Twitter is a very interesting platform that’s a synthesis of personal and commercial interests. These days, commercial interests are seemingly more prevalent than personal discussions. Allow me to elaborate with my twitter stream as an example:
@theglaringfacts Twitterverse
I hope that you are able to see this image. A friend of mine Michael White (@michaelwhite1), a PR student explained “My thoughts are that your Twitter experience is relative to your followers and how you use the service”. Is that true? Each red marking illustrates the single purpose of Twitter–direct marketing. I not only have befriended a combination of SEO companies, but also everyday people. My twitter stream reveals an incredible amount of non-personal, non-engaging discussions that are primarily for traffic building.
What these Twitter Users are Missing
These twitter users do not realize the potential of amassing excellent readership. Twitter is currently being dominated by a cesspool of automatons producing empty blanketed statements that appear like marketing slogans (see above examples). These days, Twitter is primarily a direct marketing tool in order to propel sales and readership; however, these people really lose the point of Twitter. 140 characters truly seems like the 30 seconds of TV advertising — a brief moment to build popularity.
Are these methods effective? How can you ascertain for sure that your ROI will increase? Do you really believe that laying out your 140 characters alone will determine your Twitter success? 140 chars work for some but is not enough for the rest of us, we really have to “@mention” and comment on other people’s tweets. It is possible to increase followers, but we have to firstly encourage others to share more tweets by responding repeatedly, building a social network surrounding your product and developing loyalties.
Twitter is a great place to understand your contacts, maintain allegiances, make friendships, and to maintain a customer clientele base who will explain what aspects they either enjoy or don’t enjoy about your product. A product that is well-promoted is one that is promoted by its customers and Twitter has the capacity to do so in the form of “retweets”. In order to effectively market yourself, there needs to be extensive communication with potential customers and current clients. Only through these interactions is it possible to facilitate ongoing ties with your clients.
We have to begin to think of Twitter beyond its current opportunities, there are innumerable sets of functions it can serve and people are really only interested in one.
WordStream.com Niche Finder term: Twitter
Twitter Destruction
We can really see the types of niche markets available available for those interested in profiting from Twitter. While there is a lot of money to be had, we cannot forget that it is a social environment. Let’s look at the way Twitter has changed by doing a simple Google search “Twitter marketing”:
Twitter Marketing Strategy on Google
Can you believe the results value? 295,000,000 results for that term, why is that? Why of all those results is among the top three short-cut methods? What will be the result of buying Twitter followers? Will ROI increase? Do you know who you are buying? What’s the point of buying Twitter followers? Are those accounts simply blank, spam-generated followers? Nevertheless, these results truly reveal what we are interested in; however, we won’t approach those results without contextual and relevant commenting.
How To Make Your Twitter Work For You
We need to step back from those direct marketing methods and realize the true potential of Twitter:
- Client Management
- Relationship Building
- Building customer base through interaction
- Developing long-lasting friendships/colleagues
- Collaborating with customers, understanding their needs
- Personalizing your brand by speaking to other companies in your niche and their customers
Most importantly, Twitter is not a numbers game–it’s not about how many you are following, or how many are following you, it’s about how many people communicate with you on a regular basis, how many provide positive reviews and experiences, and whether or not they would recommend your product/services.
We must remind each other that Twitter is a people place, not a free advertising spot. I’m trying to adjust, so can you, let’s do it?
Are You In?
EasyAzon Plugin
Twitter: lavenderuses
says:
Hi Sufi
As a regular Tweetheart I had to come read this
I have now read your article and I so agree with what you have shared. I have unfollowed and blocked so many people in my Twitter stream for doing the things you are sharing here. And I am growing my numbers organically. Not interested in doing it any other way.
I use Twitter to intereact with my followers as well as find posts to read. It is a powerful social media tool…..if used in the right way. You nailed it. Off to RT and hope there are heaps of tweeps who read and take note. Thanks for sharing. Really insightful post.
Patricia Perth Australia
Patricia recently posted..Collaboration- the new buzz word
Twitter: theglaringfacts
says:
Hey Patricia!
Thank you so much for reading this post! While on my vacation to Sweden, all I could think about was how much Twitter annoyed me, how little content there was that people actually could share. People could build more meaningful relationships if they avoided a link or two. Maybe one of our tweets wouldn’t be automated, that would be nice.
It’s good to maintain organic growth, I am trying to do the same. I often write about quotes and mostly comment on other people’s tweets, I mean, that’s already contextual and relevant already. We can really drive Twitter towards a more meaningful state if we took the time to write 140 characters.
it’s 140 characters how hard can it be?
