I just got off the phone with Bryce Gruber. For those of you who may not know, she's an NYC socialite, but more importantly (or should I say impressively), she owns her own marketing company, IntenCity Global, and is the founder of the 19th most successful blog in the world, The Luxury Spot. Oh, and she's only 25 years-old. No biggie.
I've interviewed a gazillion celebrities, so the fact that I was nervous talking to Bryce and got all tongue-tied a few times during our conversation is beyond me. Seriously, Ellen? I'm not sure why exactly. It's been quite a while since I've actually done an interview, so I guess I was a little rusty. Plus, while successful people intrigue me, they are intimidating, too. Bryce is to the social media world what I am to the emotional eating world: a champion. No one does it better. (She was uber-nice though, btw!)
So, on to the Twitter topic. The #1 thing I learned from Bryce about Twitter is: It ain't shit. "I do it begrudgingly. There's too much hype around it," she admitted to me. And all this time I thought if I could just be successful at Twitter, I'd blow up and be able to finally cross world-domination off of my To-Do list. Not true, apparently. Bryce made me realize that Facebook status updates are a more time-worthy investment. "You're in people's news feed whether they like it or not, so they're bound to see what you're up to. Facebook status updates are more visible because the comments are stacked, but Twitter isn't as in-your-face—you have to search for it," she added. Well that certainly makes sense--as long as I'm not using Facebook status updates as an opportunity to tell the world that I just ate my feelings, again, or that I need a lip wax, that is. "Your updates should create a dialogue. If I say that I'm going to brunch at a certain place, people will comment back and say something like, 'Ohh, you have to try the eggs benedict!' It can be fun, but there should be a purpose to it, too," Gruber said. Gotcha.
So, I don't think I'm going to totally give up on Twitter just yet, but I must admit that it was refreshing for me to learn that it's not pertinent to my success. I am going to take Bryce's advice though and start tweeting about more specific things, like sports teams, celebrity gossip and things happening in the news. (Apparently no one actually cares about my crush on Nick Jonas or the fact that the T.O. Show had me in tears last night).
Tell me: Do you like Twitter? Do you get the hype?
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I don't tweet. I don't get it. And I think Bryce's points about status updates creating a dialog are good ones. I use FB to let people know when I am going to be out of pocket or if I am going to something or someplace that I like and I want other people to patronize/support. GChat statuses are a little more silly - eg my current Gchat status is a youtube video of "Leonard the Business" cat because it makes me laugh out loud when I watch it.
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It sounds like Bryce is giving you good advice. I think Twitter is great for businesses (Best Buy and Comcast use it really effectively) or famous people (nfl players use it to get in trouble effectively), but I haven't seen how a "regular person" can really get a lot out of it. It reminds me of the Verizon commercial with the parents on the back porch using facebook and twitter from their phones while their kids look on disgusted..."no one on twitter cares that you're sitting on the porch right now dad!"
ReplyDeleteAt work we tell our clients that they need have to have a broader strategy of what they want to get out of interacting with their customers first, then pick the channels (twitter, fb, blogs) second. I realize that you don't have customers, but if you are building an online empire around staying fabulous after being laid off and you want to use twitter, then you want to use it in a way that effectively builds that brand. So maybe no tweets about emotional eating haha! But maybe you tweet teasers that lead people to click through to your blog, or tweet your opinion on someone or something fabulous-related in the news, or maybe you say screw it and scrap twitter entirely.
Bryce is definitely right about creating dialogue. We would say that you do a good job of creating dialogue with your blog already because you ask questions at the end of every post, and then continue the conversation in the comments section. So you're already a pro!
Actually one "regular person" who has had success with twitter is this guy: http://twitter.com/shitmydadsays. He has only tweeted 72 times but has over 700,000 followers!
I can't stand twitter and I never indulge those that tweet. I guess I just don't get it either.
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere today that Facebook is doing some sort of overhaul their feed system that's shaking things up - something to do with their "live feed"? But don't ask me, I still use a typewriter, pen and pencil to communicate with the world at large.
I use FB to keep in touch with friends and family. I started blogging a lot recently, and I don't FB or Twitter as much. However, I'm keeping up with Twittering more. I use it for news updates, political vitriol and humor, and to communicate with a few friends.
ReplyDeleteI started the blog because I wanted to write more, specifically about art, literature, culture--creativity, and to expand my own creativity. This inspired me to start following local galleries and arts organizations on Twitter for the 411 on events.
