FAQ for Photographers: The Power of Twitter

Before last summer, I too was a skeptic. Like you, I thought Twitter was just one big place where the narcissists of the world came together to let everyone know exactly when they were brushing their teeth… and actually believe that someone out there was listening and gave a crap. I was overwhelmed by all the symbols… @, #, RT… what could it all MEAN? I followed some Twitter feeds during the 2008 presidential election, but I never really thought that it would catch on the way Facebook has.

And then…. I woke up. And signed up for a Twitter account. And honestly, it has changed a lot about the way I perceive the industry I’m in and how I participate in it.

For those who have no idea what Twitter is, it’s basically the “status updates” part of Facebook without all the other stuff. There’s a box at the top of your page where you can let the world know whatever’s on your mind… in 140 characters or less. To interact with other people and their feeds, you put an “@” symbol in front of their name, and it will show up on their feed. Then they can reply back. If you like what other people share, you can “retweet” it using some sort of notation such as “RT” or “via @so-and-so.” You can share pictures and video and links to interesting articles via various third-party websites like Twitpic. It’s actually all quite simple, once you get the hang of it. But since giving everyone a crash course would require a much lengthier blog post than I’m willing to write on the subject, I’ll share a few key tips for maximizing Twitter to the advantage of your business and brand.

First of all, if all you do is sign up for an account and start posting about the various mundane activities of your life, don’t just expect followers to come banging down your door. If you want to be heard, you have to have not only something meaningful to share, but you also have to be willing to LISTEN and to participate in the greater conversation. When I first signed up, I just started following people like crazy, people who I knew would have valuable information to share. This included leading photographers in the industry (some of my personal faves are @jasminestar, @SarahRhoads, @jamiedelaine, @imageisfound, @amelialyon, @justinlyon, @jessicaclaire, @cheninboutwell, @stacyreeves, @jeremycowart, @zarias, @kellymooreclark, and @moorephoto), local Salt Lake City photographers (@amylittlephotog, @dustin_izatt, @Brody_Dezember, @melissakelsey, and @threewinks), photography and wedding magazines and vendors (@iloveswmag, @laracasey, @whccpro, @weddingchicks, @designaglow, @junebugweddings, etc.), up-and-coming photographer friends (shout out to @alexbeadon, @carlybish, @spangborn), as well as various popular bloggers, small business and social media experts, design websites, news sources, and celebrities (see my “following” list for a more exhaustive sampling). At first, I just expected to find some random tidbits of knowledge, but then I found that there was something much bigger happening. There was this massive conversation going on. All these people I followed also interacted with each other, and soon I found that I was becoming “in the know,” so to speak, about all the latest goings-on in photography land. Before this, I already had quite a few blogs in my Google Reader, so I felt like I had a pretty good idea of the latest trends and tips and whatnot in the industry, but I had no idea how powerful real-time, widespread “micro-blogging” could be.

After I started listening to what people were saying, THEN I began to participate. The brilliant thing about Twitter is that I can directly ask questions to people I look up to… and most of the time, get answers! And quickly! And I can answer questions too, so when Donald Miller asks his followers what movie he should go see that night, I can give my two cents. He may not follow my advice, but I put it out there. And when I put myself out there, I find more and more that people will put themselves out there for ME when I need help or advice with something.

Fun little example: When we were in Texas, we were driving around trying to find a Kolache Factory. (If you’ve never had a kolache… oh my goodness. So amazing. But we can only find them when we go to Texas.) So I tweeted that we were driving around in search of a Kolache Factory in the greater Houston area, and guess what? Shortly thereafter, @KolacheFactory tweeted back: “Chimney Rock & Westheimer… Or San Felipe & Bering are both near the Galleria!” Um, how crazy is that?!

And Twitter has been used to do some pretty crazy things. Remember when it led to the release of a student from an Egyptian jail last year? Remember when the first picture taken of the plane crash in the Hudson River was on an iPhone and was uploaded to Twitter, which was the first place the story broke? Last summer, Twitter was the place I found out that Michael Jackson had died. And I saw, to a much greater extent than what I saw on Facebook, what a huge population of people thought about it. How they were reacting. Where they were finding news updates. Which YouTube videos they were watching in memory of him. And maybe it sounds silly. But I’d venture to say you only think that if you haven’t yet been a part of it.

Still aren’t convinced that Twitter is changing the game? I challenge you to watch this video, created by Socialnomics author Erik Qualman:

Now, if I’ve fiiiinally brought you around, a few parting words of advice. Keep in mind that with social media, you won’t get ahead by selling, selling, selling all the time. Yes, it’s an amazing way to keep friends and clients and the rest of the world up to date about your latest offerings, but you have to balance that out with personal stuff. People want to get to know you. Ultimately, you’re selling yourself as your brand. Furthermore, you’ve got to be willing to give in order to receive. Which means your interactions won’t look like a long list of “I’m brushing my teeth” or “I’m walking my dog,” but something more like this:

I have to admit, getting an iPhone has made my tweeting SO much easier to manage. I check it while walking to work, on my breaks, riding the train, when I’m laying in bed in the morning, ALL THE TIME. So it’s easier to keep up with all the information coming at me. And after awhile, you learn the art of skimming your feed to get only the most important stuff. You don’t have to click on every single link or respond to every single question. You have to learn to prioritize, or it can easily become overwhelming, as it was for me my first couple of months.

And finally, a few more fun reads that might change everything you think you know about Twitter and social media in general:

• “You’re Not Too Busy” : a blog post by one of my favorite photographers, Jamie Delaine, about how managing your social media presence is arguably more important than other aspects of photography (editing, album creation, etc.)
• An article I read in The New York Times last Sunday entitled “Why Twitter Will Endure”
• A crazy incident involving my favorite mommy blogger Dooce, a Maytag washing machine, and Twitter

So there you have it. Now stepping off soapbox. Rant done. I never thought I’d be so passionate about something like this. But believe me when I say it’s changed the way I and millions of others have done business.

But before you go, there’s one more thing. When Jamie looked over my shoulder and saw the title of this post, he thought I was writing a eulogy for his bird Jack. Last weekend, in a horrible accident at Jamie’s parents’ house in Houston, Rudy the dog killed Jack the senegal parrot. Jack was Jamie’s 16th birthday present, and although I was never a huge fan of the bird, as he tended to bite me and shriek at me more than anything, Jamie and Jack had a special relationship. Jack had lived with Jamie’s parents the past few years, and he would still squawk all day long, “Where’s Jamie? Where’s Jamie?” So Jack, consider this your eulogy. You were a good birdie, and you’ll be missed.