Twitter numbers matter
OK, so this is a little bit contentious. Everyone harps on about follower numbers don’t matter this and it’s not a popularity contest that. For certain people, it is. And it should be.
Let’s ‘unwrap this a little bit’.
I joined Twitter about 15 months ago (not to be too precise). I joined because I didn’t know anyone that worked in PR, never mind social media. I wanted to talk to people that did a similar job, people that enjoyed similar interests and then the niche, people that had the same sense of humour.
For me, numbers mattered. As a young PRO I needed to expose (not naked or ‘owt) myself to a large number of people in the industry and on Twitter.
If numbers don’t matter for PRO’s on Twitter, then why should they matter to clients? Why should they matter to salaries? Why should they matter with anything?! (You can probably imagine my typing rage at the moment, identified by increasingly ridiculous assertions). What I’m trying to get at (albeit very badly) is that to a young PRO it’s important to build lots of relationships. The industry isn’t a ‘one employer for life’ market place, and it most certainly is ‘who you know’. Now Twitter isn’t an alternative to meeting people in real life, let me repeat that;
Twitter isn’t an alternative to meeting people in real life.
Neither should it act as a shield for people that aren’t really cut out for PR. If you’re in PR you should be able to have a conversation (in real life) with anyone. Literally anyone. Twitter (for networking) simply takes away some of that first conversation awkwardness. As we’ve spoken about before (or rather, as I’ve ranted on about before) social media isn’t a solution, it’s a tool. The same goes for social media and networking. If you can do it offline you’re fine, if you cant. Hmmm.
So (here’s the conclusion I suppose), if you’re new into the industry and you don’t know many people, then get out and about (or in and online, then out and about) and meet as many people as possible. Network your fingers/mouth off! The more people you meet, the more people you can clash with learn from, the more people you learn from the more you know, the more you know the further you’ll go!
So in short, build relationships quickly and soon you’ll be an MD.
Next week: picking the right lottery numbers twice in a row!