Is Twitter, well... Twitterific? Or just a waste of time?

Thanks to Erin at Voco Creative for sharing this viewpoint on the Twitter phenomenon! www.vococreative.com

Twitter: who cares?
It's on the tongue of every pundit and next-big-thing preacher. Twitter has hit big over the past several months, and the statistics are staggering...the service is averaging 131% growth every month, and it's estimated that 9 million unique visitors visit every month.

With those kinds of numbers, you're probably asking why you can benefit from Twitter. In lieu of offering a thesis on the subject, I'll instead present the top three reasons you should care about Twitter:

It’s all about conversation. If you aren’t having a conversation with your potential clients and colleagues via social media, you’re missing the boat. Twitter doesn’t just give you an unprecedented chance to engage with your base…it allows you to start, shape, and exert a degree of control over the conversation that just can’t be achieved by a press release, a sound bite, or an advertorial. And the options are endless: you can talk directly to your base, ask them questions, gauge their opinions, solicit their feedback, be helpful and offer advice.

It’s happening. Whether or not you like it, Twitter has taken off in a big way. Does every business need Twitter? No way. But don’t dismiss it because it’s new, trendy, and admittedly over-hyped. The amount of creativity and excitement generated by Twitter is truly energizing and engaging if you know how to use it properly.

It’s opportunity. Opportunity to find out what your customers and your colleagues care about. Opportunity to make mistakes, hone that brand, and get deep into voice and vision. Opportunity to dip your toe into a huge conversation and watch it morph before your eyes. Opportunity to be on the cutting edge before it changes into something else (just look at the evolution of hashtags over the past few months). And, yes, opportunity to get business.

Follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/trishatakamai
Connect with VOCO at http://twitter.com/vococreative