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Tailoring Twitter: Building a Powerful Network that Fits You Perfectly

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Finding People to Spread the News

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Every minute we spend on our business is one that helps it grow … or not.
The idea is to connect to all of the people who help us thrive — colleagues, customers, vendors, partners, family, friends — people who want to see our business growing faster, more easily, and with more meaning.

Those people who already know us and love what we’re going are the network, the beating heart, that holds us up and spreads our message to the right people in the very best way. Having a powerful network of fans means our message is seen, heard, understood and spread with the speed and reach of the Internet.

How do you get a network like that?

I often call Twitter the world’s largest networking room, but that doesn’t do it justice. Networking rooms are physical and geographically limited. They can’t expand and contract in size. The people who visit the room are limited by those who can physically get to the location where the meeting and the room exists in space and time. And not every networking event collects the people who are interested in what we do.

Unlike that networking room, Twitter let us decide who is at our “networking event.”
How do we find that first group of friends that we invite to our Twitter networking event?

Building a Powerful Twitter Network that Works for You

Before you build a network, think about the people you want to attract. Who are the people who support what you’re doing and naturally pass it on? Those are the folks you want to attract. Be irresistible for them. Think too about the people who would rather not participate in your success, the people who see you as what you’re not, look things over to see that you’re not attracting them.

When we focus on serving the people who trust our abilities and love what we do, they tell their friends about it. If we work to convert people who don’t trust our abilities and value our service, they look for reasons that we’re not doing what they think we should do.

Concentrate on reaching that first group with the best you can offer.

Know What You Offer

  • Know and share who you are. Have one clear business message. Define yourself clearly as a business person. Use a photo. Write a professional bio. Name the metropolitan area you’re in. Link to a business site that tells more about you. Some folks link to a special page on their blog set up just for Twitter visitors. Add a unique background to further define yourself.
  • Research the ways you might connect. Check out how @DellOutlet , @ComcastCares , @TwelpForce , @AlyssaMilano , @WholeFoods , @SharnQuickBooks and others use Twitter to connect. You may not be as big as they are, but you can learn from their approach.
  • Know and share why you’re there. Manage expectations. Let people know from the beginning the way you intend to serve their needs. If you want Twitter to be your relationship command center, you’ll set it up differently than if you want it to be your idea lab, your outlet store, or your customer service base. Decide before you start.

Find the People Who’ll Value that

  • Start small with friends and their friends. Start by following the friends you already have. Look for people in your industry by using the Who to Follow option at right in the black bar at the top of your Twitter.com page.
    [click to enlarge]

    who to follow nav

    which will take you here. [click to enlarge]

    climeguy

    I’m going to a conference for the National Council of Teachers of Math (NCTM). When I started following folks who know the conference, I met a man who works for CLIME –The CLIME guy – CLIME is the math/tech affiliate of NCTM since 1988 http://clime.org After visiting his page to read his tweets, I knew I wanted to follow him.

    Then I took a look at the people @ClimeGuy follows and I found @samjshah. [click to enlarge]

    climeguyprofile1

    So I checked his profiles, read his tweets, and listed Sam in my list of STEM educators (Science Technology Engineering and Math Teachers) so that I could keep up with what Sam is talking about.

  • Check the curated lists and the hashtags to find who and what your heroes find relevant. Choose to follow a limited number a day.

    Tweeps make lists to follow whole conversations by a group of people that the value around a common thread. For example I have a list of Twitter people who commented on blog in 2005. I use it to check in on what my more experienced friends are talking about. You can check my lists from my profile page.

    You can check everyone’s curated lists by exploring sites like Listorious.com which collect the Twitter lists. [click to enlarge]

    listoriouseducation

    and Sulia (once called tlists to more channels of of Twitter people who share your interests.

    and Use the search function at hashtags.org to find and follow tweets that people mark with a hashtag such as #edchat. Or use Search.Twitter.com to go quickly to a hashtag you might already know.#nctm (the name of a conference) or #mathchat (the name of topic of interest.) See who’s sharing insights and information that you find relevant and follow them.

  • Listen before you join in. Get to know how they talk and what they talk about.
  • Following both ways allows you to have private conversations. When quality people follow you back, use that as opportunity to say hello to them in a unique and personal way. When new folks follow you first. check their profile and follow them back if you want to start a relationship. You have to be following both ways to share a private conversation via direct message. Direct message is how Twitter people share information they don’t want to share publicly.
  • Add value to the conversation. Be helpful, not hypeful, just as you might be in person. Use the @ sign (@lizstrauss) to make sure your comment about a person or to a person gets to the person you’re mentioning.

    Some things you might Tweet about and how to Tweet them.

