Before this semester I only used Twitter to talk about my feelings towards things like surprises on Grey's Anatomy or how hilarious my best friend is. I didn't use Twitter for anyone's benefit but my own. I followed a few media outlets, but I would rarely retweet any important news, because I would just read it and move along through my Twitter feed. It was just used for my own entertainment purposes.
The class has taught me about the value of making lists, using hashtags, tweeting at brands, tweeting at public figures, how businesses should use Twitter and so much more. I learned that even though I am using Twitter for personal use, I can still contribute to my community through Twitter. Personal use can still be used professionally.
Since the semester began, I didn't think that brands or public figures even payed attention to tweets that mentioned them. My opinion has since changed because of a certain event that blew my mind! The event that changed my mind was the fact that because our class was tweeting so regularly about a book I have previously talked about in a previous blog post, Socialnomics, the author, Erik Qualman, decided to hold a Q&A with us over Skype. Our use of Twitter caught his attention and it made an impact. That is so incredible to me! The engagement and interaction on Twitter between consumers and what they are consuming is amazing!
Now that I have taken this class and have seen how I can really utilize Twitter to benefit myself and others, I think I will have to rethink how I personally use Twitter in the future. As for professional use, I have learned new techniques for businesses to listen and engage with customers. I have learned about other applications, like Hootsuite, that can also help me utilize everything Twitter has to offer, but I'll save that for my next blog post.
Blog followers, how do YOU use Twitter? Do you tweet at brands/companies and public figures? If so, have they ever responded in any way to your posts? (This would be the time to name drop!)