I have been on Twitter now for just over a year. I was late to jump on the Twitter bandwagon, feeling that endless amounts of Facebook status updates was enough for me. But over the past year, I've come to see the benefits of social media like Twitter! For us photography folk it is a great way to stay up to date with your favorite photographers or sites. It's even a great way to network across the nation, especially with people that you might not have chance to see often. Your network is SO important to your business and Twitter is a great way to foster long distance relationships, even if it is in only 140 characters or less;)
One of the people that I follow is Summer of Grey Likes Weddings. I LOVE her blog and the weddings that she features. And of course, like most photographers, I dream of being featured on her site! When she announced that she was hosting a workshop AND giving away a free spot to said workshop, I KNEW I had to enter. All I had to do was tweet and mention Grey Likes Weddings and Miller Labs. Done and done.
The workshop is in Napa, all the way out in California. I NEVER, EVER, win anything and when I entered, it was for the fun of it, never with thoughts that I would actually win! Fast forward a few days and once again I found myself going through my Twitter feed. It was time to announce the winner of the contest.
Just for fun, I thought I'd tune in. There was Summer, in Rome, with adorable aviators on, iPhone in hand. There was Summer scrolling through her iPhone and her Twitter feed. Then suddenly there was Summer announcing my name as the winner! I think my jaw hit the floor.
Did my Twitter account just win me a trip to Napa and a free spot in a national workshop and the opportunity to work with the best? You bet it did!
Are you on Twitter? If you're not, well, you should be. Not because it's just another social media outlet to join and not because all your friends are there. You need to be utilizing Twitter for what it can do for your business. Say what you might about social media, it's here to stay AND it's here to help you and your business grow. Use Twitter to connect with other photographers, other vendors, other industry leaders. Use Twitter to develop your network and to foster relationships you already have. Use Twitter to announce new blog posts and features on your site! You'll be amazed at how useful Twitter can be to expand your reach.
Social media isn't meant to replace real relationships. Social media is a tool to help grow your business and deepen relationships you already have. Say what you will about Twitter and Facebook and all those sites. There are good and bad to all. Take the good of Twitter and use it to it's fullest, as a tool and expansion of your brand. You never know where it will take you, maybe all the way to Napa!