Twitter is the first online space that I really started getting social on. I would go to Twitter to have conversations with people on a regular basis, many of whom I had never met before or met because of Twitter. My tribe was on Twitter. My business started with Twitter.

Twitter has changed since the early days and there are seemingly less conversations, but that’s the evolution of social networks. Twitter is still relevant though and people still ask me if they should be on Twitter.

Sure it’s changed since 2006, but the entire online space has become busier and noisier, so how do you decide if Twitter is worth your time?

Here is what you need to know to get the most out of Twitter:

Before joining any social network you need to ask yourself what are you trying to do with that network? Do you want to be known as a thought leader? Are you just looking at your competition? What is the purpose of being in that space?
Are you looking to reach out to people you wouldn’t normally have easy access to, such as experts and celebrities? Twitter enables people to have conversations and interactions with people we have never met or never thought we could communicate with, and while these people may not always respond, sometimes a simply “like” is enough to know they care.

Think about who you want to reach out to and why. You need to have conversations, not just broadcast and promote yourself. You also need to have a goal for these conversations. Are you trying to get people to visit your website? Buy a product? Be a guest on your podcast? Twitter is the perfect online space to liaise with people through conversations. You can even create lists to pay particular attention to specific people, or just follow those who are of interest to you and your business.

How to use Twitter

Here are a few basic Twitter tips to help you get started or feel more comfortable.

- Say what you want to say in 140 characters – be concise.

- Use hashtags where appropriate – it will help people find you based on your content.

- If you start a tweet with a person’s username i.e. @LaraWellman, then the only people who will see that tweet are those who follow both you and that person.

- Spend at least 10-15 minutes a day on Twitter engaging with others to get the full benefit.

Twitter Challenge

Starting the last week of May I will be running a Twitter Challenge out of my Facebook Community, The Biz Studio. It is going to be a five day challenge designed to get you started on Twitter and to help you identify your goals with this social network. It will also help you decide if it is an online space you need to invest your time and resources, or if you should be focusing somewhere else.

If you're not sure if Twitter is worth your time, or how to make the time you spend there more effective, I challenge you to join me! Click here to sign up for the Twitter Challenge!