Last week I asked TwiTip readers to share their primary reason for using Twitter, and the results weren’t all that surprising:
I’m personally a little disheartened here, with the number one result being “Promoting my company/blog (as opposed to networking).” Granted, networking and learning are close behind, but it seems to me that people are more out for getting their business in front of others’ eyes as a number one priority.
Do we blame this on the “social media experts” who push the idea that Twitter is good for business, or is it more just a selfish need to try anything to drum up more clients? What happened to communication on Twitter? Look at the results for “To talk about anything EXCEPT business.” at only 9% of the answers… I was hoping that number would’ve been a little higher at least.
What do you think? Is Twitter the same as it always was, or has it become more of a place where people advertise more than they connect?
@devourerofbooks
I wonder if your results might be skewed a bit because of the way the poll was written, though. I was not one of the respondents, but if I had been I would have had trouble picking between the first two answers. I am on Twitter to network, not promote, but I’m networking around my hobby (book blogging), not around my career. Sure, sometimes blogging feels like a career, but it isn’t really, so I might have chosen “promoting your company/blog,” if I felt that the important part of the choice was the ‘company/blog,’ not ‘promoting.’
@benjaminsolah
I’ve tried to just promoting thing and it hardly works. It’s actually interacting and networking with people that gets people interested and you get a lot more out of it too.
@justinparks
Twitters in flux I believe. Its so new to so many that the immediate reaction is to use it for promotion first and foremost and coupled with the economic downturn, people are prepared to use every means possible to make the next buck without actually taking the time to understand exactly what they are doing and the effects of their actions.
Still, I think Twitter is great for having a chat, keeping in touch, meeting and networking with people and I have benefited from that without actively promoting my business, that simply follows on in my mind and is main reason for using the service.
What we all tend to forget is that unfollow is only one click away, so I truly believe that building strong relationships with a long term view is always going to bring more benefit to a business than slamming sales pitches at as many people as possible in a short a time as possible could ever achieve.
But thats me.
@abizblogs
I suppose Twitter can help one’s business, but I won’t buy (or even look) unless I first know and trust the person doing the promoting. Tweets that inform, assist, empathize, support, etc. create the starting point for building that kind of trust.
IMO, those kinds of tweets constitute maybe 3-5% of all the twitter noise! You’ve gotta be helpful first to get me to open my wallet.
@JanetBarclay
I wonder if you got those results because people perceived the choices differently than you intended them. For example, I use Twitter for networking, but as an indirect way of “promoting my company/blog” as opposed to “for my career” so I would choose the second answer rather than the first. If it only said “networking” I would have chosen that one.
@planyoursafari
Personally I think that the majority people are getting tired of following and chatting to other just for fun. And to be honest, I couldn’t care less at what time someone is go to or coming from bed. We all have our personal lives in which we communicate and socialize with the ones closest to us. The internet is tiring enough as it is…..
So I use social media to promote my blog, if that is not the way it was meant to be, well…..
This does not mean that I don’t interact with other folks on witter. The main reason is however remains business.
@isaacyassar
Don’t be disheartened by the result, D. That’s the truth. Don’t you want the truth?
Besides, for those whose business has been running well and established, like you, may be the tendency to self promote is not strong. But I guess the majority of people out there are still struggling. You can’t blame them for that
@funlilliy
I think when twitter started it was about : “what are you doing now?” but slowly over the past 2 years it has become more. People don’t want to know anymore what movie your watching or if your going to the park right now ( unless you are a celebrity and I am a fan). If you post things like that, people wont be interested on following what you have to say. You have to give them something different something more interesting.
Then people started to use it to announce there new posts and such just for their readers. They noticed that its a good tool. Then companies noticed it too and started advertising. Then bloggers started pushing not to place useless personal information but targeted content.
twitter now became more intimidating.
BUT… I think there is still a big room for it to be a tool of communication and sharing information if its for a specific niche… It has been a great tool for me to communicate with other Travel Bloggers.. where as before when it was about what I am eating right now was boring to me.
Has it become solely for advertising.. I think the answer would be Yes for companies, and No for independent bloggers or independent personal accounts, these people like me are there to communicate with people like me. But again since it has become harder to get readers to read a blog or site because there are so many out there, I have to use it a s a tool to promote as well and lets face it, it does help out a lot.
And thats my two cents on this matter.
Cheers..
Lilliy K….. travel blogger
@CarlaRose
It think it really depends on who you are. Large companies such as @wholefoods and @zappos are not going to be on Twitter just because they want to chat. If you’re like probably the majority of small business owners and bloggers on Twitter, you may want to be more “social”.
I joined Twitter two years ago because I wanted to talk about nutrition with other like minded individuals. That changed as Twitter grew and I started a couple websites that I occasionally promote (in addition to just being social as time permits).
@mikecj
At the risk of restating stuff that’s already here in the comments, Lara, I think the problem was in the question. I answered honestly that my PRIMARY reason is to promote my blog. BUT, I recognise that I will fail miserably at that if I’m not networking for fun, giving my followers good value, talking non business, having a laugh etc. I would have ticked a “Balance of all the above” box.
