Welcome Clubhouse folks from Connection Zone For Women Business Owners… and everyone!
It may sound odd to start a post about Twitter for business with a shout out to people attending a Clubhouse Room. By, the way Clubhouse is the newest social media shiny object that is part of “Social Audio.” Think of it as a Huge conference with, what seems like zillions of breakout rooms of every topic imaginable. As the name implies it’s entirely audio a la podcasts. There are no visuals except your avatar or you can include emojis.
Sooo… when my BBF Nancy Chorpenning, founder of CEO School For Women, ask if I would come on stage to present my Twitter story and how to use Twitter as a business tool, I couldn’t say ‘no’ to Nancy. However, my challenge was how to add value to a virtual talking-head chat. Thus this post which will link from Twitter and serve as a back-channel to Clubhouse. You can find me on Clubhouse – @tobydiva or search Toby Bloomberg.
Note: Since there is no opportunity to include links or if you are shy and don’t want to ‘talk’ Twitter and Instagram are linked from your bio and serve as a back-channel. (which in totally honest I don’t get why Clubhouse would send people off-platform to network…. smarter minds than mine…).
My Story
My story in using Twitter for Business began May 2007 when I jumped on to, at that time the newest social media shiny toy. The Kool Kids, who were blogger friends from back in 2005 when I launched Diva Marketing, were there so I wanted to play too. @TobyDiva was a great opportunity to ‘text-talk’ within a supportive community. Quickly we realized the benefits for building relationships and how brands could benefit.
In 2014, I launched a sister company to Bloomberg Marketing, Diva Foodies, that would focus on a long-time love and passion – the food world. I saw a gap in how small food makers, chefs, cookbook authors were missing marketing opportunities in digital and social media marketing. I knew I had the experience and skills to help them grown business.
My challenges were although I had work within the culinary industry it was a relatively new niche and my contacts or community were limited at best. I needed to better understand what was important to these folks. I wanted to become a trusted part of the wider community. Twitter was my answer. I launched @DivaFoodies and began to listen and interact.
But it wasn’t enough. My Ah Ha Moment came when I realized people – lots of people – were live tweeting food TV shows. No one was putting the chef contestants together with their fans in a structured way so all could benefit: Fans, Chefs, The Show. I launched a tweet chat to do just that – #FoodTVChat. We ran it until Covid put a stop to live shows.
It was amaZing! #FoodTVChat guests included chef contestants from Food Network, Gordon Ransay’s portfolio – Masterchef, Masterchef Junior, Hell’s Kitchen, and Bravo. Understanding we might not get approval from the networks if we monetized with sponsorships the ‘shows’ were a from the heart project. We did win – in terms of relationships, clients, awareness, friendships, partnerships, and opportunities.
Twitter can work for business development and retention — If You Are Consistent and Intentional.
Four Twitter Business Lessons Learned
#1. Be An Active Part Of The Community; Kindness Counts.
Twitter is easy to engage on.
Passive – Respond to retweets (share) and comments
Active – Retweet and comment on tweets
Direct Message
#2. Bring Yourself. Tell Your Story.
Share information that is relevant and important to your community
Include links to articles
Photos & videos create attention
Give more than you take… keep the sales/promotion stuff to a limit
#3. Understand The Platform. Understand The Culture.
Lists Are Your Friend
Avatar = Your Brand
Utilize Pin To Top
Review Your Bio: Key words, Direct Link, Avatar
Fleets
Tag in posts and in photos (up to 10)
Sharing outside of the platform – direct link, email, messages, ++
Analytics are on tweets and in Twitter Analytics
#4. Begin. Perfect Is Over Rated.
But…. Always Stay True To Your Brand Values.
Bonus
Using Twitter as a back-channel to support Clubhouse.
Twitter For Business Tips For You
Here’s a PDF Download which includes more tips and resources along with a roadmap for you to incorporate Twitter into your business tactics. Let me know how it works for you!