The way people interact with each other is changing. More and more people are communicating and interacting with one another then ever before. But before you say, “Well, social media allows more people to connect but it doesn’t mean that the connections are meaningful.” Take a moment and think about how you are interacting with people. Are you sending out mass messages or are you encouraging personal relationships? Are you engaging and strengthening communication with people or are you simply talking to people because it is convenient?” Do you only communicate when you want something? How much time do you spend making an effort? Your relationships are only what you make them. Like it or not, the facts still remain.* You are in control of your social media experience.
Let’s focus on Twitter. Twitter can be a very educational and fun resource. Not only is it great for keeping people informed about your daily life but it’s the conversations that are most rewarding. Interactions are fast, short and generally straight to the point. One of my favorite uses is simply asking people questions, there is a fantastic community spirit on Twitter, most people like helping fellow tweeters or just giving advice. One of most under utilized tools on Twitter is the search tool (www.twitter.com/search), type in a few key phrases and you’ll get an incredible amount of information back. It’s a great conversation starter!
One great way to get to make connections is to find experts and joining their group of followers and friends. When you are doing your search make sure to check out Bios, websites, links, number of followers and read their tweets to see if their content is relevant to you. If you decide it is, see if you can “join the conversation.” Content rules in social media and twitter is no exception so make sure what you contribute isn’t drivel; be genuine, be thoughtful. Reply to tweets, use direct messages but most of all befriend people and gain their respect through meaningful interaction and conversation.
* Twitter is a powerful tool, there are: over 465 million accounts, 175 million tweets a day and 1 million accounts are added to Twitter every day. In the U.S. alone there are 107 million users, 33 million in Brazil and nearly 30 million in Japan. “The busiest event in Twitter’s history is now “Castle in the Sky” TV screening 25,088 tweets per second (previous record was the last minutes of the 2012 Superbowl with 10,245 tweets per second).” Statistics and facts – http://www.blogherald.com/2012/02/22/twitter-2012-infographic/
- Making the Most of Twitter - June 29, 2012