, @mattuk and @seoptimise.
Giving me direct access to top SEO copywriting bods such as @nickusborne, @karonthackston and @andymaslen.
Chatting to fellow UK copywriters who provide an amazing and supportive network. People like @nosloppycopy, @jamiehudson, @Mr603, @tomcopy, @firstforcopy, @goodcopybadcopy, and @benlocker (to name just a few).
Brightening my day by following the likes of @shitmydadsays and @jimmycarr. Hilarious.
Following all the latest footie news via @arsenalchat and @arsenaldotcom.
Being inspired by the likes of @zenhabits.
Getting the low-down on local Laaaan-daan stuff via @LDN.
Keeping in the digital loop by following @guardiantech and @BBCClick.
Building stronger relationships with clients. Too many to mention.
Driving traffic to the Turner Ink website and blog.
Meeting potential clients. Yep, Twitter has got me a number of projects.
And the whoopee-do thing is that this is all in one place. I don’t need to check my RSS feeds, look in my inbox, or browse heaps of websites. I just click on Tweetdeck three times a day (ok, maybe 6 or7) and everything I want and need is in one place.
What’s not to love?
What do you use Twitter for? Share in the comments.
Matt Hodkinson
Posted at 13:11h, 08 JanuaryI’m glad to hear someone else is getting business from Twitter! Tweetdeck, when combined with a good directory service like Twellow, can get you a highly-targeted list of your ideal clients and partners. Not only that, but you can target them geographically, too. Online Marketing shouldn’t be this easy! Thanks, Sarah.
Tom Albrighton
Posted at 10:14h, 11 JanuaryHi Sarah. Great article and thanks for mentioning me. I also use Twitter for the purposes you describe here.
However, I’d like to throw down a contrarian shape. For my part, I often suspect that I’m being disingenuous about Twitter and its business benefits. The truth is that I enjoy it first and foremost, and the benefits are a useful justification after the fact.
Take new biz gen. If you spent half your Twitter time cold-calling (say, 3 or 4 calls a day in place of those TweetDeck check-ins) you might generate more new business than with Twitter, but it would be absolute purgatory.
So my point is that although Twitter has benefits, they’re not the reason we use it. And even if there were no concrete benefits, we would probably all be tweeting just as much.
For myself, I’m feeling less motivated about Twitter and SM generally since the turn of the year. The shine is coming off a little bit. Maybe it’s the weather!
Sarah Turner
Posted at 11:05h, 11 JanuaryMorning Tom
Interesting point.
If I was only using social media, including Twitter, to get clients then I would say there may be more cost-effective or time-effective ways to achieve that: face-to-face networking and cold calling are examples.
But connecting with fellow copywriters, following industry leaders or keeping up-to-date with technology developments are just as important to me as getting new clients. Because they’ve enabled me to thoroughly understand the industry in which we work and become a better copywriter.
Yes, we can all get bored with it occasionally. Sometime I jump on Tweetdeck and don’t find anything interesting at all. And my stream is stuffed full of who’s having what for lunch. But most days I learn something new. And that’s got be a good thing, right?
See you later on Twitter!