    • Tweet to share an insight or something you’ve observed.
      The more I leave room for my soul to breathe, everyone around me gets nicer.
    • Tweet to respond to what someone said.
      @lizstrauss having margin in life is a good thing huh and not living right up the edge of the paper as someone once told me
    • Tweet to start a conversation by saying hello and asking a question..
      Good morning, Twitterville. How will you make someone’s life better today?
    • Tweet to share information or content using hashtags – especially when you can promote your friends.
      The free Entrepreneur Expo starts tomorrow, featuring our very own @starbucker http://bit.ly/em06Gp #sobcon
    • Retweet to pass on content by J_Bender using the RT button
      J_Bednar Jason Bednar [RT] by kjpmeyer
      “All the biggest miracles take place in classrooms. Nothing happens without teachers.” S. Frears quoted by Charlotte Danielson. #NAESP11
      The above Retweet would look like this if she had typed it — and we can edit / add to it!.
      I agree 100% RT @J_Bednar: “All the biggest miracles take place in classrooms. Nothing happens without teachers.” S. Frears
  • Start your Twitter list. This is my SOBCon list — people who attend our yearly business event – SOBCon.
    sobconlist

    Lists draw attention to and from people. Each list can focus on one group of people. Check the lists that other folks make, see what their lists say about them. Have a core list strategy. Lists might include a handful of advisors, thought leaders in your industry, partners and vendors, key customers and clients, people in your home location.

  • Decide early who you will follow – who you want at your networking event. Some folks follow only a few people and keep their followers limited to people in their business. Other folks look for input from a wider group.
  • If you’re looking for clients, don’t just talk to the people who do what you do. It’s fun and safe to talk business with our peers, but the folks who hire us are the folks who don’t know how to do what we do.

    • Like any networking event, Twitter is filled with opportunities to meet people who want to participate, engage, and be a part of what we’re doing. The difference is that some networking rooms are filled with people who have no business in common with us. On Twitter, we can reach out to folks who are interested in being at the same networking event as us.

    Have you figured out other other ways to tailor the Twitter experience to fit your best reason for being there?

    –ME “Liz” Strauss
    Work with Liz on your business!!

    Related:
    Tailoring Twitter: Does Your Twitter Profile Attract the Right People?
    Tailoring Twitter: Get Busy Folks to “Get” Twitter in 2 Minutes Flat!
    Tailoring Twitter: The ROI of Curating Content on Twitter

    Social Media List: Tweets, Business and Getting Started in a Career

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    A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow

    I’m Teresa Morrow, Founder of Key Business Partners, LLC and I work with authors and writers by managing their online promotion. As part of my job I read a lot of books (and I love to read anyway!).  I am here to offer a weekly post about one book I am working with and one book I have put on my reading list. The books will cover topics such as social media (Facebook and Twitter), organization, career building, networking, writing and self development and inspiration.

    #EntryLevel Tweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle

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    This week I would like to start off with a book I have read and working with entitled #EntryLevel Tweet by Heather Huhman.

    When asked why she wrote #EntryLevel Tweet, Heather replies, “Hiring managers expect young professionals to be job hunting experts. And there’s a strong need for quick, easy-to-digest
    information about entry-level job searching.”

    When I was reading #EntryLevel Tweet I found myself shaking my head in affirmation because many  of the things stated in the book are right on. Such as:

    ~You need to choose a career that makes you happy and excited about going to work, but remember that not every day on the job will be fun. —>there is some part, it may only be 1% of your job, that you will not like doing as part of your job.

    Also, she adds, Don’t beat yourself up for not making the right choice at first–most of us don’t! —>How true this is! I was going to be a marine biologist, until I went to college and found out I was not as good as math and science as I thought I once was in this subjects.

    Huhman then goes on to discuss how the world for those seeking their first job out of college has changed. “Even in a candidate saturated market, there are many more (and better) ways to get in front of hiring managers than there used to be. —>Oh, yes, this is certainly true. There are people who can do a video resume for you. *Actually that is how my niece landed her first job as a reporter.

    She continues to help recent grads by providing them stepping stones to secure the proper tools to obtain in order to be more successful at landing the job.

    About the Author:

    Heather R. Huhman is a career expert and Founder of Come Recommended, an exclusive online community connecting the best internship and entry-level job candidates with the best employers. As an experienced hiring manager and someone who has been in nearly every employment-related situation imaginable, Heather knows and understands the needs of today’s employers and internship and entry-level job seekers.

    Her expertise in this area led to her selection as Examiner.com’s entry-level careers columnist in mid-2008. The daily, national column educates high school students through recent college graduates about how to find, land, and succeed at internships and entry-level jobs.

    You can pick up your copy of #EntryLevel Tweet here.

    @collegegrads read this #book if you want a quick, easy-to-read guide on how to go from a confused graduate to a confident entry-level worker.”
    Dan Schawbel, @danschawbel, Author of ‘Me 2.0:Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success’

    Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant

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    Now it is time for me to share with you a book I have not read but it is on my reading list. My choice for this week is Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne and published by Harvard Business School Press.

    Blue Ocean Strategy provides a systematic approach to making the competition irrelevant. In this frame-changing book, Kim and Mauborgne present a proven analytical framework and the tools for successfully creating and capturing blue oceans. Examining a wide range of strategic moves across a host of industries, Blue Ocean Strategy highlights the six principles that every company can use to successfully formulate and execute blue ocean strategies. The six principles show how to reconstruct market boundaries, focus on the big picture, reach beyond existing demand, get the strategic sequence right, overcome organizational hurdles, and build execution into strategy.

