Is Micro Blogging For You?

By: Mike McCoy

You see it everywhere; on the bus, in the movie theater, at the grocery store. People are constantly pecking away at the keyboard on their cell phones. They don't put these phones down and they never turn them off.

What was inconceivable thirty years ago, a futuristic idea twenty years ago and a luxury ten years ago is now business as usual.

Today's internet savvy consumers are known as "hyperconnected", In other words, they are used to being able to access multiple forms of media at one time: mobile camera phones, email, internet, instant messaging, and portable music. The trend doesn't seem to be anywhere close to reversing, so it's in your best interest to try to find ways to reach these tech savvy customers by getting your brand in front of their eyes as often as possible.

The hyperconnected now have another tool in their arsenal of tech trends: Micro Blogging.

It began as a concise (140 characters of less) way for people to stay up to date on what a friend or a group of friends is up to at any given moment--basically a form of mass text messaging.

For example, if Jim has 20 friends signed up to receive his Twitter updates throughout the day, those 20 friends will get a steady stream (depending on how often Jim Twitters) of what Jim is up to all day.

The messages could look like this: "Note to self-don't leave half empty pizza box where dog with reflux can reach it while you sleep - 6:20 am"
"Did the weather man say anything about a blizzard last night? - 6:56 AM"
"Thanks Mr. Snowplow for burying my car. Snow day! - 7:10 am"
"Snow + a cute girl's runaway puppy + a moving car + a brave Jim=hot date tonight! - 3:13 PM"
And so on, and so forth.

Now, imagine if you can stay connected with your list of prospects the same way. In the same way that traditional blogging helps build a rapport with daily blog readers, micro blogging helps build a sense of community with the breed of consumers who may be too busy to sit still and read anything longer than a text message.

You can use a micro blogging platform to briefly keep in contact with them to let them know what's developing in your business on a day to day basis, which helps to keep your name in their minds as an authority in your chosen niche.