What? Twitter has Search?

I don’t know if I should be concerned about this, but Twitter is starting to make sense to me. I just spent an hour listening to Gary Vaynerchuk talking about Twitter (and a lot of other stuff in the keynote of Michael Stelzner’s Social Media Success Summit 2009). Gary stressed that social media is less than 5 years old and is still in its “caveman” phase. It will evolve, even greater opportunities will be available. Some of the highlights of his presentation are below.

Twitter search

Gary talked about how you can use Twitter to find people who are talking about what you’re interested in, starting with Twitter search. Holy crap! When did they put that there! Actually, I’m pretty sure it’s always been there, but I’m like most people: we have to be told EXACTLY how to use something. So here, exactly, is the piece about Twitter I was missing and did not have the imagination to figure out on my own (actually, I might have had the imagination, but the noise in Twitter made me want to write it off and ignore it: don’t know about you, but I rarely use my imagination on stuff I’m ignoring).

• Type a word or phrase you’d like to talk about into the search box and click on the little magnifying glass icon.
• Scroll through the results until you see something interesting.
• Make a comment: agree, offer something additional, etc.
• If a decent conversation develops, follow that person. They will probably follow you. Now you have a connection with someone with whom you have a common interest.

Twitter helps you build your brand

Twitter is a tool that you can use to put your information (and other information interesting to your market) out into the marketplace. For free. There are no gatekeepers any more. You don’t have to convince a reporter or editor of the importance of what you have to say. Facebook, Twitter, and your blog all are your platform to use to build your brand. Extend a hand and join the conversation. The caveat: if your content is not quality content, no one will care.

You want a business model?

Gary Vee’s success is primarily due to his passion for what he does. It helps him work 15 hours a day and be the best at what he does. As Gary said, “You want a business model? Give a crap!” If you don’t know why you’re doing what you’re doing, or if you’re doing it only because you think there might be money in it, you won’t care enough and won’t bring the necessary energy to it to succeed. Making a lot of money with social media is doable, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. If you have no passion, don’t kid yourself about your chances for success.

About the Author:

Author: Ray Gulick Bio: Ray Gulick is a blogger/web developer in Santa Fe, NM, and since May 2000, principal/creative director of Evolution Web Development. He designs, hacks and otherwise implements WordPress blogs and blogsites in addition to more traditional websites. Prior to owning a web development company, Ray was a high school teacher/wrestling coach, graphic designer/art director, printing salesman, and corporate marketing communications manager. In addition, he is a whitewater boater, hiker, motorcyclist, adoring husband, and anxious father of two teenage girls. www.evowebdev.com www.evowebdev.com/blog twitter.com/evoweb

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.