    About the Authors:

    W. Chan Kim is Co-Director of the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute and The Boston Consulting Group Bruce D. Henderson Chair Professor of Strategy and International Management at INSEAD, France.

    Renee Mauborgne is The INSEAD Distinguished Fellow and a professor of strategy at INSEAD. She is also Co-Director of the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute.

    “Blue Ocean Strategy will have you wondering why companies need so much persuasion to stay out of shark-infested waters.” — BusinessWeek, April 4th 2005

    You can purchase your copy on Amazon.

    Social Media BookList: Let’s Talk Business, Tweets and Mojo

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    A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow

    I’m Teresa Morrow, Founder of Key Business Partners, LLC and I work with authors, writers, speakers and coaches. As part of my job I read a lot of books. I am here to offer a weekly post about one that I am working with and one I have put on my reading list. The books will cover topics such as social media (Facebook & Twitter), organization, career building, networking, writing and self development and inspiration.

    #MOJOtweet

    This week I would like to start with a book I’ve read and working with by Marshall Goldsmith, author of #MOJOtweet published by ThinkAha books.

    mojotweet_cover_mid

    In this fast paced world we live in and the need for great information that will lead us to action, is sometimes hard to find. Well, in the ThinkAha book series, this problem is quickly resolved by the format used.

    #MOJOtweet is written in the template of around only 100 pages and formulated about tweets (also known as AHA’s) in 140 characters. 

    You may be asking what is Mojo? Mojo is the moment when you do something that’s purposeful, powerful and positive and the rest of the world recognizes it.

    Mitchell Levy, CEO of Happy About, Inc. and publisher of ThinkAha books,  summarizes the essence of the book in the forward, ” Mojo is that missing ingredient that is between you and your life filled with meaning and happiness. #Mojotweet provides that in bite-sized packages.”

    Below are just a few of the wise, helpful and inspirational aha’s I found in the this informational compact book, #MOJOtweet.

    ~ We run everything through two filters: short-term satisfaction (or happiness) and long-term satisfaction (meaning). –>So true! When I first read that I thought, “no I don’t do that”, but when I thought about it again, I realized I certainly do.

    ~ Mojo is infectious. When people pass their positive spirit onto us; we feel like passing it back. –>Again, great insight in such a short statement. Positive breeds positive. If I am around a positive person, my outlook will change for the better which I will radiate to others around me.

    ~ When measuring your Mojo, do so in the immediate present, not in the recent past or vague future.–>this is something I struggle with sometimes. I worry about things from the past or worry how to correct things before they even get here…not to concentrate on what is in the now.

    You can order your copy or download the ebook of #MOJOtweet.

    Marshall Goldsmith, is America’s preeminent executive coach. He is among a select few consultants who have been asked to work with more than sixty CEOs. His clients have included many of the world’s leading corporations. Goldsmith has helped to implement leadership development processes that have impacted more than one million people around the world.

    He has a Ph.D. from UCLA and is on the faculty of the executive education programs for Dartmouth College and the University of Michigan. The American Management Association recently named him as one of fifty great thinkers and business leaders of the past eighty years. Read more in his new book, MOJO: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back if You Lose It.

    Crowdsourcing

    The book on this week’s on my reading list is
    Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of a Crowd is driving the future of business by Jeff Howe.

    The book focuses on describing how to crowds are creating new sources of value than the specific ways to tap into that value. Chapters 1 through 5, the first half of the book, concentrates on providing examples of the crowd sourcing phenomenon. The second half focuses down on the impact of crowds to economic and business organization.

    My thoughts: I believe there has always been an influence of the crowd.I remember when my mother would call her friends for advice or ideas for a new recipe, how to decorate, or who her friend used as a dentist. Society has drawn about the advice and influence of others (the crowd) for many years, however, I believe with the invasion of social media such as Twitter and Facebook, the importance of the crowd (crowdsourcing) is stronger than ever.

    Jeff Howe is a contributing editor at Wired Magazine, where he covers the media and entertainment industry, among other subjects. In June of 2006 he published “The Rise of Crowdsourcing” in Wired. He has continued to cover the phenomenon in his blog, crowdsourcing.com, and published a book on the subject for Crown Books in September 2008. Before coming to Wired he was a senior editor at Inside.com and a writer at the Village Voice. In his fifteen years as a journalist he has traveled around the world working on stories ranging from the impending water crisis in Central Asia to the implications of gene patenting. He has written for Time Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The Washington Post, Mother Jones and numerous other publications. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Alysia Abbott, their daughter Annabel Rose and son Phineas and a miniature black lab named Clementine.

    You can pick up your copy of Crowdsourcing on Amazon.

    I hope you have enjoyed this new weekly blog post. Feel free to share your thoughts with me as I would be open to read them.