How Many Twitter Followers?

 You Have How Many Twitter Followers?

We all started with one…..

A few years back I was asked by a local website about my vision for Cape May in the coming year. As part of a regular feature, Cape May dot-com would ask a few people in leadership the same question. In 2012 my answer was and still is seeing more people use and engage social media as a form of promotion. Yet people tell me that they just don’t get or have time for Twitter. It’s not about how many Twitter followers you have, it’s what you do with them.

Don’t get me wrong. There are more people in town on Twitter today than three years ago. There are tweeting retirees, business people, even a bird and occasionally a snake.

Yes apparently snakes tweet, birds tweet and even a dog I know tweets. So why not you? Is it because you don’t get it? Perhaps you don’t see the value of it?

Twitter, when used appropriately is not only a great tool for real-time updates on events happening around the world, it’s an excellent search engine for people seeking information about a destination or a business like yours. Twitter is not just a broadcast soapbox.

On an almost daily basis I press the little magnifier symbol and search for terms like Cape May and my own business name. The results can be astounding. On one occasion, travel writer Hillary Richard was planning a trip to Cape May for an assignment. Tweeting with the hashtag Cape May- Hillary was seeking inside info on our destination. She tweeted that she was overwhelmed with the social media response in return.

In another blog post I mentioned staying connected with editors at the British Broadcasting Company. In still another post I referred to making connections deep with in the giant TripAdvisor. 

The Chamber of Commerce in 2012 in conjunction with the City of Cape May declared one day social media day. Business leaders in the community came together for one day to learn and test the capacity of the City’s then brand new Convention Hall.

Connectivity is another invaluable benefit of Twitter. Connecting with diverse people around the world on anything from politics to sports and food takes place online. Occasionally the person sitting right beside you at a Jazz Festival can be a prolific user of Twitter on a global scale. That’s how I met the former ambassador to the United Nations Muhamed Sacirbey. Sharing a pint, listening to Jazz at Cabanas and discussing Islam and world politics. You know, the usual Cape May conversations.

Another time I was ready to blast a magazine for skipping over Cape May in a rating. I was about to tell my two or three hundred followers what was on my mind, when a wise writer suggested a different approach. The result was a front page spread in the magazine the following summer. The moral-with tweeting comes responsibility.

Perhaps it’s time for another Twitter gathering, with sign-up help and instruction. Who wants to join in the conversation?

 

 

 

@cookecapemay