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How Twitter can create a business for you….
I’ve come across many people who use Twitter and have found it has helped their business in a number of ways e.g. building reputation, increased brand loyalty, website traffic, improving trust in a product or service. For me though, there is one local story that really shows the true power of twitter; helping Jude Robinson set up and run a business that she didn’t even know she could do – it’s been amazing to watch the business (and her) evolve.
Jude shares her thoughts on twitter and her business below:
“I’ve been tweeting since 2008 when Stephen Fry only had about 35,000 followers (and when he used to have the time to tweet with me!).
I was running my own company back then and my twitter name was IonaCosmetics. I recall entering this 140 character world purely for business reasons. I didn’t really understand the concept, tweeted very little and predominantly about my business.
How things have dramatically changed since then. We moved to live on the Shropshire/Powys border, I gave up my cosmetics and skincare business, and became @JabberingJude on Twitter. From this point onwards, Twitter really came into its own.
I no longer tweeted about my business, I began to really ‘connect’ with people, or Stweeties as I’ve always called my followers. I was blown away by how many genuinely caring and supportive people were out there. Shropshire Tweeters particularly are a unique group of people with a closeness I hadn’t experienced on Twitter before.
When one day my husband suggested I do something “just for me”, I commenced on my art journey. People on Twitter were so helpful at the beginning and continue to support me now that I’ve become a successful artist. Successful in such a short space of time because I’ve sold many paintings and completed several commissions all because of my connections on Twitter.
You see, via Twitter, people know all about me as a person, not just as an artist. Anyone will tell you, as an artist, YOU, the person, are the unique selling point. Your artwork is secondary. I guess that’s the same for a lot of businesses, people buy from you when they know the person/people behind the brand name.
Twitter has been my lifeline, my support on many occasions, my way of getting to know people in my locality and I’ve been so lucky to meet many Shropshire Stweeties face to face. 2011 is going to be a big year for me on my art journey and, hand on heart, that’s all because of the people I’ve met via Twitter.”
One of the many things that I admire about Jude is she absolutely ‘gets‘ twitter & how to involve people in her journey – every picture she does she shares on twitter & facebook at various stages, asks for feedback on each piece, if she makes changes to her website or gets business cards done she again asks for advice and comments, she’s run competitions to name pictures, win a picture as a thank you to her followers – she is brilliant at making you feel like you are a part of her business and you can’t help but want her to succeed as a result.
Sure there are plenty of big business twitter success stories out there but for me, it’s stories like Jude’s that inspire me and make spreading the word on the power of twitter an absolute pleasure. If you ‘get’ twitter and use it appropriately, the rewards can be great, professionally and personally! 
You can see more of Jude’s stunning work on her website.
TTFN
Jan
Jan,
I love the positivity in this article. I’ve also followed Jude’s transformation on Twitter and am just so pleased for her.
What a lovely tale to share and inspire with!
Hold the front page as I try to emulate Jude this year with my writer-for-hire business.
Many thanks @ibc4
Thanks for your comments Ian – all the best with your new business venture, I’m quite sure Twitter will help raise your profile.
Great Post (which i’ve re-tweeted). Clearly twitter has got to be the tool every small business should be using to engage with their customers, not just to broadcast about products and services, but to converse with people and understand them. Business’s that can have empathy with people are sure to succeed! Once again great post which I’ll refer to when sitting down with prospects.
Thanks for your comments (and the re-tweet, always very grateful for those!) – whether twitter is right for every small business really depends on who their target market is (amongst other things) – I certainly think most small business owners will see some tangible benefits of using twitter but like anything the later they leave it to jump on board, the harder it can be to achieve as the pond gets bigger and bigger.
Great post Jan and a real inspiration to fairly new tweeters like me! Having finally embraced twitter after years of not seeing the point, I’m loving the way it helps you connect with people as Jude so ably demonstrates.
I understand how different and complimentary it is to the other platforms such as Facebook and blogsites.
Not just a broadcast tool for celebrities, a must for small business owners you connect with the community!
Jude’s impressively constant stream of local tweets makes twitter a homely familiar place for me now!
Glad the post had the desired effect! When you start out with tweeting (or using other social networking sites) it can be a bit disheartening and you feel you put a lot of effort in for no or little return – like everything though there is a tipping point when the rewards (professional and personal) start to kick in and you finally ‘get it’ – I get a lot of work through twitter which to this day astounds me, the psychology behind what makes one person trust another blows my mind – but I love it!