It’s always easy to spot the fad of the week… because it tends to throw the tried and true rules of business out the window. For a little while that is. Until the new becomes boring and people start thinking again.
In this case, I’m talking about Twitter.
Now it used to be that business was about exchanging value. You give something to me, I give something to you.
But Twitter is defying that type of common sense for the time being, mainly because it’s new…
For the past few months, I’ve been getting quite a few emails from folks (who apparently all read the same book the same week or something–perhaps Amazon was having a sale) who have just been bitten by the Twitter bug.
“Hey, I’m on Twitter, come follow me…”
“Just signed up for Twitter, come follow me…”
“It’ll make you FEEL good… come follow me on Twitter…”
The common thread between all of these emails is that not one of them addresses the only thing I really care about:
What’s in it for me to follow YOU on Twitter?
Right now, the only reason “they’ve” come up with is something like, “Hey, Twitter is going to be BIG… don’t miss out.”
Now most of these emails I’ve been getting are from marketers who should know better. And from marketers who I always thought would have better things to do with their time.
I admit it. Clearly I was wrong.
Frankly, I don’t care what they’re “tweeting” today, tomorrow or the next day.
I really don’t care about them at all.
Do you?
If you’ve been bitten by the Twitter bug, I hope your recovery is quick.
Twitter is an amazing tool…
-for helping your customers…
-for helping your prospects…
-for showcasing what you know or do in the form of real value for someone else.
But that’s the key:
It’s an amazing tool for delivering value… not for collecting it.
If you’re trying to do that, you’re gonna be found out sooner or later. And probably sooner, because it’s so darn obvious that you’re in the Twitter game for yourself.
So here’s my recommendation:
The next time you get a pitch for the latest and greatest secrets about how to monetize Twitter… hit the delete key and get back to work helping your prospects and customers.
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