Twitter was never meant to be a social network. In fact it was created as a message service at a private podcast company just over 5 years ago.
Today with over 200 million users and serving up over 1.6 billion enquiries a day, Twitter has evolved into a real time social network that spreads news, messages, links and multimedia with energy saving 140 character bursts.
It is also maybe the most efficient social network in the top five and that is part of its unique charm. It is simple and doesn’t overcomplicate things….. that is why texting and SMS is still popular even with teenagers in a world of tempting rich multimedia.
Twitter is still working out its business model with its only apparent revenue being “sponsored tweets” which are expensive and only make sense for a major brand to implement as part of its marketing plans. Google, Facebook and LinkedIn provide cost effective self service advertising that provides an easy to use marketing platform that can be capped and is readily available for all companies to use.
Twitter is also maybe the most misunderstood social media platform with people often asking “why would you want to use it?” or “what’s it all about?”
3 Key Reasons I use Twitter
For me Twitter is worth joining and learning how to use for 3 key reasons.
- Promote my blog and brand to a targeted global audience
- Obtain feedback in real time that helps me adjust content and headlines
- Network and communicate on-line so I can connect face to face off-line
It has surprised me with its marketing reach and even today it is the largest referrer of traffic to my blog.
Lab42 has surveyed 500 people over the age of 18 and asked a series of questions including, why did you join Twitter, how may brands do you follow on Twitter and where do you access Twitter from most often?
So what is the major reason you use Twitter?
More Reading:
- How to be Contagious on Twitter
- How to Create a Twitter Marketing Strategy that Rocks
- The Marketing Secret about Twitter that Most People Don’t Know
- Do People Share More on Facebook or Twitter
Image by Irish Typepad