Utah Tweetup Panel on Twitter #cwutah

Posted on 11. Dec, 2008 by Nate in Starting an Online Business, Twitter

Orem, Utah is hosting the 1st ever Tweetup – a panel focused on How to Use Twitter!

“CoworkUtah is sponsoring the event, providing pizza and drinks, and assembling a user panel to help us all learn more about twitter. The panel discussion will begin at 7pm. (CoWorkUtah.com)

I’m pretty excited – I get to be one of the panelists!

5 points covered about Twitter:

1. The most remarkable or unusual experience you’ve had using Twitter.
2. What you believe is the #1 way in which a business person can benefit from using Twitter. Cite an example.
3. What your favorite Twitter extension is to use on the go and why.
4. For those who are new to Twitter, recommend steps they could use to learn more and to best enjoy using Twitter.
5. Answer the question every Twitter user gets…”I don’t get it…what is Twitter?”

Here is how I answered the questions:

1. The most remarkable or unusual experience I’ve had to date using Twitter would have to be The Shaq Follow: How I got @The_Real_Shaq to follow me on twitter. Not only was it a moral victory and a free lunch from a friend, but it also opened my eyes to the power of online networking: I got about 300 new followers within 24 hours, I got to talk on the phone to one of Shaq’s directors of Sports Marketing, I’ve chatted with Shaq 4 times via Direct Message and/or Replies in Twitter, and it’s given me additional confidence to talk with whoever I want on Twitter.One other noteworthy “success story” from Twitter was the opportunity I’ve had to guest post on Darren Rowse‘s new blog, TwiTip.com. I did a tutorial on How to Set up a Twitter Account. TwiTip.com currently has 2,849 readers and has increased my readership and traffic quite a bit. Darren Rowse is one of my blogging heroes so thanks to Twitter for the ease of communication between Darren and me.Here’s a snipit of what was taught:
   
2. a. The #1 way a business person can benefit from twitter is simple: CONNECTIONS! I’ve talked with 4 companies on the phone about forming joint ventures or partnerships. As I get new followers, I will check their profile page, which generally has a website. If what they are doing ties in with what I do, I’ll send them a DM (twitter Direct Message) saying we should talk.

   b. Another way is branding and reputation management online. If I type in mollermarketing in Google, the 2nd site that comes up after my home page is my Twitter Account. A key part of reputation management online is to “push” any negative press down the search engine rankings (if there is negative press at all). Even if you’re new at online marketing or SEO, this is an important practice from the beginning – especially when you get really big and have competitors who will publish negative press that’s not true.

3. My favorite Twitter extension that I use on the go…I don’t use one. I do love TweetDeck.com though. The Groups function helps me filter Twitter people – even though I’m following over 400 people, I don’t really want to see the status of all of them .
4. Steps I recommend using to learn more and best enjoy Twitter:
   1. Follow Friends and People You know.
   2. Write down five main reasons you plan to use Twitter
   3. Use the Search function of Twitter to find people who are tweeting about things you’re interested in – follow them and connect.
5. What is Twitter? A great way to connect directly with your target audience. A way to stay up to date on what’s happening in your industry. A way to make friends with people like Shaquille O’Neal, MCHammer, and Britney Spears!

Happy Tweeting!

If you have additional questions or would like to work with me on something, either comment below or send me a message.

UPDATE!

Here are links from some of my fellow panelists – (make sure to follow them on Twitter!)

@newspapergrl: Utah Tweetup Party Review

@mickhagen: Twitter Thoughts – Utah Tweetup

@jessestay: You’re Invited to the First Utah CoWorking Offices

@ashbuckles