I ♥ TWITTER - 3D typography, originally uploaded by flexgraph.
Love and loyalty is fleeing. As people we are finicky and our loyalty changes daily. One day we love Myspace, the next day it’s Facebook, and now it is Twitter.
Twitter is a simplistic communication tool powered by people. It allows you to irresistibly engage the Twitterverse with your personal brand in 140 characters or less.
Definition of Twitterverse: A geographically disperse community of connected passionate people sharing content in its most organic form a Tweet.
Eleven Reasons to Tweet for Personal Brands
1. Passion Principle: The ability to re-tweet, share, and connect to what you are passionate about.
2. Real-time input: Time stamped input. Allows you to input time sensitive responses. (Maximizing the Moment)
3. Transparency: People get to follow your thoughts
4. Brevity: Helps you hone your sales pitch ability. Create great re-tweetable sound bytes.
5. Brandability: Twitter Background, Bio, blog URL, thoughts, expand your network, add to your email signatures, and include on your business cards.
6. Listening: Connect with people without interrupting with search and feeds.
7. Virtual Mentorship: Learn from thought leaders and be mentored for free.
8. Mobility: Connect with a mobile device without being attached to your computer.
9. Free: The cost is sweat equity. It doesn’t get any better than that.
10. 24/7: Twitter is always open and someone is always online.
11. GRUSTLE-Ability: You can Tweet with your Grind and your Hustle.
Bonus Twitter Personal Branding Tips
o Create a 140-Character Twitter Resume/Bio.
o Use your Twitter address as a URL
o Let your personality shine through.
o Attend Tweet-Ups.
Twitter is one of the best online personal branding tools ever. It is a free service with the ability to outperform paid marketing initiatives. It allows you to search emotionally charged content in real-time with people who are passion about your area of expertise. The simplicity of 140 Characters or less in building a personal brand is awesome. In the comment session leave your Twitter handle so that people can connect with you. Happy Tweeting!
Hajj:
Good stuff. You might also add that, used correctly, Twitter helps your brand be thought of more as a service. It’s not about me, it’s about how I can help you. I try to keep the 10:1 rule in mind. For every 1 tweet about me, I try to make sure I’m providing some kind of value/utility to others in the form of links, insights, shout-outs, etc.
And, per your request, I’m http://twitter.com/robfields
Best regards,
Rob FieldsRob
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:11 am
As I just said on Twitter, I LOVE your #7 — Virtual Mentorship. I hate admitting I was extremely resitant to diving in to Twitter, but once in, I was hooked. I saw the value immediately.
Thanks for such a compelling post, Hajj!
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/megguiseppi
Meg GuiseppiApril 22nd, 2009 at 8:33 am
Couldnt agree more. At first I was slightly apprehensive about Twitter but once I learned more I have become a big fan.
Brendon O'ConnellApril 22nd, 2009 at 10:06 am
Rob,
Great feedback. I absolutely agree, nobody wants to be sold and understanding the Twitter/Social Media Rules of Engagement are critical.
Hajj FlemingsApril 22nd, 2009 at 10:48 am
Meg,
I am glad to see and connect with you in Twitter. I live by #7. Virtual Mentorship, I learn a lot through following other thought leaders online.
Hajj FlemingsApril 22nd, 2009 at 10:55 am
Brendon,
It is very easy to get hooked on Twitter. I spend more time in Twitter then the other social networks. It has great potential to general new business and seek job leads.
Hajj FlemingsApril 22nd, 2009 at 10:56 am
I agree with everyone, and especially tip #5. Especially for entrepreneurs - from a personal branding and positioning your business brand with your unique competitive advantage standpoint - Twitter can’t be beat. But it’s important to have a purpose to your tweets - and to NOT sell too hard. That’s a twitter bummer.
And yes, I too am hooked, Hajj!
find me here: http://twitter.com/kairarouda
KairaApril 22nd, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Kaira,
Yes Twitter is a God send for Entrepreneurs. I see you are expanding your influence through Twitter as well. I appreciate receiving feedback from a colleague in branding.
Hajj FlemingsApril 22nd, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Great list…who would have thought? Twitter has been a real eye opener for me. I’ve been trying to figure out why there are so many smart Twitter messages…here’s my latest attempt: http://bit.ly/kKjot
http://twitter.com/bukoff
allen bukoffApril 22nd, 2009 at 8:33 pm
How about “scalability?”
Out of all the social networks, Twitter is probably the easiest to measure and scale. If you want to share your personal brand with like-minded individuals, you can quickly determine your reach and shape it to your liking.
Brandon ChesnuttApril 23rd, 2009 at 9:17 am
Brandon,
Great point about scalability. The needs of emerging businesses, entrepreneurs, and changes daily and the need to have solutions that are flexible and scalability is very important.
Hajj FlemingsApril 23rd, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Fantastic list! #2 is a great point, as is #7.
#9 seems to get in the way of some people — they jump into Twitter hoping for immediate connections and (usually) business sales/referrals, and get frustrated when that doesn’t happen right away. However, as you point out, time and effort have to be put in — it’s like going to a networking group for the very first time and expecting to walk out with 5 new clients — unlikely to happen without developing the “know you, like you, trust you” feelings.
@KarenEvansTM
Karen EvansApril 23rd, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Let’s not forget about #9. We can make connections for free! I think its great that such a powerful social networking tool can be used at no expense; companies pay a lot of money to achieve the same goal.
http://twitter.com/LukeMoilanen
Luke MoilanenApril 23rd, 2009 at 8:12 pm
I personally like #8 it allows me to keep tabs on headlines from my favorite sources of information. This way I know what is going on without needing to be at a computer. Using this feature I can be a source of up to date information for my groups I am around daily.
Steve PribylApril 27th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Karen,
Great feedback. Twitter is not a miracle working platform there is a direct relationship between the value add and your sweat equity.
Hajj FlemingsApril 27th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Luke,
The price tag is a perfect incentive to give people an opportunity to see if Twitter is a fit for their social media strategy.
Hajj FlemingsApril 27th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Steve,
Yes, Twitter is a great news source, personally it is my favorite and a driving reason that everyone should listen online.
Hajj FlemingsApril 27th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
If you’re lucky enough to find your passion, you still need to nurture it. That’s easier to do if you are able to tap into a group of like-minded individuals. Today’s internet is all about community and interactivity. Isolated islands of individuals with a common interest can find each other and create a virtual community. Social media like Twitter allow you to explore your passion and learn about aspects of it that might take you years to discover on your own.
Find me at www.twitter.com/MBAatMichTech
Ruth ArcherMay 6th, 2009 at 10:29 pm