Weekly Poll (25/06/09)

UKFF Mod · 25-06-2009, 10:55 AM

This weeks weekly poll is about Twitter.

It's one of those sites that completely splits opinion. Some believe that it's for twits (excuse the obvious pun), whereas others see a lot more use in it. They argue that it is not just for letting everyone know what you ate for breakfast, it's also a valuable tool for engaging with potential customers and letting them get a much better feel for who you are.

So - whether you are a contractor, agent, agency, umbrella company, accountancy service provider or freelance services provider - do you think that Twitter can help your business?

(And don't forget to stop by our Twitter feed if you do make the plunge into the wonderful world of Twitter)

dodgy_Dave · 25-06-2009, 11:17 AM

Yes. It's one of the things that annoys me about my agency. They don't see the potential of it whilst our competitors are embracing it and getting some free marketing.

Bel · 25-06-2009, 11:39 AM

I'm a newbie twit, I must admit (obvious from my post signature). and I did feel a twit when I tweeted for the first time - and said as much too!

I now use it as a reference pool for all my articles, which are published on several sites. It saves readers from randomly scouting around for them or not finding out about them at all. They just click on my Twitter link seated below my signature to find them. It's also good for instant messaging to my followers and to gain new contacts to enhance visibility.

I can see it's potential.

On the downside, it doesn't allow you to elaborate on anything - the whole point of it, I suppose. If you want to display some personality or put up some information about private matters, e.g, I had a nice weekend and so on...it could quickly degenerate into a honeypot for irrelevant followers and it can muddy your business profile too by making your business look more like a hobby. That's not good.

ps. I had a boiled egg for breakfast

dodgy_Dave · 25-06-2009, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bel

On the downside, it doesn't allow you to elaborate on anything - the whole point of it, I suppose. If you want to display some personality or put up some information about private matters, e.g, I had a nice weekend and so on...it could quickly degenerate into a honeypot for irrelevant followers and it can muddy your business profile too by making your business look more like a hobby. That's not good.

I suppose that's why a lot of people choose to use a separate work and personal account, unless you're a "celebrity" business person like Richard Branson, where actually tweeting about what he's up to becomes part of the marketing. (And it works!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bel

ps. I had a boiled egg for breakfast

I had some Sainsburys pecan muesli stuff. Jolly nice it was too.

lurch · 25-06-2009, 12:16 PM

I've seen a lot of people use twitter in conjunction with tumblr, using the tweet like a hook and elaborating on tumblr, might be worth a look.

I think recruitment agencies, or agents themselves could benefit a lot, it's a great way of getting news of jobs out there.

Pistachio · 25-06-2009, 02:27 PM

I don't get it. People post up their menial existence. The odd company post up a job, but I'm sure that gets lost in the tide of "I've just got on a bus" messages.

Pistachio · 25-06-2009, 02:28 PM

And if I may refer you back to an earlier thread of mine, I feel this aptly demonstrates the IQ of the average Twitter user....

Twit hits tree while doing a tweet

Pistachio · 26-06-2009, 11:27 AM

Supposedly Twitter went crazy last night. Obviously people had nothing better to do.

Azeey · 26-06-2009, 12:35 PM

Twitter. Isn't that one of those things were you try and get more followers than someone else?

KMH · 26-06-2009, 03:38 PM

I think twitter is really useful for businesses, and it seems as though as a business you are kinda expected to have an account.
It's not about getting more followers than other people, it's about following people who are of interest to you and your business, it's a great way to share relevant resources, getting quick feedback, and spreading the word about something.
It can be hard to manage at first but there's LOADS of tools that make it easy. It's just another way of building online presence which is never a bad thing.
Admittedly there are loads of people who post seemingly pointless updates like 'bored' (really?) but if you don't follow them you don't receive them. I think it's pretty good