I do like to promote my blog, and every time I post something it sends an update on Twitter and I do get traffic that way.
I LOVE your blog. You have a great sense of humor, and I like the way you ask a question at the end. I'm going to start answering more!
Thanks, Julie
Ola and Shannon, I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't GET Twitter! And Ola, you COULD indulge my tweets though and report back to let me know how you think I'm doing. How about that?? ha
ReplyDeleteSo good to hear from you, Julie! Thanks so much for commenting and yes, please, do it more often! I'll give your blog a look too :) Do you have any Twitter advice for me??
Umm, Michael, I think that may have to be the best.comment.EVER. (or maybe just the longest?) Want to be my marketing chief? I can offer you the fancy job title : Marketing Chief of Firednfabulous AND my leftover Halloween candy. Whattaya say? It would be an instant resume-builder fo' sho'! Ohh and I'll have to start following that "regular" guy on Twitter and take notes on his tweets. Good call.
Oh, I thought I mentioned this-does your blog enable you to post on twitter? When I post it tweets the title of the post & URL for my blog. I'm on wordpress.
ReplyDeleteI really like twitter. Sometimes I take a little vacay from it, but usually I am on it every day. I'm a news junkie, so if there is a big news event I know about it quickly. If it's really big I go to the newspaper for the city where the news happened and check their stories. Last week there was actually a new twitter account for the Dallas Fort Worth Star Telegram just for info. about the Fort Hood shootings. Sorry, I'm a little morbid about tragedy, but I did stay updated.
I recommend the following apps for twitter-they are very user-friendly. On my laptop I use tweetdeck, and on my Blackberry I use Ubertwitter. I was trying to set my friend up on her iphone and they charge $$ for all their twitter apps! So, if you have an i-phone I'm not sure what app is best.
I also follow twitter accounts for local jobs, magazines, etc. And I follow US, People and Vanity Fair for the gossip.
I have actually met 3 women my age in my area (Richmond, VA) who are very like-minded and cool. I had lunch with one. Another tweet friend and I watched a bohemian parade and drank wine on her front porch on Halloween. That has been an unexpected delight!
It took awhile, and I didn't really join to meet people. I joined mainly to follow politics because I'm left of center and live in a very red area. I follow some businesses and local events and galleries now also. It's a process.
Hope this helps! Julie
Oh, by the way, I'm @juliawb on twitter. If you decide to use it let me know your moniker! A great way to find people to follow is to check out who someone you have enjoyed following follows. There is a very, very funny guy in NYC @willmckinley. He's a writer too, I believe, and his tweets freqently make me laugh out loud, which I do love to do! Julie (sorry, for some reason I can't put my name on there and all my comments have the name of my blog. I don't know why but I feel embarrassed about it.)
ReplyDeleteOh, and I'm so glad I started reading your blog. You are a great writer, bright light, and very refreshing to read.
I feel like on Twitter, you can be more random and detailed than a Facebook status and that it's *ok* to tweet multiple, multiple times within a short period of time. However, it is MUCH easier to follow something on FB, which can be a good thing, or it can be annoying when your Blackberry pings with 15 e-mails that 'so-and-so also commented on Jim Smith's wall post.'
ReplyDeleteI would not be surprised if, much like Facebook, we see changes to Twitter in the coming year to suit its users needs.
Wow, Julie, you are so much more technically advanced than I am, it's ridiculous! The fact that I can even manage this blog is a miracle, haha. No, my posts don't automatically show up on Twitter, but I also sign on to tweet my links. And why I'm not a news junkie like you, I think it's a great idea to use Twitter as a tool to stay updated on what's going on. I usually buy a newspaper and read only two or three stories and toss it out. (Or leave it in my apartment with the hope I'll go back to it). I think I'll get my news from Twitter from now on! ha Thanks so much for the support!!!
ReplyDeleteomg, just realized a bunch of typos--please, no one judge me, I'm typing fast here!
ReplyDeleteTwentyfifth, I agree, Twitter is going to HAVE to make changes if it wants to keep up with FB. But yes, the status updates are becoming a bit much. Is there a way to monitor the notifications??
ReplyDeleteI know w/ Twitter I can control notifications. I'm not sure how much control on Facebook, but I try not to add all those apps. You can tell most of the apps not to notify you. Julie
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