Manufacturers - How to Get Social NOW on Twitter

Bring up Twitter at a business meeting with people from manufacturing or the industrial world, and you're bound to hear things like "I don't see any manufacturing companies using Twitter;" or "Why should I waste my time on Twitter?;" or "I just don't get Twitter;" or "What the HECK IS Twitter?" Believe it or not, that was me about a year ago. (So you see; there is hope!) Twitter is so confusing and misunderstood by so many people (particularly in the industrial world) that I am going to dedicate six blog posts to it. I'm going to briefly cover:

1. What Twitter is NOT (sometimes explaining Twitter in the context of what it's not is more helpful than explaining what it is.)
2. What Twitter IS
3. How manufacturing and industrial service companies can use and benefit from Twitter
4. Twitter best practices
5. How to gain followers on Twitter
6. Tools that make 'tweeting' a breeze

Before I get ahead of myself, do something immediately. (OK, if you can't do it immediately, do it in the next few days.) If you don't already have a Twitter account, sign up for one NOW. Even if you are positive you won't use it, do this for one important reason. Twitter users are growing at an astounding rate. If your desired name isn't already being used on Twitter, you want to reserve it so that nobody else can use it. You never know, one day you might change your mind!

What's in a name?
Your next question will probably be, "Should I use my name or my company name?" There's really not a right or wrong answer, but Twitter is about real people, relationships, and conversations. It's a turn-off to most people on Twitter when a company's tweets are never anything more than 140 character self promos.
It's perfectly alright to open a Twitter account in your company name, but be aware that people want to know there's a real person behind that company name. You would definitely want to use your company name if you intend to delegate "tweeting" responsibilities to someone else - either internally or externally.
If you use your own name, see if it is available in the same way you are listed on other social media sites. If not, use a variation that is as close as possible. For instance, add your middle initial. My profile address on LinkedIn is kerryomalley. When I opened my Twitter account kerryomalley was already taken, so my Twitter name is kerrysomalley (middle name Suzanne, in case anyone is wondering.)

Getting started on Twitter
OK, let's open that Twitter account!

1. Go to www.Twitter.com and click on the gold ‘Give it a try' button you see in the upper right corner. The first item you provide on the form is your full name. If you're a larger company, you might want to just type in the company name. This WILL appear on your profile page. If you're a very small business and you are the owner, type in your actual name.
2. Your username, or Twitter name is how you will forever after be known on Twitter. If you want this to be your business name, make it as easy as possible for people to remember. For instance, if your company name is Harrison-Mundy Fabricators, Inc. you might choose something like ‘HarrisonMundyFab.' We already covered the use of your personal name above.
3. Password is self-explanatory, right?
4. Nobody but you will see the email address you type in. This is simply for Twitter to send you notifications.
5. Click ‘create my account.'

2 other things to do immediately

I know this may be a stretch for some of you who are truly technically challenged, but one of the first things you should do is replace the stock avatar (picture icon) with either your company logo, a picture of your company building, or a picture of yourself. This will always appear with your tweets. If you're using a photo of yourself, use a very closely-cropped headshot. Here's how you do it. Log in and click ‘Settings.' Click on ‘Profile.' The first item on the page is your picture. You are going to ‘Change image.' It really is pretty easy!

While you're on the Profile settings page, you should update the page with your company's location, website, blog, and a short description of your company or you, personally. This is so that people can find out more about you. When you follow someone they want to see if you and/or your company are interesting to them. You have 160 character to describe you or your company under ‘Bio.' 160 characters aren't much, so try to be as succinct as possible. If you're writing about yourself and not your company, include something personal as well as professional.

If you're worn out after all that, you can quit now - right after you click onto your ‘Profile' and type in kerrysomalley in the ‘Search' box on the right. When you see my name come up, click it and then click ‘Follow' on the left. You have to start somewhere! (And I promise to follow you back!)