Tapping Twitter

Do you remember the first time you swam in the deep end? As a kid, the deep end of the pool is the proverbial equivalent of the bosses bathroom. Ripping off those water wings/life jackets and scrambling to stay afloat, your heart pounding as your toes slip through the ledge-less water, scrambling for a handle, any handle, and the amazement when you reach the water’s edge.

Using Twitter is sort of like crossing the deep end, or taking a crap in the bosses bathroom; you wonder why you didn’t go for it earlier.

With all the clutter of RSS, emails and online newsletters, who has time to Twitter, right? The reality is that this tool offers some powerful possibilities:

- Instant access to the opinions of people that you respect and admire (why else would you follow them?)

- Instant access to the opinions of people that respect and admire you, or at least interested in what you have to say (why else would they follow you?)

- Media monitoring (See Jim Grunig’s interview on PRC. Judy Gombita sparks some excellent commentary on the role of social media in monitoring your brand)

Let’s not forget brand boosting, brand awareness, free market research, boosting traffic, and, of course, the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with your target audience.

I invite you to take the plunge, and while you’re at it, look me up: my Twitter handle is bcarlos.

~ by Brandon Carlos on October 15, 2008.