Why do I Twitter?

Well, there are a number of reasons, but let’s take a hard core business marketing reason first.

Paraphrasing an oft-used line from a couple of political campaigns, “It’s all about the blog, stupid.”

Let me digress . . .

I have been to several networking events of late and in discussions with others have asked, “So, have you been delving into Social Media any?”

The answer has usually been something like, “Yeah, I have a Facebook and LinkedIn page.  I do keep up with Facebook, and less so with LinkedIn, etc.”

I then ask, “Are you Twittering?”

The answer has been pretty much along the lines of, “Whew, I wouldn’t be able to keep up with that!”

And I fully appreciate that answer.

Hey, there are much better experts on social media than I, and I sometimes wonder myself whether Twittering is akin to New Year’s Eve in Times Square with everyone shouting, but no one listening.

But alas, again, from a strict business point of view, I can tell you that Twitter is working for me.  And here’s how:

As you know, I consider this site as an “added value” resource for my network of clients and contacts.  And you might also be aware that my team of contributors http://tinyurl.com/d6wtrg and I blog extensively on this site.

The blog subjects range from tape and disc technical explanations to marketing tips, and from IT, multimedia & web topics to writing tips.   I also throw in a few “contemplating my navel” posts as well . . . (just to keep everyone  guessing).

The point is that the blogs are a major factor in adding search engine ”relevancy.”  For example, when you type in a search on Google, what determines the order with which the search results are listed?  There are a complex array of factors, and this all falls under the realm of “search engine optimization,” but one of the most important factors is how much new content is on a particular site.

For example, the Google “spider,” (the black magic algorithm that constantly surveys the net — aka the “bot,” I guess short for “robot”) likes to see new content every few days on a site.  So, more new content means a higher relevancy rating for a site.

And what’s a good way to add new content?  Yeah, you guessed it, blogging.

Another relevancy factor is traffic to the site.  (I know, like duh, without traffic you have no business)  The “spider” though monitor the traffic.

And another factor is “linkage.”  The “bot” actually takes notice of how many links from other sites exist to your site.

So, putting all those factors together, you can start seeing my strategy:

1) write blogs

2) drive traffic to them and the site in general with a monthly e-zine

3) also drive traffic by including links in e-mails to clients re: certain relevant blogs of interest — maybe something we just talked about on the phone, etc.

4) add links to my website from my LinkedIn and Facebook pages. (Yes, these count as ”links” to the “spider.”)

Now enter Twitter . . .

With Twitter, because of its instant message-like milieu, I can send out to my “followers” a link to each blog as soon as it is posted.  You can see how that increases both traffic and linkage.

Furthermore, I also “tweet” a link to each monthly e-zine I send out (I post the e-zine on my website as well as e-mail out to 1,300+ addresses).

Get it?

As I said up top, there are several reasons why I Twitter, and I’ll be writing about the others in future posts, but I think you can see one reason as to why David Ryan Twitters:

“It’s all about the blog . . . (not stupid, oh ye “smart one!”)

Now, if you aren’t already, I invite you to follow me on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/DRMediaSolution

Also feel free to contact me at dryan@VideoLabs.net or 301-217-0000 x104

Finally, I need to give credit to the marketing advisor who resonates with me, Robert Middleton of www.actionplan.com.   He has been a strong advocate of utilizing Twitter in marketing.

You might also be interested in reading my blog about my attending one of Robert’s workshops last year: http://tinyurl.com/4ykpa6