@iGoMogul
I’d have to agree that perhaps the language of the responses was a little stifling. I was a participant in the poll and chose Promoting my company / blog, but that’s not all I use Twitter for. I use it to promote other people’s blogs or posts because I feel our clients would benefit from them. Also, I use it to open a channel of communication with our clients. If they have questions or concerns, they communicate directly with me and I can point them in the right direction. I don’t think of those Twitter activities as promoting my company / blog ONLY.
I do agree with @JustinParks that Twitter is in a state of flux… I’m certainly excited to see which way it goes…
Sara @ iGoMogul
@bashen
I suspect the results are skewed based on the type of people who read this site and thus participate in the polls. I figure the people on this site lean more heavily towards the “how can I maximize my twitter account” thus the results of the poll.
The folks that are using Twitter for personal communication probably don’t think too much about it other than the basics. They don’t read TwiTip just like they wouldn’t read a site about “e-mail tips”.
@drdankaufman
I don’t have a a problem with folks promoting themselves on Twitter per se. What I do have a problem with is when it’s obvious that it’s being used solely as a marketing tool and multiple messages are being generated frequently throughout the day making it apparent that that’s the case. When tools for automating tweets become as popular as they are it also becomes clear that it’s not the interactions that are important but rather keeping your name/biz in front of peoples eyes repeatedly. It’s particularly disturbing to me when I see someone generating a dozen tweets in one fall swoop. I immediately stop following. IMHO
@josephgelb
This may just be a selective biase to this site. Probably people who use Twitter as a connection tool do not feel as moved to complete the survey as well because they do not feel as strongly on the subject. Probably most people use Twitter because of the hype and feel that it is somehow the in thing more than specifics. That would be my guess because that is why I use it alot.
@Zinglady
Guilty as charged, but think I have a valid or respectable reason. I was eager to try Twitter, but did not have the time to really Twitterfy myself. So, I managed to set-up automatic postings of newly published blog articles. This happens without me doing a thing at this point. I have virtually ignored Twitter, so my blog posts are the only involvement that I am having at this point. It’s definitely one-way, but I am not sure that pulling out all together is the best answer either.
@pumpupyourbook
I just think it’s the sign of the times, Darren. When a new Internet user jumps on the computer, it’s usually for fun. As the Internet user finds out the Internet can take a whopping huge amount of time out of their already diminishing day, they want quick. They don’t have time to read about what Sallie is having for dinner that night – like who cares? Save that for blogging. As long as the company isn’t pushing something down your throat and it’s something that will help you in whatever you are doing, it’s a great thing to have a micro-blogging platform such as Twitter. Networking and promoting my business is the only reason I am there. Leave the “conversational” twitters to those who don’t work 24/7 on the computer and still don’t get it all done.
@DianeGilabert
I love Twitter for networking within my biz…how’s that for hedging? Seriously, I love to connect with ppl who need help and/or have ideas on healthy weight loss and fitness. We learn from each other! thanks for doing this poll
Just wanted to clarify, this wasn’t written by Darren, it was by me. Don’t want anyone confusing opinions and who they belong to!
@FreeTwitForum
I am on twitter for many of the reasons. I guess it all just depends on which twitter account I am on, my personal one or my business one. :]
@therealgooroo
Looks like I missed the poll, but if I were to say why I Tweet, it would definitely be a combination of networking/promoting my blog. I try not to promote my blog too much though, as other Tweeters get annoyed. I throw in some other interesting blogs I discover daily
Twitter is a sprout peeking through the soil that will become the interactive internet of the future. It is an awesome opportunity to ‘do something’ but people have not figured it out yet so they do what is dominate in their lives and right now that’s business.
The internet is becoming an interactivve multimedia (as in happening now) reflection of our lives. Chris Pirillo (one who comes to mind) is ahead of the curve on this and he does a really good job of being current and reflecting a sense of ‘now’. That is what Twitter is about but we’ve got to figure out how to bring it into meaningfulness including business as well as other aspects of life. It’s happening now to an extent and it’s interesting to watch how it’s all moving forward. Enjoyed the poll results, thanks.
@tumblemoose
I really do feel like I have to do a lot more filtering through the “get 10,000 followers automatically” tweets then I used to, even three or four months ago.
It doesn’t bother me too much though. It is what it is, and I still engage my community on a daily basis. That makes it all worthwhile to me.
George
@swdowling
Lara, don’t be disheartened. Don’t look at the percentages, either. Know that the Twitterverse is ever expanding. As the pie grows with more entrants, the number of people who wish to connect/network is growing too, just not at the same rate as those who use Twitter to promote their business/blog. Lately, I have been connecting with people of absolutely opposite mind – sort of by design as the discussion revolves around public policy – and it is quite powerful and enlightening no matter which opinion/position you hold. Check out some of the banter on my Twitter ID. Keep up the good work!
@mwnt
I share the disappointment. My own interest is for fun – thought I’d use it in a work context but find the immediacy of the medium doesn’t really help. As a “hi, how are you, here I am if you’re interested” space it’s much more for fun than I expected it to be.
@stilgherrian
I think the poll results are skewed the way they are because the poll is being conducted on a blog that’s all about using Twitter more “effectively” through “tips”.
If people just use Twitter for “anything but business”, they just have conversations and talk to people. They don’t obsess over making it more effective — just like I wouldn’t read a blog with posts like “Five ways to improve conversation over beer bat a pub”.