tangled web

Over nice glass of Cotes du Rhone a few nights ago, the question: “What the heck is Twitter all about?” was posed by a semi-savvy web using friend. “Is this something she could use as a communication tool?” Her stance, “I sorta use it. I don’t totally get it. What is the benefit for my 9-5 life?”

Good question. So glad you asked.

Like most social media PR tactics, Twitter is one of many which you should use to connect, build and then pitch. NOTE: “Pitch” is used loosely here and should be swapped out equally or more often with “converse.”

Don’t be about business all the time. It’s lame and annoys most people.

The nature of Twitter as a real time mini-blog that grants access to people’s everyday doings and thoughts is very powerful. Done correctly with taste and common sense – it’s a winning strategy to connect.

Paull Young, who is always talking about useful, put the above advice into action as recapped in his post “Examples of Twitter Providing a business benefit.”

Here are his five ways to use Twitter as comm tool, each with his own real life examples:

Twitter For Pitching Conversing

Twitter to Build a Knowledge Network

Twitter as a Beta Tester

Twitter to Recruit

Twitter as a Crisis Warning System

Happy Twittering!