Seven Reasons Why Twitter is a Great Social Media Tool for Writers
If you haven’t become Twitter-crazy just yet, you may soon find yourself building up a list of tweets to share your thoughts with the world.
Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that makes it easy to capture a few wise words of the day and transmit them to the blogosphere. Since you’re limited to writing only 140 characters on Twitter, you’re left with thinking on very succinct terms – haiku style – and can publish your idea, quip or insights via the web or a text messaging device. If you’re a writer, Twitter is an immensely valuable tool for practicing your craft and building an online reputation. Here are just seven reasons why Twitter is a great application for writers.
- Connect with other writers. Perhaps the most obvious reason to use Twitter is to connect with other like-minded folk; even if you’re already on Face book, promoting your work on Stumble Upon or have your own blog, Twitter can be added to your social media list and help you connect with your fans in a fresh new way. Try it. You’ll like it.
- Tweets make your thoughts short and sweet. A goal for many writers is paring down their work to a few lines or paragraphs. Thinking in ‘Tweet mode’ means you’re forced to cut down the extra words and deliver your point in 140 characters or less. Sure there are programs out there that can manipulate Twitter and lengthen the limit, or you could just write a series of Tweets and post them in succession. But that just takes the fun out of Twitter, and may even be a violation of Twitter Etiquette. Follow the rules and you’ll sharpen your writing skills in the process.
- Every tweet helps you practice the ‘art of articulation’. Articulating a fresh new idea every day is a great habit for writers. Jumpstart your brain into creative mode with just one clever idea, comment or quip, and you’ll set the foundation for a creative day. Make Twitter your daily habit, and you’ll be cranking out words for your articles, blogs or any other creative writing project in no time.
- Fresh and simple platform to promote your own work. And recommend others. Twitter gives you a chance to add a URL to each post, so if you have published work to share with your followers, use this as another opportunity to promote, promote and promote. Turn your URL into a ‘tinyURL’ to meet the character limit.
- Makes blogs and writers’ websites easily accessible for brainstorming and linking. Love the work of another writer? Find them on Twitter and follow their posts to catch their latest thoughts, URL links and ideas. This is a handy research strategy for content on your own blog, and other writers and bloggers can trackback to your blog if you decide to tweet about it.
- Catch random creative ideas and channel them into a tweet. When your creative cup runneth over, Twitter is a great way to channel those ideas and publish them in real-time. Give your brain a break when those creative ideas run well beyond your daily limit, and tweet about them. Sometimes thoughts just need to get out of your system. (Use this one wisely)
- Instant gratification of publishing your thoughts to the world. If you’re already blogging, you’ve probably experienced the joy of publishing your ideas and thoughts instantly. Now Twitter lets you do this on a smaller scale, giving you yet another reason to think, write, think, write and write some more, which may helpful to you regarding your concern on how to get instagram followers?
Whether you’re a veteran writer or just starting out with online publishing, Twitter is a great application to practice your skills and get involved with a growing community. It’s free to join, and you can find fellow writers and friends using the handy ‘Find and Follow’ feature.
