Twitter: how I use it to communicate

July 9, 2013 | By Dr. Todd Bacile

Note: this information was inspired by Jeremiah Owyang’s Twitter usage guidelines. You can follow him at @jowyang.

I typically try to add some form of value to those people and organizations who graciously decide to follow me on Twitter. This doesn’t mean that personal interests are completely abandoned (i.e. you will see me tweet about college football from time-to-time). But, you will not see me using Twitter as a one-way promotional tool akin to mass media. In general, the ways I try to add value to the Twitter community are as follows:

Twitter as a news filter

Every morning I wake up early and start mining Twitter or Google News for interesting technology stories that are relevant in a marketing context. Topics that peak my interest are shared on my feed for others. You can use me as a marketing technology news filter.

Twitter as a teaching tool

Teaching Electronic Marketing at a university obviously means I lecture about Twitter in a marketing context. People learn by “doing”, so I interact with my students on Twitter. This helps students to begin to understand the public nature of Twitter – and social media in general – which may be beneficial or disastrous to a career.

Network with other professionals in the marketing field

Engaging with other social media and mobile marketing professionals helps keep me up-to-date with emerging trends and tools, while also helping to build a circle of professionals who I know and trust to some degree. The social and mobile media landscape is littered with people who may or may not be “experts”. You never know when you will need a cutting edge consultant, so I try to keep these people within reach.

Network with other academics in the education field

If you consider the entire landscape of business professors, there are only a small percentage that teach and/or research technology-related concepts in marketing. Twitter is an ideal platform to find and converse with this select group. We exchange teaching tips and bounce research ideas off one another. A perfect example are those educators listed on Social Media Marketing Magazine’s Top 100 Marketing Professors on Twitter.

Twitter as a listening tool

Twitter is a goldmine of real people expressing opinions, likes, and dislikes in real-time about anything from an automobile to a can of soup. Listening, assessing, and analyzing conversations and sentiment can produce interesting market research.

Twitter chats

There are a few Tweet chats I take part in. When this occurs I usually try to follow proper etiquette by Tweeting to my followers I am “entering a chat, sorry for numerous tweets over the next few minutes”.

As a consumer

I am a marketer, but I also purchase and use products and services, which makes me a consumer, too. I like to reach out to brands on Twitter as a consumer for both positive and negative experiences I have had with a company.

To answer questions

Helping people is something I enjoy. If I happen to find a question posted via Twitter in a topic area I am somewhat knowledgeable in I will try to offer answers or advice to those searching for assistance.

Lastly, to discuss any fun or interesting topics

Baseball trivia, college football, great coffee, BBQ tips, and fantastic food are a few of the non-work topics I may choose to discuss. Live tweeting sporting events such as the Michigan vs. Ohio State football game (#UMvsOSU) or TV shows (#TheWalkingDead) can extend the entertainment value produced by these events and shows by linking up with other like-minded individuals.

How do you use twitter?

Todd Bacile holds a Ph.D. in marketing and will teach Electronic Marketing at Loyola University New Orleans this fall. Previously, he taught E-Marketing courses at Florida State University. He is one of the Top 100 Marketing Professors on Twitter. You can contact him on Twitter @toddbacile