I found this question about Twitter philosophy on the direct marketing blog of one of my best Twitter friends, @loisgeller. The question was at the very end of one of her recent posts and resonated with me immediately. Anyone who follows me on social media, or who reads my newsletter or blog, knows I strongly believe that anything of any importance begins with a plan. Business plan, strategic plan, marketing plan, social media plan, going to the mall or planting a garden.
Nothing provides the focus and direction needed for success like a plan. Any good plan includes your overall philosophy or vision. That vision – and your company mission – are the basis of every decision and strategy you implement. You’ve got to know where you are going (and why) or you won’t know when you get there!
My Twitter philosophy is simple: build solid relationships. I participate on Twitter in order to build strong business relationships. It’s about meeting new people and developing relationships for me. Relationships can be for different reasons: business lead generation, learning from the best in a number of fields, education and sometimes, just getting to know new, fun people. Some relationships are instant hits while others take some effort to nurture.
I don’t use any of the automatic contact building services that promise thousands of new Followers overnight. One day I may need to, but right now I prefer the personal touch. Those programs are much too impersonal for my taste, and quality of contacts is more important than quantity. For the time being, this is important in my Twitter philosophy.
I get around twenty requests to follow someone new on Twitter every day, and review each one individually. I’m looking for people interested in relationships, and review new followers on several fronts to increase my success from that perspective.
Tenets of my own Twitter philosophy:
- I will be able to communicate one on one… that direct ‘Message’ button on Twitter. If it is disabled, that is a strong signal the person is not interested in communicating with me or building a solid relationship.
- We will have an online relationship. I’m not looking to find sales pitch after sales pitch, day in and day out when I log on to Twitter. Building relationships involves conversation, helping and sharing.
- I will learn about my followers, from both personal and business perspective. You can’t build a relationship without knowing about the person, not just their product or service. People do business with people, not products or brick and mortar stores.
- I will help my followers by sharing my knowledge and information I have found elsewhere on the Internet, in magazines or at conferences. I also hope to get similar assistance from those I connect with.
Assuming you are among the millions participating on Twitter, what is your Twitter philosophy? Please share it with us in the Comments section below. Happy Tweeting!
Having read this I thought it was rather enlightening.
I appreciate you spending some time and effort to put this content together.
I once again find myself personally spending way too much time
both reading and posting comments. But so what, it was still worth it!
Glad you enjoyed the article and took time to comment.
Thanks for the marvelous posting! I certainly enjoyed reading it, you could be a great author.I will ensure that I bookmark your blog and will often come back someday. I want to encourage one to continue your great work, have a nice weekend!
Hey there, I am extremely impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Either way keep up the excellent quality writing, it’s rare to see a nice blog like this one nowadays
Glad you like the blog. As my site, blog included, was done by my web developer, I’m not sure if the theme is paid or not. I paid him, but didn’t really pay separately for the theme. The basis is either theme 2010 or 2011. Thanks for the tip on monitizing the blog. That is something we’ll consider down the road when readership has built up more.
Janet:
Could not agree more! How is it that some people miss the whole ‘social’ part of social media? Thanks for adding your perspective to the conversation. Come back often.
I use Twitter to promote my virtual business the same way that savvy business people participate in local networking groups. They don’t just pop in, give a sales pitch and hand out cards; they take the time to learn from others and to engage in conversations. They know that it’s not about making a quick sale, but about making connections and building relationships which may lead to opportunities down the road.
People who don’t “get” this are probably the same ones who say that Twitter doesn’t “work” for them.
Thanks for asking this great question!