Twitter is a communication tool and its purpose is communication. That simple and, I guess, that complex.
Business owners and managers, forget what you think you know Twitter. It is not about tellling people you stubbed your toe or you are eating a pickle -- it is not about endless trivial, annoying messages. Twitter is streams of customized, democratic, bite-sized, morsels of ideas, thoughts and information. Bear with me and I will explain the difference.
I follow CNN Breaking News on Twitter. I can check my Twitter account at the computer, with my iPad or my BlackBerry. CNN has been sending short headlines all day long. I scan through them, find what interests me and follow the link in the Twitter post to get the whole article or video clip on the CNN website. I get the latest news -- fresh.
Along with CNN, I have CBC News, Seth Godin's Blog Posts and 198 others that include industry experts, friends, competitors, social media gurus and a few funny people. I don't follow people who spew painfully boring minutiae of their lives. I follow the interesting, the inspiring and the educational. And, when I choose... I stop following.
In my Twitter account, I find post after post of the cool, funny, important and fascinating with links to websites that expand on the 140 character posts. It is like a huge newspaper that is published every minute for me and only me.
Hopefully, now you see Twitter differently -- more of a consolidated source of customized information.
But isn't Twitter for broadcasting? Sure is. But, you had better understand how your customers might be listening before you start talking and the best way is to start listening yourself.
My next post will be: Talking with Your Customers on Twitter
Follow up to this post (July 29th): A related article in Social Media Today.
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