Why use Twitter?

“What is it?” ”I don’t get it.” ”I don’t know anyone on there.”

Can you imagine saying that about a roomful of potential clients? “I don’t know anyone there.” That’s exactly why you go to new environments full of potential clients (aka onsite massage jobs), to meet people.

Or how about a roomful of people with successful massage businesses and serious marketing skills? If you’re in the same business, trying to get some more clients, couldn’t you benefit from listening in on some conversations, maybe asking a few questions? Wouldn’t you want to have a beverage and hang out with those people? If you’ve ever wanted a mentor, or to be a fly on the wall, or to just make new connections from the comfort of your own recliner (hello, all you introverts!), Twitter is your chance.

Just to be clear: If you’ve got a successful practice and all the clients you want, this post probably isn’t for you. Likewise if you’re making an educated decision to NOT participate in this particular social media venue. I respect that. (I don’t do much on LinkedIn. I learned it, I see how it could be valuable, but I just don’t like it. It doesn’t speak to me. But since Mich ael schooled me on LinkedIn, I don’t knock people who use it and I don’t make ignorant comments about its usefulness or purpose.)

Also, this is not a Twitter tutorial. This is the WHY of Twitter. (As I see it.) Tutorials are coming in Part 2 over the next week. I’ll include a discussion about linking Twitter and Facebook posts, (which was actually the debate that started this whole topic).

What is it?

It’s a real-time information network.

What kind of information? Any kind you want. You choose who you want to hear/read. You choose what information you want to pass along. You choose who to talk to.

I think the best way to explain is to give examples here. Right this very second, I’m opening my Twitter and looking at all the tweets on my Massage Therapy list, (I also have a Marketing list and an Autism list. But I can choose if I want to read everything in one stream or separately by the lists I’ve created. More on that later.)

There’s a link from @Lippincott about back surgery. That’s useful info for my clients and me.

Boulder College of Massage Therapy, @bcmt, linked to an article in the @abmp journal featuring one of their instructors. (And it’s an article about retaining clients, pretty useful stuff.)

Craniosacral therapist @katherineriggs posted a paper.li newsletter with all sorts of great articles, culled from Twitter, in fact.

I can get great information about my other 2 loves, marketing and children with autism spectrum disorders quickly and easily, too.

And in answer to your impending question: Yes, it can be overwhelming. Information overload is certainly an issue. So here’s what I do when I get over-excited about everything I want to read and learn. I STOP READING THE TWITTER STREAM. I simply choose to not take in anymore information.

It’s a conversation.

And conversations lead to relationships, virtual mentorships, new clients, knowledge, etc.

Through Twitter, I met Paola Bassanese (@paolaenergya) a massage therapist and marketing guru in London. She’s been so kind about sharing my blog with her audience, and I’ve learned about yoga, spa therapies and nutrition from her. AND I have a friend moving to London this year, so I already know I’ll be buying gift certificates from her. Sweet. Oh, and she just won a big award. Rock on, Paola.

I have been setting up a new business in my Quickbooks for Mac. I ran into a snag and tweeted at @Quickbooks and my bank, @allybank. They both responded!

and

and @allybank even checked me out and read my blog!

And my all-time favorite Twitter conversation is this one. Justin lives in Indianapolis. I don’t remember how or why I started following him, but this happened (just click on the image to make it bigger and readable):

So, yes. You CAN get clients from Twitter.

You can also build relationships with your current clients and other locals. Check out Steph Lasch’s brilliant move with her business’s twitter:

But it’s so much more than that. It’s a virtual room full of people, most wearing name tags that specify what they do. And guess what, they all want to talk with YOU.

Join in!

Ready to dangle your feet? Check out Twitter basics here.

Ready to play? Sunday nights at 10PM EST, Kelli Wise hosts a live chat on twitter. Here are details and instructions for that.

Need some ideas on who to follow? Check out my massage list here.

Find Part 2 of the Twitter series here.

Possibly Related Posts:

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

Kristen January 6, 2012 at 12:15 am

I haven’t done much with twitter though I’ve had my account for over a year. I just went and searched for “massage” and literally more than 40 people tweeted about how badly they want a massage RIGHT NOW…in the last MINUTE! Granted most of them wouldn’t really bite the hook, but still…lot of potential out there!

I’ll definitely spend some more time there and also look for your next posts on the topic! Thanks for all your awesome-ness!

Eric Brown January 6, 2012 at 10:10 am

I’d love to see some or stories from massage therapists who are using twitter successfully as a marketing tool. You often see it touted this way and people talk of the potential, but examples of Twitter used effectively in this way are pretty much non-existant. It would be great to hear some reports from some of the readers who are successful at getting clients through Twitter so we can apply their approaches in our own practices.

Allissa January 6, 2012 at 11:19 am: You’re right Eric, we haven’t seen enough examples of use and success to recruit and retain clients. I’m working on that for (what will probably be) Part 3.

I’ve promoted Twitter mostly for the massage & marketing community aspects. We can learn so much from each other, and it’s a great mechanism for easy info-finding. Come play on a #massagechat, I think you would like it and I know we would all benefit from your contribution. You’ve got some serious longevity in this industry on many levels, we could use you.

Paola Bassanese Energya January 7, 2012 at 12:19 pm