If You Are A Leader: The 10 Reasons You Should Use Twitter
Posted on February 11, 2009 in Web 2.0 by beafields
It is not uncommon to talk with leaders each day who say they just don’t understand Twitter. They go to the site and see where someone is talking about the coffee they are drinking or their latest trip to the grocery store.
The reality is that this microblogging tool is gaining more and more users, and the momentum is high. CEOs from around the world are now using Twitter as a way to expand their brands and connect to their employees and customers.
If you are a leader of either a small, medium or large enterprise, there are 10 reasons you should use Twitter:
1. To build a sense of community. With our future leaders…Generation Y… a sense of community is critical for their ability to connect with your company and to feel a sense of belonging. And…a sense of community is just great for developing strong teams.
2. To get messages out quickly. As you probably know, your Twitter account can be connected to your cell phone and to the cell phone of your network. No reason to wait on folks getting to their e-mail or to an online forum to find out your news. By integrating your phone to Twitter, your Twitter network can receive a message by text in minutes.
3. To listen. There are multiple conversations happening on Twitter every second of the day. By listening to what people are talking about, you can quickly get your finger on the pulse of the most important topics of the day. As a leader, it is critical to know what the world is talking about. With a tool like Twist, you can follow the top conversations on Twitter and then look closely to see how this trend might be important or relevant to the decisions you make in your company.
4. To create a snowball effect. Twitter can be used to get out a message quickly and to have others spread your news to their networks. It just works!
5. To bring visibility to your blog. If you are a leader of an organization, I highly recommend that you look into blogging. A blog can give you a human touch, and you can then use Twitter to let the Twitter network know about your recent posts. If you host your own blog on your own domain using Wordpress, I recommend setting up an account with Ping.fm and then connecting your blog to Ping.fm using the plug-in WPing.fm. This little plug in will feed your blog to over 10 social networks, including Twitter. (If you only want to send your self hosted Wordpress blog to Twitter, you can use the Twitter Tools plug-in.)
6. To get customer feedback. Putting out a question about your company on Twitter is a great way to get instant feedback. If you have a product roll-out, if you are brave enough, ask your Twitter network what they think about it and solicit feedback to improve your products and services.
7. To show your human side. As we all know, Twitter is a bit more personal than formal online social networks. Showing a bit of your human side can help you build rapport and fans.
8. To educate the public about your company AND your culture. Allowing people the chance to catch a glimpse inside your company (the more personal/human side) and its culture creates connection with both customers and employees and builds trust over time.
9. To facilitate research and development. The Twitter network offers scores of opportunities for you to get questions answered from people who are eager to jump in and participate. Just try asking one question on Twitter, and sit back and watch as people bring forward their ideas and resources.
10. To learn the about the latest/greatest advancements in technology. Many of the people who use Twitter are not afraid of technology…as a matter of fact, they relish it! If you watch and listen closely enough, you will discover quick insights into the latest/greatest gadgets, software and web collaboration tools. As leaders, we all need to be out there listening and looking for what’s next on the tech edge.
Connect with me on Twitter today: http://twitter.com/beafields
This article was written by Bea Fields. Fields is the President of Bea Fields Companies, Inc. and the co-author of EDGE! A Leadership Story and the co-author of Millennial Leaders: Success Stories From Today’s Most Brilliant Generation Y Leaders.
One of the more insightful posts I’ve read on Twitter. Great advice! This is going into my bookmarks.
Comment by Rex Harris — February 11, 2009 @ 9:35 am
Bea this is fantastic information. I have passed this along to my network. Thanks for all the great value you bring to the marketplace.
Comment by Eric Green AKA The Digital Gangster — February 11, 2009 @ 9:37 am
[...] Read the list of 10 on this post [...]
Pingback by Millennial Leaders » Blog Archive » If You Are A Leader: The 10 Reasons You Should Use Twitter — February 11, 2009 @ 10:53 am
Love it! I can tell You are a Leader!
Comment by LoriMoreno — February 11, 2009 @ 11:34 am
Great list. Twitter is what you describe, and a bit more. This is a shift of company/market culture that is encouraging.
Comment by Scott — February 11, 2009 @ 11:57 am
Hi Ho Bea,
Great summary and also a checklist to keep us on track.
Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook will become, I believe, increasingly important tools for professionals.
I have only just recently started exploring social media possibilities in earnest and I am testing the leveraging and synergistic possibilities of Twitter, FaceBook, and LinkedIn combined.
Early days, but some encouraging results are emerging.
I’ve coined the term “Social Media Triangulation” or smTriangulation for this concept, a kind of PowerOf3. I’m looking at this particularly from a professional point of view. However I can see possibilities in other arenas as well.
Regards & Godspeed
Lance Scoular
The Savvy Navigator
Comment by Lance Scoular — February 11, 2009 @ 12:43 pm
Bea, Great Points… (9) really good idea. Getting feedback from a candid and varied audience is so valuable in today’s market.
Comment by Carece — February 11, 2009 @ 4:10 pm
Yes Carece…you are so right! That candid feedback is critical indeed.
Comment by beafields — February 11, 2009 @ 5:20 pm
Lance,
I like this Social Media Triangulation idea. These are also my 3 favorite social networks. Sounds like a great combo!
Comment by beafields — February 11, 2009 @ 5:21 pm
Yes Scott…there is a shift indeed going on! Good things are on their way.
Comment by beafields — February 11, 2009 @ 5:22 pm
Hi Lori…thanks for the compliment. I have my “leadership moments”.
Comment by beafields — February 11, 2009 @ 5:22 pm
Thanks Eric for stopping by…I learned from you how to add that value!
Comment by beafields — February 11, 2009 @ 5:23 pm
Thanks Rex. I think this post came about out of trying to explain this so often. Now, I can just send this post along!
Comment by beafields — February 11, 2009 @ 5:24 pm
These are great reasons. Thanks for posting and teaching me about ‘twist’
I use twhirl. It is awesome for multiple twitter accounts (i have one personal acct and one corporate one)
Comment by Mark — February 11, 2009 @ 8:42 pm
The benefits of Twitter are not immediately apparent. It can seem to be a massive sinkhole of your time. Once you find some of the third party tools and make some quality connections that all changes.
Those who are new to Twitter or interested in finding Twitter users in their own specific niches I’ve collected some links in the post I’ve used in this comment.
When you’re up to speed at Twitter the same post can help you get started at FriendFeed - a very powerful place to increase visibility for blogs and have longer, more complex conversations than Twitter.
Comment by Internet Strategist — February 11, 2009 @ 9:11 pm
Thanks for the summary and great checklist. I think Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook are becoming increasingly important tools to business.
Comment by Jack Zufelt — February 12, 2009 @ 6:47 pm
Bea, you are such a great resource for us all. As you know, I love R&D, so really appreciate the new medium for gathering responses quickly.
Greatly appreciated, Alicia
Comment by Alicia Smith, DISC Ninja — March 1, 2009 @ 9:14 pm
Great pointers…might have to Retweet this and/or send to my downline whenever they ask the proverbial “I don’t get Twitter…?!”
Comment by David Allinson — April 15, 2009 @ 8:10 pm
Lance is one of the great people that is on my follow list, now you know why. I became tired of only reaching a few people in spiritual trouble so I started blogging the word. I know I will be helping alot more folks through this medium. Thanks for the leadership tips. Bruce
Comment by Bruce Peltonen — April 20, 2009 @ 6:47 pm