The Glaring Facts recently posted..Textual Hatred for Harry Potter
Twitter: wordpresswb
says:
I have built my Twitter followers the organic way, however I still find that is just one big promotion tool. I have to say that I really do not like it and I prefer to use Facebook. With Facebook you can control so many things that go on to your Facebook page and your Facebook account.
Unfortunately when you follow someone on Twitter, all of the tweets show up and it is very annoying. I know people that are making a lot of money out of Twitter by basically spamming people, however this will not last because something has to change.
Mitz Pantic recently posted..10 Tips For Making The Best Facebook Business Page
Hi Sufi,
Excellent, excellent post. I am with you 100% of the way. It’s unfortunate that so many people do buy into automation that simply puts out ads. And I can’t say that this doesn’t work. Obviously it works for some, doesn’t it?
I’m with Mitz, though, in that I really don’t like Twitter at all anymore. Like you, I put out a quote or two, I do Tweet about my blog posts, retweet other posts and articles I find interesting, and attempt to get in a conversation about topics of interest to me personally.
But it can be so hard to navigate and keep track with all the Twittering about. The name definitely suits it. It’s like seeing a large flock of birds flying overhead and trying to keep track of one.
The one thing that I have been finding it useful though, as Patricia mentioned, is finding posts and articles I might want to read. In that, it’s actually taking place of search engines for me. Simply because I can find new posts and articles easily.
Something does need to change with Twitter in my opinion. Maybe it’s in the way I navigate it, definitely in the way people spam it. I’m making an effort to turn on the conversation a bit more, but all too often I find myself going to Facebook or some other social media for that.
Thank you for the post and wow… 295 MILLION results for Twitter marketing? Didn’t expect that. Whew.
Vincent Parker
Vincent Parker recently posted..The Art Of Saying No To Your GDI Leads
Twitter: theglaringfacts
says:
Thank you for your comment Vincent! It’s really appreciated.
I think people have lost touch with what Twitter can actually become. Rather, it’s become what serves our interests best instead of how we can all benefit from distance communication. As the principle of 140 characters suggests, it’s an advertising platform, but a cheap one.
I think that finding articles that we like are Twitter’s second purpose, the first being 140 characters of relationship building. I think of it this way, you approach a potential customer in only 140 characters and it’s really sweet, you don’t have to talk so much but you can leave a positive comment. I often experience the same feeling when someone’s @mentioned me, just like when I get a letter. It can be a very positive, very strong thing if you can use 140 characters beyond automation.
How you describe “the way I navigate” is simply a perspective shared by thousands of twitter users and suggests a utilitarian purpose of Twitter. Perhaps Twitter was designed to be a tool, with poor ability to develop relationships, I am not certain; however, it has far greater applications than we realize.
“You better realize, now is the time to self-actualize” – Saul Williams, Coded Language
The Glaring Facts recently posted..Ender’s Game and Speaker for The Dead Analyzed
So guilty of this! But atleast I do use my twiitter for personal use to, so there aren’t just posts about my blog!
Gabriel709 recently posted..Listen to Until We Have Faces by Red
I have personally just become more engaged in Twitter and do see some positives, such as finding great articles and engaging with people to build relationships. I also found people within my specific industry to follow that give tremendous value in their tweets. I tend to tune out those who have automated tweets as they seem to value quantity over quality. I still feel that Twitter is better for those who do B to B sales vs. those looking to directly reach the consumer, but I’ll keep plugging away for now. Thank you for the post.
danschuman recently posted..Open Houses – Do They Really Work
Ha! Ironically I’d just posted on Twitter an hour ago that people don’t seem to use Twitter as a ‘social’ media anymore. There is no socialising when all you’re doing is posting automated Tweets. And I have to scroll through them all to find real people posting real comments.
I’m trialling a few methods of building my follower list, but it’s a case of trial and error for sure. Some of my followers post relevant content but most just tweet about their business. It will be interesting to see how this works out for me, especially because of my blogs content.
I’d like to see people return to using Twitter for it’s ‘original’ purpose – as a platform for social media. Perhaps if Twitter offered a ‘not socialising’ button with the tweet options?
aberrantvenus recently posted..Fashion in Action – Princess Polly
Twitter: theglaringfacts
says:
Imagine what world that would be. We know for certain that Twitter’s purpose will be this scene now. We gotta kill off twitter if it continues, haha
The Glaring Facts recently posted..Foreign Influence in Canadian Television
Just getting started in twitter so this article proved very helpful, thanks.
monkeyalan recently posted..8 Tips For Huge Blog Traffic
Twitter: healthvotes
says:
A lot depends on what kind of people you are following, i try to avoid marketers most of the time. There is also the validation service, it can be annoying but it helps to get real followers and not bots.
