According to many reports, something like 60% of Twitter users drop off after one month. I’m right at that critical tipping point now and find myself weighing the metrics – time spent on Twitter vs. return.
Even though I’m a late-adopter of Twitter, I’d been hearing for a long time about its potential value for brand positioning, online identity-building, and networking. In fact, I’ve been blogging about Twitter for half a year or so, suggesting that C-suite job seekers should consider adding it to their personal brand toolkits.
There’s no question that, as many people say, Twitter can be addictive and a massive time-waster. Before you know it, a half hour … one hour … two hours can be eaten up jumping around on Twitter. Those are big chunks of time that a busy entrepreneur like myself has to account for and assess, so that’s what I’m doing now:
Is there branding and networking value in Twitter?
I’ve certainly expanded my network into new arenas, and a few potential clients have already connected with me through Twitter. I’m building evangelism for my brand and support among my peers, and making others aware of the value I offer. Some very nice people have re-tweeted blog posts of mine, driving more traffic to my blog – a very nice bonus that is a confidence-builder and camaraderie-builder and boosts my brand positioning. More people are finding out about my services through Twitter.
Is there any other value in Twitter?
I guess I’ve chosen a lot of great people to follow, because their tweets have led me to some extremely valuable information and resources I probably never would have known about. That couldn’t hurt, right? The 140-character constraint is actually good practice for the kind of creative precision writing I do in my business. What fun to manage a “twoosh” – a tweet with exactly 140 characters! It feeds the wordsmith in me.
Am I addicted to Twitter?
I don’t think so. It’s not keeping from doing all the other things I need to get done in a given day. But Twitter is a guilty pleasure. I find myself apologizing to friends and colleagues who aren’t on board for being a fan and active Twit. “But I only use it for business”, I say. “No idle chitchat”. That’s not entirely true – when it tickles me, I’ll tweet about my passions for gardening and cooking and other things. I’m not exempt from dropping in a funny quote from someone I admire.
So what’s the harm?
Although Twitter is one more thing that keeps me glued to the virtual world, adding to eye-strain, neck-strain, and elbow-strain, there’s not a huge downside. It’s fun to make such speedy connections with new people and find out what that world is thinking about and talking about.
Will I continue tweeting?
YES! I have to say that, when I finally took the Twitter plunge, I had a strategic plan in place which seems to keep me on track. So far, and as long as I keep my participation in check, my time on Twitter represents a decent ROI for me.
If you’re on Twitter, let me know how it’s working for you.
