There’s not a day that goes by where you will see a Tweet or receive a direct message telling you how to get more followers on Twitter (don’t make me show you). If those sending these types of messages are into that and number of followers is important to them, then my best advice is: Keep it to yourself! Folks on Twitter should have a clue by now that these messages don’t work for the social media savvy folks. We are here for different reasons. Of course, I can only speak for myself, but my greatest value on Twitter is absolutely, positively the quality conversations and relationships I discover and develop when I engage on this network! This is one of the best places to find links to some of the best content and blogs on the internet.
Another great thing about Twitter are the hashtagged chats that take place daily. Groups of smart very engaging people attend these chats and share valuable information. These are true quality conversations that you walk away with real, very useful information and make some friends while you’re at it. A few of my favorites that I frequent are #journchat (journalism, media folks), #pr20chat (PR 2.0 and marketing folks) and #smchat (social media policies, best practices, strategies). I wish I could consistently attend these chats but work and family life take priority at times.
Normally you will hear people talk about how Twitter is useless or a waste of time, but what I’ve found is those folks usually haven’t taken the time to educate themselves, engage or invest time on this social network or else they would see its true value.
Being a B2B marketer, I have experienced first-hand ROI on Twitter already including landing a great job (need I say more) and making some terrific contacts and friends I speak with frequently who know more than I do about social media or can provide some fresh insight of my world of marketing communications.
My organization is taking baby steps with social media. They realize its value, however, there are internal things at companies that need to be in place in order to jump in with both hands and feet, and that’s what I’m currently working on. Bottom line is social media is a valuable strategy for engaging with customers, generating quality leads and developing a human side to your brand. It is here to stay no questions asked.
I’ve committed most of my time to my new job (five months in) and am not blogging and engaging as much as I want to, but one thing is for sure. I’m here to stay. While almost 80% of people on Twitter come and go, I will always be part of that minority bunch who engages daily and continues building momentum in the social media space. You will always find me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn so stop by and say Hi!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Anna-
Great post. Twitter chats are a hidden gem for building relationships, in my opinion. But the problem is, they’re largely, well, hidden! Besides that Google spreadsheet that’s going around listing the chats, do you know of any other resource for finding chats in one’s sphere of influence?
Hi Ian:
Happy New Year! You nailed it actually. The chats are the core of Twitter in my opinion. I participate in #smchat #journchat #pr20chat #blogchat and a social media chat that gets numbered every week. I don’t know which one they are on but look up #sm40 (the last one I attended couple weeks ago). Myself and @bethharte are heading a brand new one called #imcchat about integrated marketing communications starting next Wednesday 1/13 at 8:00 PM. All the above chats focus on marketing, blogging and social media. Interaction is with very smart folks who are living the above topics every day. Please feel free to email me at anna at annabarcelos.me with any further questions.
Hi Anna,
Do you know of any useful chats that take place during typical working hours? I, too, have family commitments in the evenings. As a result, I miss most of these scheduled activities.
BTW, found your blog via a comment on Kyle Flaherty’s blog. Social media does it again…
Best Regards,
Tommy Landry
ReturnOnNow.com
Hi Tommy:
Thanks for stopping by. There are some great daily chats I recommend that I have personally participated in and found great value in. Some are during lunch time, which increases my chances of participating. It’s always a challenge trying to schedule these chats into your life because I’m often very busy at work, and now I co-moderate with @bethharte a Wednesday night chat called #IMCChat that focuses on integrated marketing communications (my background). Would be nice if you checked it out. Sometimes I have to moderate/attend these chats with screaming kids in the background (thank God it’s on-line, ha).
Here are the ones I’ve attended and find have great value; some are worth the time at night (if you can sneak away or multi-task). There are so many, but these are pretty good. Go on Twitter and check out the hashtags: #journchat (Monday nights 8-10PM EST), #smchat (Wednesday’s noon), #pr20chat (Tuesday nights 8PM EST), #blogchat (Sunday nights 8 or 9 PM EST), #IMCChat (Wednesday nights 8:00 PM), #sm44 (formerly #socialmedia but now they number their sessions and I think they are on 44, you can search Twitter to confirm), #kaizenblog (Friday’s at noon).
The chats on Twitter are excellent, and you network with like minds and learn from each other.
Hope to see you at an upcoming one.
Anna