Tweeple Who Need Tweeple....

Are the Luckiest Tweeple in the World! Some of you are reading this thinking, wow, she must be hitting the sauce what is she talking about? Others know exactly what I mean. I'm talking about Twitter. What is a Tweeple you ask? It's just a silly Twitter word for people. If you're a Twitterholic like I am you understand that just about anything can be "Twitter-ized" by adding a TW in front of it. Seriously though I want to discuss this week about the value of Twitter and how it has impacted both me personally and my business.

What is Twitter?
Twitter is considered a micro-blogging tool where the idea is to simply answer the question: "what are you doing?" in 140 characters or less. Although it started off as a way for family, friends and coworkers to keep track of each other and find out what everyone else is doing it has taken on a life of its own and become a powerful tool for networking and building your business.

While some may consider Twitter a waste of time, they are fooled by its simplicity and wonder "why does anyone care what I'm doing and how in the world could this be beneficial to my business?" The answer is as simple as the idea of Twitter itself. People DO care what you are doing and it can be a huge benefit to your business. If used correctly, the people that follow you get a glimpse into your life and your work. They learn about what you do, how you do it and how you interact with others. They learn about your likes, dislikes and a lot about your character. It is all of those things people consciously or subconsciously run through their head when deciding to do business with you. With online businesses popping up everywhere you look, people are becoming less inclined to go into a physical storefront to buy what they need. Why should they when they can shop in their pajama's in front of the t.v.? That means they want what you have, but when it comes down to choosing who to purchase from they are more likely to buy from someone they have a rapport with or know a little bit about before Joe Blow Widgets who they've never heard of.

Let's take a closer look at a day in the life of an average Twitter user (or Tweeter)- ME

Anyone who knows me or follows me on Twitter knows I tweet quite a bit throughout the day. Here's why and how I do it...

Problem Solving
I try to solve problems on Twitter by looking for people who need help. Not necessarily for my services but maybe I know something that could help or provide a link or refer the person to someone that can help them. I take time to quickly browse the latest tweets and see what's going on and how I can take action and help someone get what they need, whether its information or a product or whatever. If I don't know the answer I've been known to Google to find the answer and quickly send them a link that can help them.

Encouragement/Motivation
There may be times when I notice someone is having a really bad day. That's when I send them a message, either a public tweet or a private message (or DM-Direct Message) to lift their spirits. There may also be a time when someone is doubting their abilities or afraid to take the next step in their journey. I try to encourage them or offer words of wisdom from my own experience or perhaps a favorite quote I think they might like.

Tooting Someone Else's Horn
I love to promote others on Twitter. If someone says something I think will benefit the people that follow me I will "Retweet" it meaning sending out the exact same tweet with the person's name or Twitter ID who originally said it in front of it. I also enjoy tweeting about other people's upcoming conferences, radio programs, teleseminars, etc.... if I think they are relevant to what my followers are looking for or something they should check out. Also if I've tried a product or service from one of the people I follow and liked it I will tell everyone about it along with a link to a website where someone else can try it too.

Tooting My Own Horn (Kind Of)
I try not to do a lot of self promotion on Twitter. In my opinion there are other more suitable places to do that. However I do tweet when I have a new blog post, have added a new service to my repertoire or most recently when I launched my brand new ezine this week (speaking of which you can subscribe by heading to my website or my Facebook page. You can also subscribe on my blog page) Ok, shameless plug out of the way, back to Twitter. The point is, I try not to sell when I'm on Twitter. Twitter (and social networking in general) is about building relationships. Twitter is about making connections, getting to know people and letting them get to know you. Sure I conversationally will talk about what I'm doing like "working on updating a client's website" or "working on client's database". Guess what? Without saying "HEY LOOK AT ME THIS IS WHAT I DO AND YOU SHOULD USE MY SERVICES" I was able to let people know the kind of work I do without hitting them over the head with it. Someone may read it and say, OH she updates websites, that's what I need! I should check out her website and see what else she can do.

I tweeted the other day that I love what I do and the fabulous clients I do it for. After reading that, people have the sense that I love my work. I'm happy doing it and I love the people I do it for which means I have the utmost respect and admiration for my clients. This means that anyone that might be thinking of hiring a VA knows that this is how I view my clients and my work. Wouldn't they want to be one of them knowing that? I would hope so.

