I hear this question all the time. Someone hears about Twitter, checks it out, maybe even signs up for it, and says “I just don’t get it.” Believe me; I understand! I felt the exact same way at first, but now Twitter has become an important part of my networking and marketing strategy. There are lots of professional organizers on Twitter, and you need to be there too!
It’s pretty hard to recognize the value of Twitter at first glance, when you see the question “What are you doing?”, especially when some users answer that question literally, saying such things as:
“is going to do something super fun today!”
“is about to give my stinky dog a bath”
“Going 2 the supermarket with my mom”
Please note that I’m not following any of the individuals who posted the above tweets. Why would I? Unless I know them personally, I don’t need to know the details of their day-to-day life, and if I do have a close relationship with them, we’re not using Twitter to stay in touch!
If you want people to follow you, you have to say something that is compelling and of value to others. As a professional organizer, you might want to offer organizing tips, product recommendations, or other information that might interest the kind of people you are trying to reach. Here are a few examples I’ve seen recently:
@clutterdiet #ClutterTweetTip #CTT: Closet accessories worth buying: tie and belt racks. Perfect for the job. Visible, easy, spacesaving.
@ByeByeClutter Decide to decide. Know that when you start organizing, you’re going to be making a series of decisions. #bbctip
@StephCalahan TIP: Leave 25% of Your Day Free for the Unexpected
Another thing that puts people off is using Twitter to blatantly advertise your business, but keep in mind that you can answer the question “What are you doing?” in a way that promotes your products or services, without making a sales pitch. Here are some great examples I’ve seen recently:
@ProfOrganizer Good: inbox is full of notifications of new sales of my “Tickle Yourself Organized” ebook at http://is.gd/Je4t (But next up, the “doh!”)
@KimEagles production line working hard to produce hard copies of our organizing DVD’s (AKA Hubby). should have samples ready to go by Monday!! Yeh!
@putitaway Must be really tired. I can’t remember if I took in mail. I know I sorted mail of two clients today but can’t remember if my own. Very sad
In each of these cases, the individual has shared information about their product or service in a very conversational way, so that others, rather than running away clutching their wallets, are encouraged to engage in conversation. Remember that Twitter, like all social media, is not about making a quick sale, but about making connections and building relationships which may lead to opportunities down the road.
Another important point to consider is that Twitter isn’t just about posting your own messages! You need to follow the type of people you want in your network, including other professional organizers and people from related industries, as well as experts in marketing and other small business topics. You can learn a lot just from reading their tweets and any links that they post, but if there’s something in particular you want to know, you don’t have to wait for someone to address that subject – just post your question and you may be surprised to see who answers!
If you want to be really resourceful, don’t wait for someone you’re following to ask a question you can answer. Enter keywords into Twitter search or one of the many Twitter search applications to see what others are saying about a particular topic, and join the conversation – it’s way easier than walking up to strangers at a live networking event and hoping you’re not intruding!
As you can probably tell, I’m a big fan of Twitter, and this probably won’t be the only time I’ll blog about it. I learn something new every week, so if there’s something you want to know that I haven’t covered here, feel free to post your question either in the Comment section below or using the Contact form, and I’ll be sure to answer it.
Thanks for the plug, Janet, and for making me feel like a good example. The follow-up “doh!” was a self-deprecating tweet about what I realized I wasn’t doing in marketing that I should (mentioning my newsletter when I thank people for buying my ebook). I think a little self-deprecation goes a lot farther towards building a relationship with the reader (see? I’m “real!”) than the megaphone tweets of profound self-promotion.
Tweet ya later, Janet!
Hi Janet, thank you for the mention! Your readers might wonder about the “hashtags” on some of the words (the # keywords).
Twitter users organically have created this system to help do better searching. Our #ClutterTweetTip is easily searched this way, for example.
Cheers,
Lorie
Hi Janet, thanks for the compliment. I agree that twitter is really a way to get into conversations or start them with others and I love the comparison of the live networking event. it really is easy to just join in a conversation and if you happen to have some good info to share people will begin to listen to what you say.
Great Blog,
Kim
Thanks for the shout-out Janet. I too love Twitter. It enables me to converse with folks I may have never met otherwise. It also allows me to show while a I am a Certified Professional Organizer by trade, I am also human as shown by my Tweet in your blog post.
I just added your RSS to my blog reader. Thanks for the great posts.
-Kim
Hey Janet! Thanks for the mention and Tweet. There are a number of different philosophies on what to Tweet and what not to Tweet. Back in the early days of Twitter the original focus was really to tell people what you were up to at any given point and time. Today, however, business users have really taken the tool to a whole new level. I am super vocal on Twitter and less so on other networking sites. I find that many of my followers like the chatter on twitter, while on LinkedIn or Facebook my friends/links would get annoyed. It is a great example of how you can alter your communication to match your audience.
I evaluate the reception of my Tweets by the number of new followers as well as the number of Re-Tweets I get. It lets me know what my Tweeps find valuable and what they can do without overall.
Another twitter tip — sign up for TwitterFeed.com and have your blog RSS automatically posted to your account when you write. It is a great way to get more people subscribing.
All you organizers out there! I’d love to connect with you. http://www.NetworkWithSteph.com
Share tips with your fans/friends/followers/links (what ever you want to call it) and I’ll be sure to RT (which stands for Re-Tweet: giving you props for your great ideas.)
To your success!
Stephanie
Julie and Kim O, you are so right! Some people think that you always have your ducks in a row if you’re a professional organizer, but I don’t see the word “perfect” in there anywhere, do you? Showing you’re human too just might open the door to working with a client who was feeling embarrassed about having you see their stuff.
Lorie, thanks for explaining the hashtags. It occurred to me that some readers would be wondering about them, but I knew if I covered everything, I’d end up with a book instead of a blog post!
Kim E, Twitter has another benefit over live networking events – if the conversation isn’t going anywhere, you don’t have to come up with an excuse to walk away!
Stephanie, thanks for sharing the links to TwitterFeed.com (which I didn’t know about) and your networking page – now that is a great idea!