Location: Live2Sell HQ – Reading Time: 4mins

Enough has been written about the ‘importance’ of being available via online social networking sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, so I’m not going to get too involved in giving you guys the run-down as to what they are and how they work, etc. However, I do want to touch on one particular site that I have been enjoying a lot this year, as know a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs, and I personally use social networking as a way to make new contacts and connect with friends around the world.

For me, social networking is just that – networking. Its not the be-all and end-all of my day, but I do flirt with it on a daily basis, and from time to time, because of one reason or another, I might get more involved than other times. My personal ‘fave’ is Twitter.

The reason why I favor it over all the others is because its quick. The simplicity of simply typing out a fast 140 character message and sending it to either everyone on my follower list, or just an individual is great. Facebook, on the other hand is my site of choice for anything more personal related, giving me the chance to stay in touch and up-to-date with buddies worldwide.

As far as entrepreneurs go, it does seem as if Twitter is the way that the majority of them are swinging. I think one of the main reason for this is because if you look everywhere, on almost every blog, the ‘retweet’ buttons are all over the place. Even on this blog! The opportunity to get your feelings, writing, articles, etc., out there into a mass-market is something very special, and the folks at Twitter know this. Plus, there are a lot more Twitter widgets and plug-in’s out there, up and running, than there are Facebook, etc.

Lets face it, Twitter has really hit home over the last two years. My company has personally generated around $25,000 in sales this year through Twitter. If we hadnt have been involved in Twitter, and relatively ‘active’ (tweeting regularly, getting into conversations, retweeting, etc) we wouldnt have gained that revenue and met the fantastic clients and partners that have come on board with us because of it.

Because of the nature of social media and viral marketing, Twitter users who are also ‘famous’ off Twitter are the ones with the big follower lists. But, is that the only thing that people want from using the service? I would rather (and I do, I believe) have a good quality list of people following me, than 100,000’s who simply follow everyone in sight. Some of the best people that I have got to know through tweeting have been business owners, entrepreneurs, internet marketing guru’s, etc. These people have something of value to pass on to guys like me, who enjoy learning, in every capacity.

So, I’d like to give everyone the chance to ‘network’ a little more by posting their Twitter ID below. Mine is @chrisducker, and if you follow me, I will go ahead and follow you right back – promise.

Also, for those of you that might be interested in learning more about how to use Twitter to create more awareness for your business, there is a great free Twitter Guide at Hubspot, that you can get in PDF format by clicking here. Its a good little read.

See you in Twitterverse!

In the meantime, here’s a few very useful Twitter links for you:

Twitter Counter – See how your Twitter following is growing

Twitter Ratio – Find out how popular you are and why

100 Other Twitter Tools - what is says it is!

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