I’ve always enjoyed using Twitter, but wouldn’t call myself a prolific tweeter.
But over the last few months, my use of twitter has changed somewhat. I’m now using it as a tool to actively engage with others, rather than just using it as an endless feed of information and opinion. And since then, I’ve found it infinitely more enjoyable and effective.
As with all things, you get out what you put in.
So my mindset changed, and I have been making far more of an effort to be active rather than passive. Twitter will always be a decent source of information (depending on your sources obviously). But as a tool, it can be so much more…
Consuming Information
I love how you can get up to date information so quickly.
But, you need to make sure your sources are reliable. For instance, if that’s how you get your news, make sure you’re following a verified account. That said, you can also get a wide range of information quickly. So, it might be better to follow a couple of different news outlets to get a balanced view on the goings on.
The information we ingest is only as valuable as the source it comes from.
Sharing my work
I’ve found some great engagement with my work through Twitter.
I have set my website up to automatically share my new articles to Twitter through Buffer. It’s great to see people retweeting or liking my tweets. But ultimately, it’s a great vessel to get my work out there to as many different people as possible.
Keep sharing your work, with relentless consistency and people will find it!
Continuing to learn
There are so many ways to learn on the internet nowadays.
But Twitter is another great way to source, research and engage with learning opportunities. Some of these may be through paid courses, others may be community workshops. And if you spend a bit of time looking, you will also find so many lessons from blogs or threads that present some great teachings.
So, go looking proactively for the lessons you want to learn, there is an abundance of guides out there.
If you want a head start, I would definitely reccomend checking out Dickie Bush
Engaging with others
Twitter has unlimited power in letting you engage with people from all around the world.
As a tool, Twitter can amplify your reach incredibly. But, it won’t form the connections for you. You need to find them, hit follow and then put good enough content out there that people will engage with you. But, that’s still so much easier than having to find people to engage with in other means.
If you think about, Twitter is a tool that allows you to communicate with hundreds of millions of people, all around the globe. For free. All you have to do is send a tweet that is interesting or entertaining enough for people to engage with it.
Now, obviously that is over simplified, but still, you get what I mean. 20 years ago, that kind of marketing or presence was unimaginable.
So what have I learnt…
Tweet good content
Much like all of our digital creations, you need to put good content out there; we’re not all Justin Bieber…
By putting high quality informative and/or entertaining content out there, we dramatically improve the chances of garnering attention. Think about what you want to say, and how you’re going to say it. Don’t just tweet aimlessly, it needs to have some basis.
Ask yourself, would I engage with this tweet if I saw it on my feed?
Have conversations
Twitter is at it’s best you use it to communicate directly with others.
Yes it’s great to tweet to a large audience, but why not use it to have a conversation with that startup in San Francisco. Tweet to those you admire and aspire to follow. Start conversations, engage with anyone and everyone, who knows what will come from it.
Just always remember to be respectful. Never Tweet something you wouldn’t say to someone’s face…
Have fun
Finally, but maybe most importantly; enjoy it!
It’s a great place to learn, teach, talk, discuss, meet. I’ve been lucky enough to join in to such a wide range of conversations with people I would never get a chance to meet in person. I’ve connected with other local football fans. Won tickets to the London 2012 opening ceremony (yes, really!). And connected with those that I most admire.
All through Twitter.
So, do yourself a favour and sign up if you haven’t already done so. And if you do, please (honestly) drop me a tweet to say hi!
