Tweet

Twitter Away Part 1: Getting on the bike

Guest post by: Rob Lawson

Article Overview: Twitter. Even if you're not a net junkie, you will still have most certainly come across a mention of this social media as it is popping up everyone online - in the news, on blogs and forums, in online marketing information, and increasingly on business websites. This nifty little concept has been around since 2006, but it appears that the last year has really let Twitter take the reins of the social media realm and gallop full speed ahead in the lives of Internet users around the globe. It's not just celebrities and their die-hard fans crowding Twitter walls anymore - it has slowly made its way out of the ‘good for a laugh' category and become a major player in the legitimate business of social media for corporate use

Twitter Away Part 1: Getting on the bike

Twitter. Even if you're not a net junkie, you will still have most certainly come across a mention of this social media as it is popping up everyone online - in the news, on blogs and forums, in online marketing information, and increasingly on business websites. This nifty little concept has been around since 2006, but it appears that the last year has really let Twitter take the reins of the social media realm and gallop full speed ahead in the lives of Internet users around the globe. It's not just celebrities and their die-hard fans crowding Twitter walls anymore - it has slowly made its way out of the ‘good for a laugh' category and become a major player in the legitimate business of social media for corporate use.

So how does it work, exactly? Well, it's been called ‘micro-blogging', in that you simply (upon signing up for a free account and setting up a quick profile) post comments up onto your wall as often as you like. These are called ‘tweets'. Then, according to what settings you choose, people can view your tweets and respond back - all in a matter of seconds. You can post photos, links or simple messages. People can choose to ‘follow' your feed, and you can follow others. It's knowing what's happening as it's happening - and this is one of Twitter's main appeals. Instant interaction is something that people demand, and Twitter is giving the people what they want.

The race is on

The public response to Twitter has been phenomenal. In January 2010, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong sent out a tweet announcing that he would be bike riding in a reserve in Adelaide the following Saturday at 9am. He was joined by a crowd of 5000. This is the power of Twitter - the ability to, in 140 characters or less that takes less than a minute to type, communicate and engage with millions of people across the globe. Recently, the Pope made a public announcement encouraging priests across the Globe to use social media such as Twitter to discuss religion with youth. More and more people and organizations are obviously recognizing the opportunities there are to be held in using social media to reach millions of people across the world. In a different sort of situation, yet still demonstrating the popularity of this social media, singer Imogen Heap wore a custom-made ‘twit dress' to the recent 2010 Golden Globes. The dress had its own twitter feed and displayed Twitter pictures sent through by fans in real time. It was a way to let her fans ‘accompany' her onto the red carpet, the singer said.



Tweeting through the peep hole

It seems to be this ‘accompanying' that is making Twitter the fastest growing social media network. It's the social media that is bringing down the walls between individuals in extremely different circumstances, such as the celebrity and the public. Even US President Barack Obama has gotten in on the jig, and over three million followers get regular updates on his day. Twitter was the fastest-growing social networking site in December 2009, with 18.1 million individual visitors. The year before, in December 2008, Twitter had 2.7 million visitors. Surely this is due in part to the appeal of ‘accompanying' those we would not otherwise ever come into contact with. Once upon a time, the celebrity was always out of our reach, shrouded in mystique and awe - now, because of this innovative social media, we're not only able to identify with them, but we are invited in to live their lives with them.

And then there's the ever growing side of Twitter that isn't about celebrities. It's simply about accessing real time information with people from around the world. When a plane crash-landed into the Hudson River in the US last year, a tweet from a nearby observer made the rounds around the Twitter network before any major news station even picked up the story. Yahoo former employee Emily West maintained constant Tweets through the infamous Yahoo lay off in December 2008, with thousands ‘living' through the traumatic situation with her. Heard something big happened on the grapevine? You can search for the subject in Twitter and see if anybody knows the go on what's happening. With more than 18 million people using the social networking system, it's a sure fire thing you'll get some real-time updates. Through Twitter, you or your business has the entire world at hand for instant first-person information. What's more, you can interact with those individuals that may very well become your future customers or clients. It's been likened to the new virtual water cooler - it's where we discuss things that have happened. Except now we can discuss them as they are happening.

Everyone's invited

If you are still thinking that your client base couldn't possibly be found or reached through Twitter, then you're in for a surprise. Twitter use is relatively even across all demographics. Recent analysis found that 47% of Twitter users were aged from 18-34 years, and 31% aged 35 to 49 years. And 21% were 50 years plus, which compares to a 1% aged 12-17 - contrary to the popular belief that social media networks such as Twitter are only for the younger generations. As we can see, people of all ages are taking to the Tweeting skies - and this is probably because we are recognizing the usefulness of such a networking concept - for business relations especially. For more on how Twitter can specifically help you with your online marketing, read Twitter Away Part 2: Making your business the main attraction.

Related Articles
  A Lesson on Two Wheels
  Fear of Failure
  What Your Customers Want
  How Twitter can have a postive effect on your business
  Social media case study: Devitt (Royal Bank of Scotland)

Article Tags: online marketing, social media, social media for business, twitter, using social media



Related Forum Posts
Laughter - I make myself laugh all the time...but then I am easily amused. Attempting a new recipe that comes out very, very badly.... I laugh. Attempting to play the harmonica, at which I am no good...I laugh. Falling off my bike because I went over a curb and for some reason known only to my subconscious, squeezed the brakes .... first I swore, then I laughed. I ride my bike alot around my residential area, and there are various times of the day when people are out walking their dogs. Some of them are so small and cute and so excited at everything they see...I don't laugh but it brings a smile to my face. Ditto teeny tiny children...before they grow out of the cute as a puppy phase...
Re: Using Twitter To Double Your Traffic? - I'm sure in many cases Twitter sends more traffic than Search Engines because most people don't have good enough SE rankings to get SE traffic. But anyone can get Twitter traffic. The problem is that Twitter traffic won't convert for the most part and SE traffic will. I'd venture to say that 98% of the time getting just 100 visitors from search is better than getting 2000+ from Twitter.
How to Use Twitter to Market Products? - How do you use Twitter to market products? Has the Twitter route given you good results? Please share your experience and ideas on how to use Twitter to take a product to the customers. Thank you in advance.
Re: Social Media Works If You Do It Right... - Hi Michelle, Ah, but it seems hashtags are still being used by a lot of people - including Twitter! So I would still use them for your keywords. It's just that if you are searching for something on Twitter you can either go the #hashtag route, or do a direct search on the Twitter homepage. I guess you could use #hashtags when searching on the Twitter homepage as well! DH
Re: Facebook or Twitter? - Thanks for the feedback guys! I personally started with Twitter and am now moving over to Facebook. I polled people on both my accounts and (not surprisingly) the Twitter people said Twitter and the Facebook people said Facebook! The actual order of my social media presence looks like this: 1) LinkedIn (with little success) 2) Twitter 3) YouTube 4) Facebook


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Unharnessing Creativity in Business

Living on The Edge of Chaos...

How to Sell to the Price Driven Customer

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.