I agree that marketing is done a bit shamelessly on twitter and to really top that issue, the short urls helps the marketers quite a lot. I have followed a short url expecting a content page, only to land on some ebay or amazon page.
But even then there are good people on twitter that likes to communicate and i am fortunate enough to have a few. Twitter can be a very good platform for communication, marketers just need to use it in a good way.
Uttoran Sen recently posted..Working Mothers Children More Prone to Obesity
So true, and sadly enough another example of how most of us (Yes, sometimes I have to plead guilty as well) are using an opportunity in such a way that the maximum potential will never be reached. Or even diminished
teamnobs recently posted..Guarantees
initially I was against twitter – I recently added it and it has created a steady flow of traffic to my blog. I agree – that with the right marketing twitter can tremendously increase traffic and exposure to someones blog.
zoopco recently posted..Andy Bailey Creator Of ComLuv
Twitter: oims
says:
I have to confess I’m on again off again with Twitter. Sometimes it’s a new post, sometimes it’s a form of revenue, and other times I valiantly try to start discussions – mostly to no avail.
What I see in my account is definitely a combination of all factors. However, those that are “socializing” in the strictest sense appear to be extremely self absorbed. So much so that it’s an endless stream of mindless trivia.
I like to use if for finding good articles, press releases, etc. I will even retweet things that draw my attention.
Yes I use it. Yes I’m guilty, too, of some of what you detail above. What I would recommend to anyone just starting out (which I did not do) is to create lists. I believe my life would be a lot easier (and more productive) had I had the wherewithal to read up on Twitter completely and implement the basic list-dividing strategy/method they have available.
Great article, thanks!
oimdiane recently posted..Deadwood Series Fan February 3 Is Your Lucky Day!
I really do think that Twitter itself needs to evolve to stop people from doing this. People want to have followers so they do not like to unfollow others who are spamming as it is one less person to tweet out to, yet those people who are spamming are truly wrecking the platform for how it should be used. If there was a mute button rather than an unfollow button I think that would be great, so you only have to listen to the people who actually add some value to your feed.
Twitter: rwedating
says:
Twitter has many useful functions but for me it’s two fold. Firstly taking the viewer from one place (twitter) and sending them to another (website). Secondly the SEO factor for keywords in SERP’s. We have clients on Page 1 of Google with a twitter listings for competitive geo targeted keywords. This has the added benefit of knocking the competition of the page.
We don’t send any automated messages but work on a strategy that provides value to the tweet sphere. 40% general messages, 40% retweets and interesting articles and the rest made up of videos, spotify, photos, blog posts and sales messages.
Perry Stevens recently posted..Take Action – Your Local Search Marketing in 2011
Twitter: tadahmom
says:
Terrific article! Now if we could only get all those spammers to read it. There has been a new trend of people posting mindless drivel to appear as if they are talking. They offer no links, no conversation, just inconsequential words. Their bio is the same format, “I’m from here, I used to live there, my interests include ….” I see absolutely no point to these and have wondered why they are all wanting to follow me.
I had great success with Twitter two years ago. Then I became disgruntled by all the preacher people. ie. people who use it just to proclaim something, but never to interact with anyone else.
I still visit my twitter account daily, but have lost the love for it. Initially I found so many great articles, I felt like I had hit a gold mine of intellectual stimulation. But now, mostly I find affiliate links disguised as information. Hoping something new comes on the horizon. Facebook is most definitely my platform of choice now.
With 12 thousand people I follow – it would be a full-time job just to weed out the junk and get to the good stuff.
Terri recently posted..10 Daily Time Saving Habits
Twitter: LoveThatBug
says:
Increasingly, I find I enjoy FaceBook more than Twitter. i use lists on Twitter a lot to try and keep track of the people I’m genuinely interested in from the ones I followed out of “politeness”. However, I always look at my full Twitter stream to because you never know when you’re going to see something good rolling past.
