An open letter to Aaron Kremer of Richmond Biz Sense…

Dear Aaron,

First let me thank you for keeping an open mind on Twitter and other social media platforms.  Others would have simply ignored the folks who jeered them at a social media club meeting but you decided to use the opportunity to reexamine Twitter and its benefits to your and other businesses.

I will preface my comments by saying that social media isn’t for everyone and far be it from me, or anyone else for that matter, to try to convince folks who see no benefit in it that it’s the best marketing thing since sliced bread.  In our conversations with public relations clients, we have had a number of occasions where we have introduced the client to social media possibilities only to come to the joint conclusion that it just wasn’t, and shouldn’t at this time be their cup of tea.  You can’t force people to “get” social media.

In your post “Why I Still Hate Twitter,” you bring up some valid criticisms that the folks at Twitter need to meet head on if the platform is to continue to be viable.  Twitter is a haven for marketing people, no doubt.  The fact that you followed only 50 people validates an opinion of mine that Twitter does not to a good job publicizing the programs, services and platforms that makes it easy for people to follow others with similar backgrounds, likes and goals.  Finally, I agree that Facebook and Google are better ways to drive communities, readers and traffic.

That being said, to say that following 50 people and checking their updates a couple of times a day makes your “study” of Twitter valid, is doing an injustice to the platform.  For good or for bad, Twitter is something you have to work at and invest time in to prove its value.

Here are three ways to increase the value of Twitter and while I know I can’t convince you to reopen your “study,” I offer them as a public service for those who are having similar struggles:

• Use a Twitter aggregator such as TweetDeck or Seesmic to better manage your Twitter experience.  This will help organize the main stream and divide it into columns that will make it easier to see what your followers are saying and what others are saying to them.
• Use Twellow as a tool to find people who are like you, have the same interests, and most importantly are people you can learn from.  This is a great way to follow the right people, get them to follow you back, and build your core Twitter posse.
• Take advantage of regular chats on Twitter.  For example, there are weekly chats for journalists (#journchat), public relations folks (#pr20chat), integrated marketers (#incchat), health care professionals (#hcsm), and countless others for non-media types.  You can use chat tools like Tweetchat to follow the stream and find out who the hosts are and when they run the chats.  This is by far the best way to gain followers and find people you value.
• One easy way to find people locally is to tag your posts the #RVA hashtag at the end.   If you search for others who do the same you will find most of the core Twitterers in the Richmond area.  Other cities and towns have created their own hashtags for the same purpose.

Finally from a personal standpoint, I can tell you that I have met countless friends, mentors and teachers on Twitter who have helped shape my social media strategic approach not only for my business but my clients as well.

I can draw a direct line from my use of Twitter (and its use by others at THP) to the growth of revenue for our business.

Sure you can have fun with it too (as I did virtual cheering the Jets on during their recent run), but as a business person I would have dropped off a long time ago if it didn’t offer value.

You can be a Twitter hater if you want, that’s your right.  If you decide that you want to give it one more try, I’m happy to offer my services to steer you in the right direction.

Best,

Jon