Twitter-curious?

What is this Twitter thing all about? I wanted to know, so a few weeks ago, I got myself a Twitter account  and I've been looking, learning, cogitating and inwardly digesting the whole Twitter experience. 

The idea behind Twitter is that you answer the question "what are you doing"; in a maximum of 140 characters - the length of a typical text message. Not seeing the point of telling my 'followers' what I had for breakfast, I confess I was Twitter-sceptical at first, and, like many others, I still am. But my aim was to find out how it might be of value within the marketing strategy for a small or medium sized business, as well as for my own business, so I blocked my ears to the hoots of derision and ploughed on.

So here you have it, thoughts from a Neophyte Tweeter.  This is the first of a series of Twitter postings - my thoughts and opinions only, for anybody considering using this unique new social media phenomenon.

No 1 Rule - have a strategy:  As with any marketing, you must have a strategy. Without it, you are adrift in a sea of idle banter. Decide what you want your presence on Twitter to achieve, then Tweet, seek out and respond to others, and engage fully in ways that help fulfil your objective. If you allow yourself to be distracted, Twitter will suck time out of your day like a black hole sucks light from the universe.

My strategy is to use Twitter to encourage clients, potential clients and my wider business network to visit my web site, register to receive the newsletter and/or RSS feed and ultimately make contact to discuss projects or opportunities.  My Tweets, which need to convey my professional expertise and style, will be focused on 3 areas: (a) marketing ideas and strategies, (b) persuasive/creative use of language and (c) current projects and activities. 

Follow me on Twitter and look out for future Twitter postings here soon.

15th June 2009