I will admit I did not want to be involved with Twitter. To me it was just one more thing to worry about it and I looked at it and just saw no value in it. Clients and attendees at our workshops kept asking me what I thought and I just didn’t have anything to tell them, except I just don’t want one more thing on my plate.

Then, I decided to give it a shot and check it out on a deeper level. Obviously the first people I checked out where the SEO and Internet industry people that I read every day. I followed them and watched. I also followed people I have met at conferences and people I have built relationships with through blogging. I quickly found my value.

Let me also say, I only follow people that give me value. I don’t follow 10,000 people to get 10,000 followers. I follow who I want to see and those that offer me something of value.

My Value(s) In Twitter

Quick Information

Before Twitter I had to dig around every day and find the best published articles on my industry. It wasn’t a simple task because many articles just were junk and offered me nothing. It took a lot of time and effort and I have to work at the same time. People use to be shocked at how much time I would say I read each week, but I had to dig and visit many blogs everyday. This takes a lot of time.

With Twitter great articles were mentioned and retweeted constantly. It is hard to miss a great article when 20 people you respect mention it. What I found is that Twitter quickly displayed many fantastic articles for me daily and my time digging for articles was reduced dramatically.  This was a great value to me and still is. I also see articles I would have never found before, fantastic articles.

People and Relationships

Another fantastic value I found is that the people I respected and watched introduced me to other people I wasn’t aware of before. Those new people offered me great information and friendship. I got to know more and more people that I am thrilled to know today. When I attended the Search and Social Summit in May (which is now Blue Glass FYI) I was able to walk in knowing many people and it was a lot of fun to learn, talk, eat, drink and even get tackled in to a pool with these people.

Additionally, there were many people I wanted to get to know, but just haven’t had the opportunity. I would love to attend all the conferences, but I do have work and family to maintain so it hasn’t been possible. Twitter has allowed me to meet and interact with many people I have always wanted to get to know.

Example #1 – I can communicate with the Matt Cutts– this might mean nothing to you, but to a geek like me it is like talking to Elvis. Matt and I have discussed Star Wars (yes, I really am a geek), the Old Spice guy and other subjects…this makes my day happier.

Example #2 – Sugarrae, Rae Hoffman- I always wanted to get to know her and didn’t have an opportunity to do so. I walked in the hotel at the Search and Social Summit and Rae points at me and says, “SEO Aware, hey…”. Rae is actually the one that tackled me in the pool…a nice and intelligent lady, but a tackler…

I can give you many examples, but I think you get the point. Twitter has opened doors for me to interact with industry experts and also has allowed me to continue to communicate with people I have met at conferences. It is a business tool, a networking tool and a relationship tool.

If You Are Going to Try Twitter, Do it Right

For Twitter to work you have to find your value, put time into it, engage with users and make relationships.

My Twitter account is @SEOAware which is obviously my business name, but I let my personality show and I engage with people even though I am not using @MelissaFach. I make an effort to maintain relationships and build new ones. I am not afraid to be me – a mom, a wife, A geek, a major Star Wars fan and a horrible cook.

You have to be real and you don’t have to be perfect, but you do have to be careful about what you say and try not to offend people. Offending people on Twitter is not a good idea, because the Twitter reach is long and wide!

I use TweetDeck on my computer and my iPhone to keep up with Twitter all day. It makes the process much easier and I admit I am on Twitter constantly. So, give it a try and find your value.

Melissa Fach – SEO Aware