Twitter is the fastest-growing social networking site in the world.

“ Barack Obama used Twitter to generate publicity during his 2008 presidential campaign.”

In June 2009, following allegations of vote-rigging during the Iranian presidential election, protesters used Twitter to communicate with the outside world.

Harvard University found that 10 percent of users created over 90 percent of the content on Twitter. It also showed that many only used the service to follow others and did not post content of their own.

So much has been written and spoken about this modern day internet phenomenon.

On Thursday the 3^rd of Sept at 6pm GMT and 1pm eastern time, I will host a Top Sales Experts International Masterclass “Twitter for B2B, It’s About Friends Not Followers”

I invite you join me in learning how to utilize Twitter’s amazing potential to nurture relationships and create sales opportunities in B2B.

To register for this Masterclass, just click on the banner (Top Right) - remember it’s free if you become a VIP Member

Update 02/09 it has come to my attention that there was a bug in the system so I am offering this masterclass for free. Register below

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/233451570

I am currently attempting (I stress “attempting”) to create a list of the most influential business twitter users in Ireland.

I am basing this on three factors and weighting them in this order

Num of Retweets and @Mentions
Num of Irish Followers
Total Num of Followers

The results so far have proving very surprising to say the least. Here is a taster of what I mean.

#People with 10,000s of followers and virtually no RTs or @mentions.

#Big Irish brands with lots of followers, but very few RTs or @mentions

#Irish State/Semi State bodies with lots of followers, but very few RTs or @mentions.

#Irish Social Media/Tech Experts with very few RTs or @mentions.

#In fact if you take the top 100 Irish users with the most followers, a surprisingly large amount have very little no RTs or @mentions.

Now this was never going to be name and shame project. In fact my objective was rather to discover the people in Ireland I had most to learn from. That being said, I am very surprised with lack of effectiveness of so many Irish people and organisations with large numbers of followers.

To be clear, I am not questioning the tool here, I am questioning the people using the tool I think it raises an interesting question.

Why would people continue to put time and energy into a tool that appears to generate so little return for them?

Here are some possible causes in my opinion, please let me know if you can think of more.

#Many continue to be obsessed with numbers of followers. The fact that these same followers are paying no attention does not appear to resonate.

#Many continue to view and use Twitter as a broadcast tool only, they remain oblivious to its potential as a relationship builder.

#Many organisations start using Twitter because they feel it’s expected, rather than asking, what could Twitter add to this organisation?

#Twitter merely reflects a society where many are bad listeners or are only focused on the “what’s in it for me?”

#The wrong people within organisations are being entrusted with the responsibility to manage Twitter

#Much of the training/content spoken and written about Twitter is focused on the wrong places - It lacks the sophistication needed to teach people to get the most out of the tool.

The reality is that in most cases, it is probably a combination of above and more. The challenge as I see it is this. Twitter is an extremely easy tool to start to use, the amount of learning is minimal. Twitter is a difficult tool to use effectively, the amount of learning required is much more.

There lies the gap, most people can use Twitter but many struggle to use it in a sophisticated and worthwhile way. In many cases, followers aside, we are still struggling to get it.

Part one received a great response. A BIG thank you to everyone who took the time to read it.

Are you being Talked About?

You hope so?

This is a very simple way to use twitter. You can monitor for mentions of you or your brand. If people are saying (tweeting) good things, and even when they are tweeting bad things; if you engage in the conversation - Twitter gives you an opportunity to market yourself in a positive way.

Get Talked About (RTed)

It’s easy, just SHARE

I am not a big brand, so when I started using twitter, I had only a very limited number of mentions in the twittersphere - I knew I needed to change this.

• The easiest way to get RTed on Twitter is through offering your Twitter friends (followers) great content.
• Get RTed by RTing your Friends - this is critical step towards building effective marketing on Twitter.
• Remember, the more you RT others - the more lightly they will do the same for you.

Now, if I twit a piece of information like a new blog post on Twitter, many others will RT which in turn sends additional people to my blog. So far, this has meant an additional 50-100 visitor per day.

Note: All this helps to build your friends (followers) organically. Simply put, the more you put in - the more friends and RTs you will get back out.

RT @nialldevitt #twittertip make sure you comment/recommend why someone should read the RT

RT @nialldevitt #twittertip if you want to be RTed, make sure you keep your tweets to less than 140 characters

Who are you Talking to?

The art of conversation

As I mentioned, I am at heart; a salesperson - this is the bit that really interested me about Twitter . Can it help me to sell my services? The answer is a resounding YES.

One big advantage, Twitter has over other social media is that it predominately happens in real time - hence you can have live conversations in the Twitter virtual world.

If you think about it, Twitter is the perfect online environment for the sales professional because:

• You have live opportunities to listen
• You have live opportunities to ask questions
• You have live opportunities to start conversations

And these are all key skills in developing relationships (prospects) …..Yippee!

Ok, so the questioning and listening skills that are required might be more subtle; than say those needed in a traditional face to face setting (meeting). I definitely believe it’s worth the effort, because the opportunity to do so is enormous.

Remember: RTing is at the start and heart of this process - In essence, it is both the seed and the building block rolled into one.

One of the reasons I really get Twitter is, I know that with the right amount of savvy - I can get to talk to key people within organizations right now. Going down more traditional prospecting routes, these same conversations could take me weeks to achieve. If you factor in the Twitter culture (the RT) you quickly come to realise - that Twitter is highly sophisticated business development tool.

Taking it Offline

VERY IMPORTANT!

If you really really want to maximise on Twitter’s potential, the next step is to take these relationships offline.  Again, this is easy, start by sending a DM and then arrange to have phone conversation, a coffee or a meet up.

RT @nialldevitt #twittertip every day, take one online relationship and make it offline

It’s Additive

I hope you enjoyed my Twitter Story thus far. I am off to tweet and retweet. You can catch me on Twitter @ http://www.twitter.com/nialldevitt

Please don’t be a follower, be a friend