Twitter… Why Should You Bother? What is the Purpose?

I hear often from people that they think Twitter is a dumb form of social networking, how can you really gain anything from typing updates of 140 characters all day long? As my husband has said “why do I care who is eating a sandwich or going to bed?”. He is (obviously) not a twitter user!
I am going to take a moment to explain to you the purpose of twitter… I will write an article later on about the way to effectively use twitter. I hate to overload you with it all at once… so I am focusing on the WHY for now.

For those who do not understand the reason for Twitter (like my husband), I explain it like this…

Twitter is like a radio station. The DJ’s talk and talk and hope that people are listening, following and finding their words useful. With twitter you hope that your 140 character updates will be followed, useful to others and and listened to (or re-tweeted and replied to).

Radio stations differ based on their target audience (Sports, Country Music, News, Oldies ect…), and because of this they attract different listeners. Same with Twitter! Each person on Twitter is speaking to a different target audience and will be followed by those they appeal to. For example, a financial expert is going to tweet about finances and attract followers who find his information useful or interesting.

Now, Twitter allows you to take your 140 characters to post pictures, articles, videos and websites to support or educate your followers. This allows you to be credible, usefull and more interesting! This is like the website that accompanies the radio station. To give more information, elaborate on what is said and give more of a visual.

You can also use twitter as one more way to get your customers to hear from you each day. Stay top of mind! Link your twitter account to your e-mails, Linked-In, Facebook – everything that people see from you or your company! Connecting is key to staying top of mind!!! Just think, your customers will be hearing from you in 140 character bursts every time you post a tweet! That is a great way to keep connected, be seen as a guru in your field and build credibility.  Much as radio stations will use TV commercials, or adds in the paper, billboards, ect... to remind listeners that they are out there!

This is how I explain the reason for using Twitter to those who seem to think it is a waste of time. I hope that it has helped to clarify the purpose for you.

I must admit though that there are some very funny videos on you tube, that do a great job of making fun of us Twitter believers! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN2HAroA12w this is one of my favourites… I hope that you enjoy.

follow me on twitter @rebekahgeldart