I Have No Time for Twitter

Posted by TeamCharlie on March 26, 2009 under Gabe's Twitter Gems, Social Media, Twitter | 4 Comments to Read

I hear this a lot when I tell people about Twitter.  They perceive it as a place to waste time, probably because they do not fully understand it.  How can I be critical of them when that was exactly how I felt when I first looked at Twitter? Anyway, my response to this objection is the following: “Do you spend any time promoting or marketing your business?  If you do then you have time for Twitter.”  Twitter is a tool that if used properly can connect you with people you would never have met in your lifetime.  It is a gold mine. But like a gold mine, the nuggets just don’t leap into your pocket, you must hunt for them. It is my position that companies that ignore Twitter will be left behind. According to KnowledgeCentre News, more than 6000 firms a day are turning to Twitter to cut costs and boost their marketing efforts.

So where’s the beef? People like to see proof. I would love to hear your success stories in the comments section here so I can direct people to them later.  And I know there must be countless success stories, or there would not be so much buzz about Twitter these days.  But what about me? How has Twitter helped Kids Are Heroes? Well let’s see. I started tweeting in late December 2008. In three short months I have connected with many people across the country as well as around the world.  I have links back to my site from a blog site as far away as Singapore.  My main goal is to promote Kids Are Heroes, so I follow moms, dads and teachers.  I have seen the web site rise in hits on an average day from under 50 to over 100.  (Just three days ago we enjoyed 365 hits with no special promotion.)  Kids from all over the country are posting shout-outs to the heroes from their classrooms.  Many more people are reading my blogs.  We have raised the awareness tenfold of what we are doing. We have gotten new heroes from Twitter.  We have been invited to participate in podcasts and as guest speakers in tweet-a-thons.  The Denver Post ran their first story (of several) on us just two days ago.  We have raised awareness and funds for MaryMargaret’s Music for Life! project. I feel that the fire hose has only been turned on to a trickle at this point.  As more people join, more people recommend, more people will hear our message.

I was asked the other day as part of a psychological study, “Where do you see yourself five years from now?”  Without thinking I answered this question instead: “Where do you see Kids Are Heroes five years from now?”  My answer was that I envision Kids Are Heroes as a global organization that will inspire hundreds of thousands of children to do wonderful things which in turn will help shape many more young leaders.  In ten years I hope it will be as well known as the Boy and Girl Scouts of America. Now, is that perceived success all because of Twitter?  I would say no but think of this: Do you remember the scene in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation when Clark Griswold applied the wax to his saucer sled? (If you don’t get that reference, here it is thanks to YouTube.) I see Twitter as the sled wax that will help get us there much faster.  It certainly has been good to us so far.

So come on – let’s see how Twitter has helped you using real stories about your business.

Update: 4/24/09 I would think that success on Twitter is measured by what you want to get out of it.  My original goal was to get more exposure for Kids Are Heroes. I have indeed accomplished that and then some – I wouldn’t be blogging about Twitter and spending so much time on it if I didn’t feel there was a good reason to do it.  Because of Twitter, I discovered Richard Branson’s PitchTV concept where he offers budding entrepreneurs a stage to show their exciting projects.  As of this writing our pitch is on his web site in the midst of a competition – the top five pitches will make it through to the PitchTV show which will be broadcast on all Virgin Atlantic flights for one month. Ok I bet you would classify that as a “win” regardless of the outcome.  The buzz that has stirred and the newfound exposure is priceless to me.  But what has been more important is the support I have received from everyone on Twitter with all their votes, blogs, features, encouragement and retweets.  Without them I wouldn’t have stood a chance in this competition. (Must give props to my family and heroes too.)  This to me is a bigger sign of success on Twitter than being featured on a blog site somewhere.  Either way, both are very cool.  Still say you don’t have time for Twitter?