I've been using Twitter for nearly a year and half now but I feel like I'm just recently getting really jazzed about what a powerful tool it can be for my business. For those of you who aren't using it, I would HIGHLY recommend jumping on this train.
Twitter is a microblogging tool that gives you 140 characters with which to communicate. Examples of things you can "tweet" include links to your recent blog posts, advice, self-promotion, questions, links to articles, and statements about what you're currently doing. You can even post links to photos you take on your phone. Your tweets are viewable by people who have chosen to follow you, and your home page includes a feed of the most recent tweets of people you've chosen to follow. It's kind of like an ongoing Facebook status update, but in addition to being able to view it online in a browser, you can also use special programs designed for Twitter that are downloadable to your desktop, send and receive messages via text messaging, and access them using numerous iPhone apps.
Followers can enter into the conversation by clicking a "reply" button that appears when you roll over a tweet. These reply tweets are public to all of THEIR followers AND your name becomes a link to your profile whenever it has an @ sign in front of it, so you can see how the effect could be a very wide-reaching conversation where people you don't know are becoming aware of you. All of your followers' reply tweets show up on a special page that you can access:
Twitter is a microblogging tool that gives you 140 characters with which to communicate. Examples of things you can "tweet" include links to your recent blog posts, advice, self-promotion, questions, links to articles, and statements about what you're currently doing. You can even post links to photos you take on your phone. Your tweets are viewable by people who have chosen to follow you, and your home page includes a feed of the most recent tweets of people you've chosen to follow. It's kind of like an ongoing Facebook status update, but in addition to being able to view it online in a browser, you can also use special programs designed for Twitter that are downloadable to your desktop, send and receive messages via text messaging, and access them using numerous iPhone apps.
Followers can enter into the conversation by clicking a "reply" button that appears when you roll over a tweet. These reply tweets are public to all of THEIR followers AND your name becomes a link to your profile whenever it has an @ sign in front of it, so you can see how the effect could be a very wide-reaching conversation where people you don't know are becoming aware of you. All of your followers' reply tweets show up on a special page that you can access:
If you see a tweet that you think would be valuable to your followers, you can "retweet" it by typing "RT @username" and then copying and pasting the tweet. It might sound confusing right now but once you get on Twitter and click around, you'll catch on quickly.
Some people get on twitter, follow a few people, post what they had for breakfast and then decide that twitter is boring and a big time-waster. But that's because they aren't taking the time to learn the process and truly harness it's power. Here's a few tips I've come up with for harnessing the power of Twitter for your business:
1. Post your bio and a link to your website as soon as you set up your profile. Include where you're based and what you do.
2. Tweet information that you think would be of interest and helpful to those you would like to be in relationship with. You can use Twitter for self-promotion, but make it more than that. Be a giver :).
3. Reply to and RT people you are interested in building a relationship with. The beauty of twitter is the accessibility of those who are on it -- big businesses, magazine editors and celebrities are all replying to their followers. Grace Ormonde recently started a new blog where she features a daily photograph that she loves but isn't able to fit in her magazine. Yesterday she featured a photograph taken by a San Francisco based photographer who she found out about because the photographer replied to one of Grace's tweets. That's powerful!
4. Be accessible. So, since Twitter is great for accessibility, be accessible yourself. Reply to those who ask you questions; be responsive.
5. Listen to and find out who your followers are so that you can tweet about a range of subjects and information that will be of interest to them. If they find it helpful, they will RT and pass it on and then your influence will spread.
That's it! If you've been putting it off you're missing out on some seriously huge opportunities for your business! Jump on the train today!
On a side note, I've been syncing my twitter updates to Facebook but have recently decided to twitter more for my business and use a Facebook application called "selective tweets" to decide which tweets to send through to Facebook. So my Facebook stuff will be more personal. I'll still be posting links to my blog and photos from recent shoots, but if you want the latest breaking business info, you can find me tweeting about it here!
If you found this tip helpful, click here to find out about other resources I offer photographers!
Some people get on twitter, follow a few people, post what they had for breakfast and then decide that twitter is boring and a big time-waster. But that's because they aren't taking the time to learn the process and truly harness it's power. Here's a few tips I've come up with for harnessing the power of Twitter for your business:
1. Post your bio and a link to your website as soon as you set up your profile. Include where you're based and what you do.
2. Tweet information that you think would be of interest and helpful to those you would like to be in relationship with. You can use Twitter for self-promotion, but make it more than that. Be a giver :).
3. Reply to and RT people you are interested in building a relationship with. The beauty of twitter is the accessibility of those who are on it -- big businesses, magazine editors and celebrities are all replying to their followers. Grace Ormonde recently started a new blog where she features a daily photograph that she loves but isn't able to fit in her magazine. Yesterday she featured a photograph taken by a San Francisco based photographer who she found out about because the photographer replied to one of Grace's tweets. That's powerful!
4. Be accessible. So, since Twitter is great for accessibility, be accessible yourself. Reply to those who ask you questions; be responsive.
5. Listen to and find out who your followers are so that you can tweet about a range of subjects and information that will be of interest to them. If they find it helpful, they will RT and pass it on and then your influence will spread.
That's it! If you've been putting it off you're missing out on some seriously huge opportunities for your business! Jump on the train today!
On a side note, I've been syncing my twitter updates to Facebook but have recently decided to twitter more for my business and use a Facebook application called "selective tweets" to decide which tweets to send through to Facebook. So my Facebook stuff will be more personal. I'll still be posting links to my blog and photos from recent shoots, but if you want the latest breaking business info, you can find me tweeting about it here!
If you found this tip helpful, click here to find out about other resources I offer photographers!
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