Believe or not, over the last week talking with clients I have been asked this question 4 times now by prospective clients wanting to get into the Social Media/Social Recruiting space. It wasn’t necessarily the question that shocked me (well it did but) it was more the fact that these companies had not as yet done there research and identified what benefit Twitter can bring to their business as well as to their own knowledge in the market place.
As with any new tool or fancy gadget it is imperative that you undertake all of the necessary research first to find out if it is right for you, but also what benefit you can expect from your investment in time and money. You won’t just go buy any 52″ LCD TV now will you? Social Media is no different. I myself was totally against joining Twitter when I was first introduced to it, however my scepticism of it “being a waste of time” was quickly shot down.
Here is a list of why I now value Twitter so highly.
1. Build a network of contacts within your industry that you never had access to or knew about before, not just locally, but globally.
2. Share your knowledge and expertise on a global basis
3. Discover new opinions and thoughts from like minded people in your industry, locally and globally
4. Great way to engage with future clients, the Twitter community are a very approachable bunch.
5. Great way to engage with current clients.
6. Build your company reputation through constant engagement and quality content.
7. Build your personal reputation as a thought leader and industry specialist
8. When it’s organised, great way to meet your network through Tweet-ups and like minded events, building your personal contacts and forging friendships.
9. Your Network will bend over backwards to help you with things that you never would have expected. Trust me, it’s true.
10. Listen, watch and learn. You don’t have to contribute 24/7, there are great learning’s to be had just by watching your feed sometimes.
11. It’s FUN
If that is not enough reasons then maybe Twitter isn’t for you. But if it is, what are you waiting for?
Good points Justin, that unfortunately need to be restated again and again to those who “don’t get it”. If communication is important, then any vehicle to improve communication is worth investigating.
In my experience, most naysayers are just wary of exposing themselves in such a public and informal manner.
Thanks Stephen,
Couldn’t agree with you more. The naysayer’s are more then likely worried that they will be exposed for lack of knowledge and poor communications skills. The problem with that is by not being there they are proving that point even louder.
@loopy_suep
Like you I was reluctant to join twitter; required to sign up and complete training. On the day I was still grumpy and resistant but within 24 hours had seen what a great resource it can be. I’m still in the “Listen, watch and learn” category, which I define less elegantly as ‘lurking’, but have learned so much and encountered so many interesting people who post really fascinating links, I wouldn’t be without it now.
[...] If that is not enough reasons then maybe Twitter isn’t for you. But if it is, what are you waiting for? Justin Hillier, Social Recruiting 360 Original post here [...]