Why did you sign up to use Twitter?
Like most people, I’m willing to bet you signed on because you heard the buzz about miracle marketing, instant connection to clients, and crazy sales coming from it.
So, there you are, Tweeting the day away and not a single cent for any of your time or efforts. What happened? Where’s the flood of fans swarming to check out your latest post and Re-Tweet all of your wisdom? Where are the hordes of customers? Where’s the magic?
Harsh Reality
A lot of people and businesses become disenchanted rather quickly with Twitter and other social media platforms. Why?
Simple. The don’t see the results they expected in the beginning. Participation in Twitter, simply having a presence, doesn’t grant you any privileges to people’s time and attention.
In other words, just because you’re there doesn’t mean anyone cares. In fact, no one cares if you’re there or not. Sounds harsh but it’s true.
And the reason they don’t give a rip about you or what you say is because you have failed to even attempt to give them the reasons they need to sit up and pay attention.
It’s not their fault, it’s yours.
Enter The Twitter Party
Imagine walking into a party where, instead of mingling, everyone’s sitting at a dining table that’s as long as a football field. Thousands of people are sitting at the table and they’re all engaged in conversation with other folks and all at the same time.
Welcome to Twitter.
You pull up a chair and start talking. Your conversation is exactly what you always talk about in your normal comfortable circles.
You’re waxing on and on about your favorite wood species, hand plane maker, and how you brilliantly solved a problem with a double haunched mortise and tenon.
That’s when it happens. The people around you grow quiet for a brief moment and stare at you with blank eyes. After which they turn their heads away and resume their meaningful discussions purposefully avoiding you.
“But…I make beautiful things! I have photos!” you shout. Too late, they don’t care.
So, you get on the phone and invite a few friends from the old neighborhood who you know will talk to you.
Pretty soon, you’re sitting at your own section of the table talking to the same people about the same topics from all the other places you hang out.
What’s worse is you’re still under the impression that just because you showed up to the party, you’re doing marvelous things for your business.
And you wonder why Twitter isn’t working for you?
“But no one else talks to me or clicks on my links,” you whine. Very true. Do you know why?
Rewind Your Grand Entrance
Let’s go back to the party. What went wrong?
Upon arrival you failed to do one simple task that would have saved you from being an irrelevant seat filler. You didn’t take the time to survey the room.
Who’s there? Who’s talking to whom? What’s the main topic of discussion that seems to be working around the table? Does anyone here match my ideal client profile? If so, what are they talking about and with whom are they spending time?
Without doing proper listening and looking, you have no chance of ever being someone worthy of your prospect’s attention. And that attention is a precious resource and asset.
I see this scenario played out over and over again on the far left side of my Tweetdeck interface. That’s the column I have all the woodworkers who I’ve connected with. I see a row of people playing it safe by not stepping out of their normal boundaries of contact. Even though the platform is changed, you’re still talking to the same people about the same things all day long.
Playing it safe will always get you predictable results – nothing. Nothing worth having is obtained without risk.
You want to make a living creating high end one-of-a-kind pieces for discerning clientele? Then you have to put yourself in the position to meet, engage, and be relevant to them. That can’t happen if you’re all comfy in your sawdust circles.
Has this been your mode of operation since joining Twitter? What have you done to change it? Let’s talk about it.
So what’s the secret to being relevant and even essential to your prospects online? We’ll have to save that for next time.
