Benefits of Using Twitter
// June 29th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // General, The Internet
Over the past few months I have been using Twitter more and more. The more I use it, the more I realise that it is so much more than just another social networking tool.
Many people just use it as a way to communicate with others, and for others it is fast becoming an important tool for business. I am beginning to rely on Twitter more and more for everyday life, from news, to business, to asking advice on what camera to buy!
Here is what I use Twitter for:
News
Previously my first stop would be a news site to get the latest headlines. Now, I am a follower of numerous news agencies and I can get all their headlines in one place.
Employment
When my freelance works starts to slow down, I simply tweet that I am looking for more freelance work. Generally I get at least one or two leads which then turn into work. Normally at least a handful of people are looking for some kind of work.
Networking
Since I began using Twitter I have made a lot of contacts who have helped me build my freelance work, as well as give me general advice about whatever I need. I now know many people who I can turn to if I need developers, marketers, sales people, and so on. All I have to do is ask!
Purchasing
When I was in the market for a digital SLR camera I asked Twitter what a good entry level camera was. I got a few responses back which helped me along the way to choosing my product. I do this with any big purchase now because chances are someone on Twitter is using it and will give you some honest feedback.
Friends
On top of everything else, I have a few friends that I communicate with via Twitter. I managed to find a few people I have not spoken to in about 10 years on Twitter!
Marketing
I recently ran the BuddyPress Theme Contest and spreading the word via Twitter was an important factor in generating traffic to the website. Looking over the stats, at least 50% of the hits were from Twitter.
What do you use Twitter for?