Twitter is becoming just to market orientated. Shame – I use to love it.
lovethatbug recently posted..Feb 7- The Best Probiotics On The Market
Twitter: Peatee53
says:
So far I have not found any use for Twitter, and from the page I always see there just seems to be a list of unconnected comments without any thread? I have “Tweeted” but never received any replies but I’m not sure if I am meant to anyway. The list of people I am following, mainly through requests just seems to be regurgitated comments from other people’s writing and original thoughts usually followed by a link to a sales page or similar. So I agree with @theglaringfacts when he points out that the platform itself is not being used for it’s original intention. Maybe I am not using it correctly but I have not found much help as yet either. On another note, personally, I do not know anyone, who uses Twitter and I work in a place that employs 300 people I know plenty of other folk outside and amongst them I do not know any amongst them that uses Twitter? Are the people that use these type platforms a strange type of creature that inhabit a different world and because they are lacking the normal channels of communication, rarely seen or spotted in the real world?
Pete recently posted..Intonation
Twitter: rakesh_narang
says:
Twitter is used by thousands of people world wide and that is what made people think it as a very good marketing medium.
Too much spam on twitter nowadays.
Rakesh Narang recently posted..BestBuy Break The Ice- Motorola Xoom For 800 Bucks
Twitter: bblc
says:
Business, owners and people can become a little obsessed with numbers. What some people don’t understand is the potential to reach others and the power of building a smaller community.
When you have nurtured relationships in your community people will me more likely to RT your tweets they find interesting. By doing this you have the potential to reach a much bigger group of people. I have a following of 1,700 but when people RT my post’s I reach 50,000!
Tweet Reach http://tweetreach.com/ is a really great tool to see how far you’re Tweet’s travel and reinforces why it is import to nurture your already loyal following.
Wendy
wendy recently posted..Is main stream news dead…
Great article. I completely agree with you. I’ve always found that basing your Twitter presence around specific formulas or concepts to increase viewership is a safer way, emotionally, to handle it.
Not that operate this way, but If I’m basing my online presence around tips, tricks, applications and other such things and my presence stagnates or doesn’t grow, I could easily blame others for my lack of success and wash my hands of it.
Personally, I like to be myself as much as possible. And while this might mean less overall visibility, the people who do take an interest in me will have a much more significant impact on my online experience. But a failure to accomplish much using this approach could easily be interpreted as a personal failure stemming directly from who I am, or what I’m doing. A lot of people may not necessarily feel comfortable with the possibility of this outcome.
webstravaganza recently posted..Can’t… find… words Should have sent… a poet
Twitter: darrenmonroe
says:
Sufi VERY ON POINT!
“Most importantly, Twitter is not a numbers game–it’s not about how many you are following, or how many are following you, it’s about how many people communicate with you on a regular basis, ”
What I can’t stand are the software people. After teaching several people about Twitter they come back crying about twitter banning their profiles or clients profiles. And of course in the end it was always connected to spam bots or auto this or that.
This year I have been following my own advice and introspectively looking inward to enhance my relationships. Flip side there is a guy I knew (ended up blocking him) and he has over 100k and doesn’t have a freaking clue about building a following vs followers.
Darren Monroe recently posted..Why Idiots Outsell Einstein and You Can Too
I couldn’t agree more. When I first went to Twitter I was so confused. All the letters and numbers and links that were so impersonal. Those people I don’t like to ‘tweet’ with. It’s like they’re playing a game to see who can get the most, yet they don’t even have a clue why they added 90% of the people on there.
Don’t get me wrong, I put links on there as well. If I find a blog or an article that I really like and want to share then links appear on my tweets. If I am launching something new, then there are links there. Other than that they need to get rid of the links and code words that are just a waste of bandwidth.
Tammy
Tammy Matthews recently posted..Perservere
Very well-said. Twitter is a powerful social media marketing tool, but if abused, it can become a medium of spam and annoyance. Twitter is a ground of discussion building communities. The purpose should not be forgotten. Thank you for sharing.
Twitter: keenonquinoa
says:
I have found Twitter to be very valuable for driving blog traffic and networking. Of course, you have to be careful about whom you follow. I use hashtags as filters to track conversations and topics.
I think Twitter is a great place to pop in and see what is happening in the world at the moment. If there is breaking news, I’ll see it on Twitter long before the networks pick up on it.
I bristle at “spam” as it has been used in some of these comments because to me, spam suggests a marketing message which you have not agreed to receive. If you follow someone, you are granting them permission you can easily revoke. If you must follow accounts important for your networking, use lists to sort them out.
I consider @messages from people I don’t follow, which are not on topic, to be spam. Anything sent as direct messages that could have been sent publicly looks pretty spammy to me too.
But that nincompoop who keeps bleating the same promotional tweet doesn’t annoy me as much as the people who follow him and then complain about his tweets. Unfollow and ignore him, and he will go away.
tammikibler recently posted..Twitter Is Not a Radio Station: How You Miss the Point and Drive Followers Away