When people first hear about Twitter, it’s a hard one to understand. Therefore I will answer some frequently asked questions to understand what Twitter is about and how it can help your business.

How much time does Twitter cost?
In these times, when we have less & less time on our hands to keep starting conversations that can grow into relationships. That is how I started blogging on Twitter. It was much easier to create an output of 4 microblogs each day on Twitter than 1 blogpost three times a week on my blog. In a couple of weeks I was hooked. Moreover because I had a heart surgery and stayed in the hospital for three weeks, and with a phone on my hands I could Twitter, read messages from others, if not I would have felt isolated. Please use useless time for Twitter, like standing in line, when in writers block, or waiting for a traffic light in the car (before the other cars start honking).

How can you read all messages from your friends on Twitter?
There is so much output on Twitter. You simply can’t read all your friends messages on Twitter. And if you could, you shouldn’t. Do you think all your friends always say something highly worthwhile? Yes, its worthwhile for them, but not at all always for me. So use your internet reading technique: scan the messages.

So, if everyone is posting and not everyone is reading, why is that worth my while?
The value is in the conversation, or you could say in the reply. That’s where the connection with a person starts. Share topics that you would like to interact on with other people. People build relationships with others, because they share something. Start sharing your interests, your business interests and what you do, and people will find you because they are interested in the same thing as you.

Also, find people through Twitter Search for example that talk about topics you are interested in, and start conversations with them.

Last week I highlighted a business from a friend that offers mediation services. My friend got people contacting him through my one Twitter post. Just 140 characters can result in closed business for you or someone else.

So should I start posting anything I want on Twitter?
I suggest sharing quality content in your Twitter feed, as that builds your credibility. And eleminating trashy posts, just helps that matter too. Use the keywords you like to talk about, be positive and supportive and most important: reply!

So Marieke, what did you get out of Twitter?
I use my Twitter mostly for strengthening relationships with the internet-geeky community in The Netherlands, but that has grown to something. And right now I have a lot of local connections in California too. My ultimate goal, is that I keep strengthening and building relationships with people in The Netherlands while I am here (in California). So they think of me, when they hear about online personal branding, social media marketing or blogs and invite me to give workshops in The Netherlands now & then. (I have one full-day workshop scheduled in December on Google Analytics)

How can you help me getting the most out of Twitter?
I give workshops to companies on Twitter, and provide 1-2-1 Twitter trainings by phone & face-to-face. Next to that, I set up profiles on Twitter and develop personalized Twitter strategies for business development, customer loyalty, etc.