After scanning my Twitter timeline which is now a regular part of my daily routine I noticed a tweet from @MattNavarraUK saying that it was Twitter’s 8th Birthday so you can discover your very first tweet. Like lots of other cool things I’ve found on social media, I gave it a whirl. I was pleasantly surprised to find my #firsttweet was on 17th August 2010.
I found this #FirstTweet:
#in twitter for the first time. let’s see if this really can be a credible part of doing business!!!
— Asif Choudry (@AsifChoudry) August 17, 2010
You can find your first tweet here.
The question I asked myself was…Can this this be a credible part of doing business? In a word, yes! At the time of writing what is also my #FirstBlog I have sent over 29,000 tweets in three and half years so it’s fair to say that I’m loving Twitter. Twitter is my main form of social selling followed by LinkedIn, Foursquare, Vine with accounts set up on Pinterest, Instagram and other platforms that are gathering dust on my iPhone.
Social media has delivered increased brand awareness both for @ResourceHousing and @ResourcePrint It has also played an integral part in giving me a ‘personal brand.’ @AsifChoudry I have lots of new contacts and doing business is a pleasure. I would go so far as to say that I love my job more today than the first day excitement back in May 2002. My job as Sales and Marketing Director has always involved speaking to people and I now do that using a mix of traditional methods (in person and on the phone – that’s right, we are still allowed to talk to people in person) as well as online via email and social media.
I’m not one for blowing my own trumpet so when it comes to getting feedback on what I or my company does, what better way than to crowdsource.
Twitter is great for that and it has resulted in winning a #SmartSocial Award, being shortlisted for Social Media Pioneer at the inaugural @24housing awards, compiling an eclectic Spotify #CrowdsourcedPlaylist amongst other things.
I’ve always looked for ways of making those personalised connections as it’s what good networking is all about. I use twitter for instance to find out what makes people tick, what their favourite football team is and find ways to engage with them. I’m told that I’m highly visible to anybody who follows me, they see me having engaging dialogue about things that people are individually interested in. A customer recently said “I would go as far a to say that you either have a great memory or a CRM system in the background reminding you those little details about us all that you can jump onto. Your approach then encourages others who you aren’t particularly trying to engage with to get involved.”
Social media is used in a tactical way as a key component of delivering campaigns for Resource, eg. 2014 desk calendar, multi sensory greetings cards. Take a look at #NeedntBeThatWay to see how we’ve used social media to engage with customers and prospects with the end result being doing more business and one of those contacts winning £100 for their favourite charity.
My social media journey has resulted in speaking opportunities courtesy of @nickatkin_hht A man I admire for his challenging style. It’s been a pleasure to share that journey and pearls of wisdom that have helped others in their work and also shown them new skills, such as Vine videos. I practice what I preach and I use social media 7 days a week. Here’s a link to @Prezi that was delivered for an event hosted by Northern Housing Consortium. Don’t be alarmed if you see Chapati Making, Printing Presses, Owls and Bears as it’s all part of the creative world of social media. I’ve also been known for spreading the message of@krispykremeu, @minifigsme and more recently @CommsHero #CommsHero
http://prezi.com/qnt67ntn3b8d/the-housing-innovation-and-technology-roadshow/
So for me, Social Media and in particular Twitter is a credible part of doing business. If you’re not using it then you are missing out.
Happy Tweeting