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I’m a big fan of Twitter because it has become a very useful marketing tool for me. In fact, I could easily say that Twitter is in indispensable tool – something I would not want to do without. So when John Rhodes (aka @WebWord ) asked me to contribute an article for an upcoming report, I immediately said “yes.” I hope John doesn't mind, but I felt that the content was something my blog readers would like, so I decided to post it here. I love to share the value of Twitter with other marketers. That is essentially one of the reasons Twitter is so popular – people love to share it because the bigger it gets, the better it gets. While Twitter is more than just a marketing tool, its primary use for me is marketing. I suppose it’s not surprising that Twitter has become a marketing tool for me – after all, I am a Marketer. To others, who might not be so marketing focused, Twitter is something else entirely. Twitter is a tool that becomes what you want it to be. As I mentioned, Twitter is more than just a marketing tool, but here are 10 ways Twitter makes me a more effective marketer. 1) Collaboration Platform Because I am connected through Twitter to a network on like minded Infopreneurs, Twitter creates ample opportunities for collaboration on projects such as this one. I do not always have the time to participate, but since I’ve been using Twitter I’ve had ample opportunity to extend my sphere of influence by collaborating with other marketers on various projects. The special report project that I wrote this article for is a perfect example. I can contribute my piece, others can contribute theirs, and together, we all get more exposure and connections. 2) Feedback and Reviews Twitter is a great way for me to get feedback on an idea or a product. For example, when I completed the first draft of my “Deconstructing the iMOS” ebook, I wanted to both get feedback and also begin collecting testimonials. My first stop was Twitter – even before my own blog. I posted message to Twitter telling my followers that I had five review copies available and wanted their feedback. Within 3 hours, my followers had claimed all five copies and within 3 days I had four testimonials in hand (the fifth never did get around to it) and some great constructive feedback to help me complete my final draft. Part of the reason it was so easy to get reviewers on Twitter was the fact that I had already been sending updates about my progress in writing the book. My Twitter followers were already interested and aware of what I was doing. And some were curious enough to jump at the chance to get a free advance copy of the book. 3) JV Partner Networking So far, I have not found a more efficient and effective way to connect with potential marketing partners. Twitter has automatically become my “warm market” when it comes to seeking out people who reach the same audience as me and who might be interested in promoting my products. Twitter is powerful in this way because it is both a broadcasting tool and a way to connect personally to people. When someone follows you on Twitter, they begin to get an idea of who you are and what you are all about. So when you then approach them to talk about a mutually-beneficial business arrangement, you aren’t coming into the conversation as a stranger. While they may not have dealt with you in the past, they do know you in a way. 4) Traffic Generator Every blog post I make gets also published to my Twitter feed via RSS. This is an automatic and easy way to drive additional traffic to my blog. The quality of the traffic is also much higher because people who visit your blog from Twitter already “know” you in some way because they are following your updates. If I am lucky, then someone will like what I wrote on my blog enough to “re-tweet” it to their followers. This only needs to happen a couple of times for you to see a substantial influx of traffic from Twitter. 5) Market Research I make it a point to follow every Infopreneur I can find on Twitter. I do this because I create products for Infopreneurs and there is no better way for me to connect to my market without a huge time suck. There are other methods of connecting to one’s market – like forums, live events, etc. – and they are important, but Twitter allows me to stay constantly in touch with the pulse of my market. If there is a big launch coming up, I hear about it in Twitter. If there is a hot new product or technique that people are finding effective (or IN-effective) I hear about it on Twitter. But, most importantly, when I follow a lot of Infopreneurs, I start to get an understanding of their frustrations and un-fulfilled needs. That, is where great product idea come from. 6) Social Search Tool One thing I rarely do is to spend time searching for new marketing tools. Normally, the way I hear about some new social media site or Internet marketing tool is through recommendations from friends or blogs I read. But now, with Twitter, I rarely miss anything new because, if it affects the Infopreneur market space, it will probably be talked about on Twitter. I other words, I don’t have to go out and seek the latest and greatest – it comes to me through Twitter. 7) Water Cooler I work at home and almost always by myself. And that is fine; I like it that way. But humans need interaction with other humans. In a traditional office environment, you have some social interaction to break up the day and refresh your mind. Dr. Mani wrote an interesting blog post on the topic – comparing Twitter to the coffee room where surgeons and nurses go to relax in hospitals and I think it is a very apt description. So why does this particular aspect of Twitter make me a better marketer? I think of it as a mind refresher. Sometimes, one just has to get one’s nose out of the task at hand and have a little bit of human interaction. In other words, all work and no play makes Doug a dull marketer. 8) Fan Builder Since starting to use Twitter, I have slowly started to re-think the idea of list building. Of course, building a list of subscribers and prospects will always be fundamental to effective marketing. But also building a “fan list” is important – perhaps more important than building a big list of subscribers. I know there are people on my list of Twitter followers who are just really into what I’m creating. I can easily call them “fans” of my work, and that is a good feeling. There are many ways to build your fan list and connect with your fans online, but, so far, I have found none that are better than Twitter. 9) Blogging Trainer One of the key elements of writing a good blog is the idea of ‘transparency’ or being yourself – opening up the real you to the world. This is, of course, a rather intimidating thing to do for many people. I find that the more I use Twitter, the more I am able to ingrain the ‘transparency’ mindset into my life and writing. For many of my mentoring clients, I suggest that they start their blogging experience with a baby step which is to set up a Twitter account and use it as a micro-blog. The act of writing Twitter updates begins to exercise ones transparent writing muscle so that it is not such a big and intimidating step to start blogging. 10) Buzz Builder One of the things people struggle with when doing Internet marketing is the skill of developing excitement, or buzz, around their products and projects. What I’ve found is that if I use Twitter to update people on my projects then all I have to do is be excited and the excitement builds with my Twitter followers. Twitter connects you to the people who are interested in what you are doing. Do exciting things, share them in on Twitter as they evolve, and you won’t have to “create” excitement. Buzz about what you are doing will build on its own. If you involve your followers in the process, they will get excited right along with you. Here’s how it might play out over time: “I’m exploring topics for my next special report. Any suggestions?” “I’ve narrowed the topics for my report down to three, go to the following URL to vote for your favorite.” “I’ve settled on “____” for the topic of my report, hunkering down now to create the outline” “Wow! This is one of the easiest reports I’ve ever written. I already have a rough draft. 5 review copies available if you want to provide feedback.” “Thanks to @___, @____, @____, and @_____ for reviewing my report, great comments and feedback. I’m getting excited to release this!” “Working on the salesletter for my report” “@____ created a killer set of graphics for the salesletter. Thanks! “Signing up JV partners and affiliates, DM me if you are interested in promoting “_______” “Launch date is set: ________ Watch Twitter and emails for updates” “Wooohooo! “_______” is going live tomorrow. I’m not sure I will sleep tonight. “Tired but excited. I’m about to throw the switch and make the sales page live. My next tweet will be a link for you! “It’s LIVE! Here's the link ________________”
Those are just a few words, but you can see how sharing the process helps build buzz. So there you have it. Ten ways that Twitter makes me a better marketer. What are yours? How does Twitter make you a better marketer? One thing I'm sure of, is your list would be different than mine. That's how Twitter is. If you enjoyed this article, send me a message on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/dhudiburg Related Posts from Blogs I read: Why Twitter Is Not Stupid!
Twitter Thoughts And DoshDosh Don't Waste Time on Social Networking Are you Twittering Yet? Twittographics Why Do You Follow Dr. Mani on Twitter? How Would You Describe Twitter? Tips About Twitter on DailyMarketingAce.com
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