Ok, I can admit it. I was part of the crowd who basically wrote Twitter off for the first two years of its’ existence. I thought it was a silly idea, and a bit pretentious to assume that we were all so insightful that other people would actually want to “follow” what we had to say, as if we were all celebrities in our own little worlds. I participated in more than a few “real world” conversations that inevitably turned to questions about the founders’ ability to raise upwards of $50M with no clear revenue strategy, and how Twitter would eventually become the epitome of the Web 2.0 boom/bust- burning like a bright star and then fizzling out quickly, leaving its investors with their empty pockets turned inside out.
I was wrong. I’ve been converted to the cult of Twitter. Here’s why.
First of foremost, Twitter helps me listen. In fact, it amplifies my hearing so greatly that I’m able to listen to almost anyone, anywhere, at anytime. I don’t have to already know the person, I don’t have to be recommended to them, hell, I don’t even have to know they existed before I found them on Twitter. But because I’m able to find and follow people within my industry who are thought leaders, innovators, and pioneers of where the industry as a whole is headed, I’ve gained valuable, firsthand insight into the issues that permeate across the land, from coast to coast. Can you think of another tool or service where you can so easily pick up useful information from people you would otherwise initially consider strangers?
I’ve spoken before about the importance of customer development, and I have to say, the rise of Twitter as a tool for “keeping your ear to the ground’ cannot be overstated. I follow people from the multifamily(aka rental housing) industry in Florida, Indiana, Colorado, Oregon, Michigan, Texas, California, Arizona, Georgia, and many other states. I’m able to listen firsthand to issues/trends/and happenings that affect each of them individually and as a group, see where they overlap, and understand the motivation behind their tweets. This has had a tremendous influence on how we go about our product development, because in listening first hand to the very people that we hope may someday find value in our service, I’ve not only discovered the issues that matter most to them, I’ve begun to understand why they matter so much. You could spend thousands of dollars and months traveling across the country, hoping for cold calls and interviews that would garner you as much insight, and still never get it. That’s research that’s hard to put a dollar value on.
Now don’t get me wrong, Twitter is definitely not a one way street, and if you treat it like one, you’re likely to end up at a dead end. Twitter is a conversation - the same way that you pick up information from the people you follow, you need to offer up information to the people who choose to follow you. It’s a simple give and take, but one you have to treat responsibly. Please remember, you don’t need to be an expert to contribute something useful to the conversation! Share links or stories that have a common purpose amongst your group or industry. Offer up quotations that reflect your approach to the world, or provide some form of insight into how you approach your business. Have a positive tone - have you ever heard the advice to smile when you’re on the phone, because it will come across in your voice to the person on the other side of the line? Try that with Twitter! I bet you have a hard time sending out a negative tweet with a smile on your face(unless you’re being vindictive, in which case, I’m unfollowing you anyways!)
The obvious side benefit to this experience is your ability to build relationships with people who may someday become your customers. Never assume that they will. If you approach Twitter solely with the intention of building your “potential customer” cold call list, you will be painfully sorry. In fact, you may end up building a community of people who are united against using your service. I would argue that any customers you may pick up as a result of your interactions on Twitter should be viewed as an added benefit to the knowledge you’ve garnered along the way. If you listen to what the market has to say and build your product accordingly, the people you meet on Twitter will hopefully want to use it, simply based on it’s overall value and usefulness in their lives.
So, what is Twitter to you? Do you use it in your daily life? What value do you find in it? How do you use it in comparison to other social media tools? I’d love to hear your feedback, as I think Twitter might be one of those unique little tools that’s a little bit different for everyone.
As you can tell from this post, they’ve certainly made a believer out of me. I’m no longer as worried about their long term revenue strategy, or what kind of return they provide their investors. As long as they keep feeding me this delicious turquoise Kool-Aid, I’m all good!