Jackie's Top 5 Tweeps
A few weeks ago during a teleclass about Twitter I named my top five "tweeps" to follow for various reasons. I think now would be a good opportunity to name them again. (their Twitter ID's are in parenthesis after their name)

1. Mari Smith (@MariSmith) - Mari and I met where else, on Twitter! We struck up a bit of a rapport and I was fortunate enough to meet her in person in October when she invited me to a marketing conference called JV Alert Live. She's been dubbed by Fast Company Magazine as "the Pied Piper of Facebook" and it's true. Mari knows anything and everything about using Facebook to build your business in a big way. Mari not only tweets about Facebook, she also tweets Twitter tips, marketing tips, interesting people to follow and lots of great information in general that every business owner should know. One taste of her friendly and bubbly personality and savvy marketing wisdom and you'll be a fan for life.
   
   
2. Carrie Wilkerson (@barefoot_exec) - Carrie Wilkerson (a.k.a. The Barefoot Executive) is a woman who has been there & done that. She has four kids, four businesses and has figured out how to balance it all and be extremely successful doing it. She now teaches others how to do the same. She's got a phenomenal story and exudes positivity wherever she is whether it's a live event or online. I had the pleasure of meeting Carrie in person at the same event where I met Mari and she is the real deal. I've learned so much from Carrie about being a business woman, a mom and a wife and making it all work. She's incredible and I'm honored to know her.
   
   
3. Felicia Slattery (@FeliciaSlattery) - Has such an amazing story. She was hours away from death while giving birth to her 2nd child just four years ago due to a pregnancy related life threatening illness. Felicia and her daughter are both fine now but the event altered the way Felicia approaches life. She celebrates every day and is such a positive influence to everyone who meets her. Felicia is a Communication Consultant, Speaker and Coach. She teaches others how to build credibility and grow their business through public speaking. I also had the joy of meeting Felicia at JV Alert Live in October and even had dinner with her. She's a brilliant woman with an amazing soul. I'm so lucky to know her as well.
   
   
4. Stephanie Bell (@SpiritCoach) is a walking example of a purely positive life. She is such a joy to follow because her words are always uplifting and encouraging. No matter how bad of a day you're having, you will instantly feel better after a tweet from Stephanie. She coaches others on how to be "passionately positive" in their life and work and how to find the joy that so many of us seem to have lost track of. I met Stephanie at JV Alert Live as well (do you see a pattern here?) and I'm so glad I did. She also lives here in Vegas and we are planning on getting together soon.
   
   
5. Grant Griffiths (@GrantGriffiths) - last but certainly not least is Grant Griffiths. Grant started blogging in 2005 in an effort to promote his family law practice. He soon found blogging to be so powerful as a marketing tool that he cofounded G2WebMedia and now teaches others how to profit from blogging. I know you're thinking I met Grant at JV Alert Live right? Wrong! I met Grant on Twitter and although we've yet to meet in person I have learned so much about using blogging as a marketing tool and business in general by following Grant. If you want to know anything about anything, ask Grant. Chances are he's got an answer for you. If you want to know anything about blogging, again, follow Grant. He is THE go-to person in my opinion for all things blogging. Grant has been gracious enough to ask me to be a guest blogger on one of his blogs called "Blog For Profit" which I am honored to do. We are also working on putting a teleseminar together so watch for details on that.

Why am I asking you to follow these people? Well, because they have all impacted my life in one form or another and they are all brilliant at what they do. By following them you'll learn everything from marketing to social networking to speaking and blogging and even finding your passion while doing it. All very important components of a successful business.

I hope I've enlightened you a little bit about the power of Twitter and what it can do for you. In the coming weeks I'll be posting more about Twitter and will also be offering tips in my monthly ezine. I'm always here to answer any questions you might have about using Twitter and how to get started so feel free to contact me.

Before I forget, if you're not following me on Twitter, please do! You can find me at http://www.twitter.com/JackieNees. I hope to be tweeting with you soon!

Have a wonderful week!
Jackie