Throughout the school year I've used this Blog to share information about things occurring here at Belle Plaine as well as share information that can be helpful to students and parents. On most occasions after updating the Blog I will Tweet the link to the Blog to reach an even larger audience of people. Sharing this info using Twitter has allowed me to connect with other people who can also share beneficial information with me or connect with people who may have interest in what is happening with our school. I've spoke about Twitter with staff and we've even spent some time learning about Twitter during PD, but some still just view Twitter as an entertaining form of social media rather than a resource. Actually, it can be used as both. Depending upon who you follow it can provide whatever type of information you want. I myself follow mostly educational people but I also follow ESPN, Iowa Hawkeye Sports, and a couple other more entertainment sources. Twitter also allows individuals to exchange and share in real time. For example every Sunday night a group of educators mostly from Iowa, but also some from across the country, join together in a conversation about many different educational topics (IAEdChat). Basically, it becomes a group discussion people can follow along with and participate in if they choose to. The article below is something I came across on Twitter about why it can be a benefit.
If you'd like to follow me on Twitter I'm can be found at @ToddWerner1
By Todd Greider, Published April 19, 2014
It is my belief that fear
keeps most professionals from taking advantage of all that Twitter has to
offer. For those that seek to challenge themselves and overcome fears,
Twitter is the place to be. Here are five reasons why every professional
may find value in participating on Twitter.
Listening
First and foremost, the
ability to stay current on breaking news, both national and local, should
justify being on Twitter for everyone. When news breaks, it typically
appears on Twitter before reaching your local TV news channel. News
Correspondents are finding themselves getting the breaking news from everyday
people as it happens. I recently moved to Sacramento and experienced
tornado warnings a few weeks ago. During the broadcast of the breaking
news, I was seeing pictures of the tornadoes on Twitter, then minutes later the
local news channels showing the same photos from Twitter posted on the TV.
Learning
Twitter delivers a wealth
of information directly to your fingertips. Individuals and brands share
the stage competing for their voice to be heard. You can find information
on virtually any topic spanning every industry. To get the most out of the
platform, I started creating lists, which enabled me to filter specific areas
of interest and group the people and information for greater efficiency.
Over time, your lists will become your go-to sources for learning. In
some cases, I use this as a replacement for subscribing to blogs. For
example, my areas of interest are in learning and development (training),
marketing, and financial services. I created list of financial planners,
industry organizations, marketers, and training professionals.
Marketing
Think you know
marketing? In my opinion, there is no place more difficult than Twitter
to market yourself or your brand. Conveying a message and gaining interest
from your target audience in less than 140 characters (actually about 110
characters because you want RTs with commentary which consume the remaining 30
characters) can be a daunting task. Especially given that there are
approximately 241 million monthly active users and 5,700 average tweets per second
on the platform (Source). Getting your message heard will
be an uphill battle but is something that is possible with the right strategy,
focus, and commitment. Learning to market yourself and perhaps your
company’s brand will place you ahead of your competition. Why? If
you can build a brand or name for yourself on Twitter, you have proven the
ability to deliver concise and purposeful messages that resonate with an audience
(that you built for yourself) as well as demonstrated key character
traits/skills of great leaders such as creativity, persistence, networking, and
great communication to name a few.
Connecting
The networking
opportunities are endless when it comes to Twitter. Since I joined
Twitter in May of 2009, I have been fortunate enough to connect with some
amazing people from all over the world. Through my listening, learning,
connecting, and personal branding efforts I have built relationships that have evolved
over the years. How did I do it? I gave more than I took from the
platform. I was willing to share my ideas and my experiences with others
without expecting anything in return. In addition, Twitter allows you to
connect directly with world-renowned authors, speakers, industry experts, and
everyday people like each of us. We get to share our wisdom gained from
both successes and failures while building lasting relationships.
Word of
caution: Not all Twitter accounts are managed by the individuals being
portrayed in them (i.e. celebrities, politicians, professional athletes, etc.…)
Branding
Twitter makes it easy to
share your knowledge, expertise, and thoughts to a large audience. If
you’re a blogger, Twitter should be one of your primary methods of distributing
your content. Here are two examples of how someone may choose to brand
himself or herself on Twitter. Some have positioned themselves as a
Thought Leader (sharing expertise relevant to a niche audience), while others
have taken the stance as a Content Curator (sharing the thoughts and ideas of
others on a specific topic). In another piece, I interviewed a Personal
Branding expert who has leveraged Twitter among many other resources to build
his personal brand (Personal Branding Part 1 and Part 2).
In the end, you get what
you put into it. Invest your time, energy, and resources into Twitter and
it will generate results for you. Focus on building a strategy, listen
first and learn how others are using it, then begin to share content.
Also, research tools such as Hootsuite, Buffer, and SocialBro to measure your
results. Figure out what works and doesn’t work, and then modify your
strategy. If all else fails, ask for help. Twitter is a
global community of sharing. There are individuals around the world
willing to share their thoughts and ideas to help each other be successful.
Author:
Todd Greider is a seasoned
professional with more than 11 years of sales, marketing, as well as learning
and development experience. Now as an independent consultant, he focuses on
designing and implementing comprehensive learning platforms for organizations
to help them reach their organizational development and revenue goals.
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