Top 3 Reasons I Use Twitter & Some Twitter Tips

Many times in life I find myself going through the motions and not really realizing why I’m doing certain things or the benefits of doing them. Twitter can be like this sometimes, however I made a list of the top 3 reasons I use twitter to remind myself why I’m sharing with others my miscellaneous ramblings and why twitter has become so popular recently.

1. Get the most up-to-date information- Ever heard of the phrase “what have you done for me lately? Remember when that plane landed in the Hudson River in New York? Twitterers’ were the first to report that with live pictures. One of the big advantages of twitter is that it operates in real-time, so you know what’s going on right now. When you first start using twitter you may not know what to expect. One thing you can count on is that the information on twitter is the most current you can possibly get. Twitter will always be doing things for you lately. Keep in mind some of the most influential people and brightest minds in the world are using twitter. Barack Obama (@barackobama), Al Gore (@algore ) and many other business owners, marketers, bloggers and celebrities are regular tweeters as well so you can get access to information that you probably would not have otherwise or might take much more time to research.

2. Viral Conversation- like anything it may take some time to get the hang of twitter and find all the people you would like to follow. But once this happens twitter can become a very valuable and enjoyable tool. As you join the conversation and people get to know you, they may be able to give you some valuable insight and perspective about your situation. Of course, you would have to take the initiative and ask people most of the time, but like the saying goes “Ask and you shall receive”.

For example, if you are undecided about a certain product to buy, you can simply ask your followers if they have had any experience with the products you are considering. Chances are somebody will be able to give you some feedback that will help you make a more informed buying decision. Or you can ask about something more casual like which movie to go see. If you have some movie-watching followers they may give you some good feedback about their thoughts on some movies.

3. Market your business or yourself- if you have a website or blog like I do (www.wantedcoupons.com & www.wantedcoupons.blogspot.com), you can utilize twitter to gain more notoriety and drive more traffic. For example, if you make a new blog post you can simply make a tweet telling people that you have made a new post and many people will click on the link in your tweet to read it. If you are an affiliate marketer, you can make a tweet about a coupon or update from a merchant that might help monetize your website as well. Make sure that you are not only tweeting about your business though, there is nothing more annoying than following somebody who only says “hey go check out my blog” or “hey go to my website”, but just know that you can use twitter to build your business.

For those that don’t have a website or blog, you can simply use twitter to market yourself or build your brandname. Many employers are checking facebook and myspace pages nowadays to make a more informed decision about the candidates they may potentially hire. If they find you on twitter, it may give you another opportunity to make a good impression and show them you are socially conscious, which is always a good thing. Also keep in mind that people are much more likely to buy things from people they know, so if you are selling anything or plan to sell anything in the future, twitter can definitely be beneficial to you in this way as well.

The bottomline is that twitter is more than just telling people about what you are doing. I would recommend starting off slowly to see what others are doing and how they utilize twitter. Then as you gradually get the hang of it, you can get more involved and it will become much easier. You should be advised that twitter can get very addicting though, and like everything I would also recommend using twitter in moderation :).

As a general rule, the more people that you follow, the more people will follow you. So you might have to do some legwork in the beginning and do some searches to find people. Search for topics that you are interested in and you will find tons of interesting people to follow that will provide valuable information. Chances are that many of these people will follow you back. This will be well worth the time because the more people that you have to converse with, the more enjoyable twitter will be for you.

Keep in mind though that content is king in twitter, so don’t forgot to make good tweets and people will find you. You can also re-tweet other comments that you think people will be interested in, just make sure to keep their @name in the beginning of it so the person that made the original tweet will get credit for it. Here is a good site to help find and manage followers web2mom.com.

Some will still prefer to socialize with only people that they know on FaceBook or MySpace, which I can understand. Many others will probably think they are too cool for twitter. I would argue that you can get to know people pretty well through socializing with them on the internet and that many people thought they were too cool for MySpace and Facebook when they first came out and now more than 30 million people have a FaceBook account. Whichever you prefer, it's all about being social and having fun. Thanks for reading and hope to catch up with you soon!

P. S. If you'd like to sign up for twitter just go to their website twitter.com. Don't forget to follow us if you are so inclined @WantedCoupons and @DaveSeidl ;) and as always Keep on Coupin' On.