Twitter for Business Made Easy
Great MindMap from the Mindjet Folks Simplifies Twitter and Proves Power of Mindmapping
On the most basic level, it’s easy to explain Twitter in a few bullet points:
- Twitter is a micro-blogging service that you can use from anywhere you can get an Internet connection.
- You sign up and give yourself an identity that lives on Twitter, such as mine–Twitter.com/newtbarrett.
- You can then post 140 character text messages which may include hyperlinks.
- You can choose to follow fellow members whose ‘ tweets ‘ will show up automatically on your Twitter page.
- Other members can choose to follow you to see what you have to say.
- The heavy hitters on Twitter may have thousands of followers and may post dozens of tweets per day.
- Every Twitter member can pass on or ‘ retweet’ other messages so that the reach of what you have to say is potentially huge and global.
- All of this happens in real time
At this point, you may be thinking, “Okay, I understand that, but what’s the point? Why would I want to do any of that stuff? That’s where this great mindmap created by Mindjet’s Michael Deutch comes into play. It illustrates why you need to care about Twitter for your business–and how to get smart about using it.
First, take a walk through the expanded MindMap to understand more about how Twitter works, 20 business uses, best practices, worst practices, resource sites with links, and more. A few minutes spent with the MindMap delivers a crash course in all business things Twitter.
Click here to view a fully interactive version of the MindMap on the Mindjet eNewsletter page.
Second, take a look at the Whole Foods Twitter page to get a flavor (sorry!) of how a major corporation uses this tool to engage its customers and fans. An image captured at 10:23 am EST, 2/27/09 is below.
If you haven’t taken the time to understand how to put Twitter to work for your organization, now is the time. In my opinion, it’s the real deal.
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Comments [4]
Only issue I have with Twitter is that its a self-enclosed community, i.e. You can only communicate only amongst fellow tweeters. And that too with those who choose to follow you or take notice of your reply if you follow them. Also, are tweets searchable in search engines?
Hersh,
Thanks for taking the time to comment. In a way it is somewhat self-enclosed like most social media networks like FaceBook or MySpace. But you can do a Google search that will likely turn up Twitter ID’s; you can find mine, for example. In addition, more and more people are adding their Twitter @appellation to blogs/business cards, etc. And, although you can be blocked from following someone, normally you can follow whomever is writing about stuff that interests you. Thus, unlike Facebook or LinkedIn where someone must actively accept your friend request, with Twitter you can see a profile and tweets unless that person decides to block you. Hope that helps.
Hersh,
While self-enclosed (for now) it still has millions of people. I’ve been in contact with some incredible people from around the world — all within the context of my job! I never would have been able to find these individuals using traditional tools — or it I could, it would have taken a lot more time, effort, and money. The power of Twitter’s search is incredible. You’re listening to the global consciousness. Hear what people have to say about your brand, company, industry. Find leads, make connections, learn about the competition. You name and it is likely possible with Twitter. There are some new, powerful search engines arising that tap into the social conversations. I’ve been using Google less since they have emerged. It’s still a primary research tool, but if I want to know what’s on people’s minds, I’ll turn to Twitter & blog searches before search engines.
Newt, thanks for sharing the map! And for tweeting me about it
Michael,
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Let’s hope Twitter comes up with a revenue generating model so that it can survive. It is becoming an extremely useful tool.