Twitter it seems is viewed by different people in different ways. Some see it as an electronic soapbox that allows them to vent their feelings on political or social matters, others just as a way of saying what they are doing. Another group is using it to make friend, whilst still another, the business people are trying to use it to get customers and ultimately make money.
There is nothing wrong with any of the above, Twitter itself providing all users with the ability to see what they want to see and block that they don't. It is also totally true that friends can be made online, many married couples being the proof on that one, if proof is needed.
The Three Twitter Camps
What interests me is that in the end all of Tweets these 'groups' make fall into one of three camps, those that just speak (and don't necessarily listen), those that are desperate for a conversation, something that they can build a 'relationship' on; whether this is friendship, marriage or a business transaction, and those that are just 'listening' to see what is going on, only making contact when something that really interests them happens.
I reckon that everyone will do some of each type of 'Tweet action' in their time, however, to be sure, many Twitterers will spend more time sending one 'type' of Tweet than another, this being quite simply because they have a different agenda for using Twitter.
To Converse, Just Speak or Listen
Now I must admit that I am still very much in the learning phase of my TwitterLife and thus, in true student style have been doing a fair amount of listening, trying to find out what the secret of Twitter is, primarily I will admit for the third type of user, that of the business trying to gain customers.
In the courses I have attended, there have been some fantastic examples of how Twitter has changed the fortunes of some businesses. The trick is of course to be able to replicate this success. So how has Twitter helped these people?
The majority of "winners" it seems have gained success by being noticed on Twitter when otherwise they would have remained in the shade. These lucky businesses have therefore gained the light that the conventional press and TV/radio services can provide. Why were they chosen, well here as ever lady luck has a part to play, in that someone was looking for a story about something just when these Tweets were new and fresh. The result, massive publicity, which in turn led to orders..
For others, success has too been caused by simply 'being there', people seeing the tweet and making contact. Sometimes this is caused by the fact that people have lost touch with old business contacts and in others they are brand new. Whatever, both result in sales and that is what counts for the business person in the end.
Both of the above are just about Speaking, about Tweeting, there is no conversation to speak of, the Tweet going straight to the point of 'success', this being basically caused by someone in the 'Speaking' camp being noticed by someone in the 'Listening' camp. This is great and in itself a great reason for using Twitter, but what about the other area of 'use' that of the 'Conversation' camp?
Stangers are just customers you haven't met yet
This area seems to be the most difficult to grasp, as it means that you have to elicit a response from a total stranger before the conversation can commence, for, if we are to turn these strangers in to customers we must 'talk' to them first. The key here is I understand not to Sell,Sell,Sell, but to 'chat, chat, chat' just as you would in a networking meeting. This will not be easy, especially with the time delays between Tweets. However, the rewards could be immense. Dell for example, used the Speaking camps methods to tell others of offers, used the Listening camps methods to monitor what was being said about them and then used the Conversation camps tools to engage, the result a huge boost in sales.
So we know that just 'being there' can be enough to get you noticed by journalists and by people who knew you or are excited about what you have to offer, this leaves the 'starting and continuing conversations' part to master.
I'll cover this is my next Blog
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