My experience with Twitter: It’s actually a very useful tool.

So I took the Twitter plunge in early September 2009. I actually joined Twitter several months earlier when everyone from my old job was jumping on board to tweet. But back then I didn’t see the value behind folks telling me their every move.

Who cares if you had McDonald’s for breakfast? Or that you’re on your way to the bathroom? Or that you can’t decide if you want steak or shrimp for dinner? Yeah, so I was on for just a few insane moments and finally forgot my login credentials altogether. :)

But then when I started a new job, I began to research my fellow co-workers’ use of Twitter a bit more. I noticed that folks were sharing the latest product releases, news reports, industry statistics, etc., and gaining PR momentum! Not to mention, you can use Twitter to help build your sales pipeline. I’m in no way a salesperson, but I’ve reached out to a few folks when they expressed interest in our social products and services. Communicating via Twitter kind of serves as a “soft sell” in my humble opinion. Good stuff.

In a nutshell, these are the 10 reasons I use Twitter to add value to my professional and person life:

1. I search competitor names to stay up to date on competitor goings-on.

2. I track our company name to measure customer sentiment (both good and not-so-good).

3. I follow the White House tweets. (Muy importante.)

4. My fave shows are The Office, America’s Next Top Model, and Real Housewives of <insert any city>, so I follow those shows and their personalities on Twitter. (It’s pretty much my comic relief throughout the day. :))

5. I can have a marketing message go around the world as soon as I tweet it.

6. I can re-tweet a co-worker’s message and exponentially impact the market with our branding and PR x 2.

7. I am encouraged by some of the advice and motivational quotes I read from other Tweeps. (Shout out to Dave Ramsey and Oprah!)

8. I can provide hope and encouragement to my audience of followers (depending on what I’m tweeting). ;)

9. I stay up to date on industry news, best practices, reports, and insights.

10. I like my Twitter wall paper. It reminds me of me in my rawest form. (Hard to lose sight of what’s important when you have a constant reminder photo of yourself fulfilling your God-given purpose in life.)