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I am involved in communicating often complex ideas. They are about services and products offered to individual customers in the financial services industry. Most of my clients are referred. I need to communicate to at least 20 countries. Prospects in my data base receive a newsletter 6 times a year. Clients interact with my business on average once a fortnight when they do a test. Followers on Twitter receive on average 6 communications a day. I spend at least an hour daily on Twitter. I am a late early adopter. I started Tweeting in October 2011 at a Platforum conference. Sparring with David Ferguson. I don’t use Face book. I rarely use LinkedIn. I generally don’t like writing blogs. Too many words. Takes too long.
I share what I am reading and applying to individuals running and working in businesses in other parts of the financial services supply chain. Summarising what I am reading for a curation tweet improves my understanding. Reducing complex ideas to short 140 character statements forces me to communicate effectively. It’s a good discipline. I often struggle for brevity. Other than the few direct responses I receive from my tweets, industry fellow travellers often tell me how much they appreciate what’s shared. I feel part of communities a long way from Melbourne. I learn. I like to share. It makes me feel good. I feel I have made a contribution to the world. Albeit small. I believe in reciprocity.
What are the benefits of Tweeting? Access to the world of social media. It’s a foreign place. There’s lots of useful information shared on Twitter I wouldn’t know existed or how to access. Many share articles they are reading or writing. The thoughts of others in the industry. Tweeters in the business world share three characteristics, they want to communicate, they are generally early adopters and they are polite. Business opportunities abound. Hardly a week goes by without an invitation, a conversation or a meeting generated from Twitter. I get a great return from my Twitter investment. @paulresnik