How To Know If You Should Be Using Twitter

Common business advice for what to do online often consists of more tools and tactics than anyone can do alone.

“You need to have a website, email list, blog, be on Facebook and Twitter, get Instagram, sign up for Pinterest, etc.”

Eek!

Most people are at least on Facebook.

The main channel I’m asked about is Twitter.

Knowing how it works is good first step to knowing if you should use it. If you think it’s the same as Facebook status updates, check out this post first.

Once you’ve got an idea of what it is… let’s look at whether it’ll work for you.

1. Do You Want To Use It?

This is a good place to start. Especially if it’s just for personal use. If not, stop right now.

For business, it’s not a great idea to promote yourself in ways you don’t want to. That will result in bad content. Bad content makes people trust you less… so you’ll sell less.

If you’re perfectly content not bothering with Twitter, then don’t. Letter writing isn’t for everyone either.

2. Is your audience there?

Are your friends, customers, or competitors doing it? Are they asking you to tweet? If so, it’s probably a good idea.

Twitter has over 250 MILLION active users, so there’s a good chance you’ve got some potential connections on there.

If you enjoy short conversations about various topics and like connecting with new people and starting those new conversations on topics you like, try twitter.

3. Are You Already Overwhelmed With What You’re Doing?

If so, don’t add something else to your list.

4. Are You Making the Most of Your Other Social Networks?

If you’re only on Facebook and not seeing great results, you probably don’t need to be in more places just yet…

You need to use Facebook better.

It’s better to be on 1 social network doing a great job than to use 5 and produce mediocre results on each. If you’re not at the stage where you’re having some success with what you’re using, don’t add something else.

Got any other questions about Twitter? Leave a comment below!

Photo: “Mangrove Blue-Flycatcher (Cyornis rufigastra)” by Lip Kee