It Slices, It Dices, it does it all! It's TWITTER!

Recently I had the pleasure of discussing the uses of Twitter in public relations with other professionals. Twitter is "a new and exciting tool" that I'm sure most of you are all sick to death of hearing about. But despite all the hype, I really do believe in the value of Twitter in public relations.

It's really a tough sell to most. I've heard, "It's so overwhelming, I can't keep up with this!" and "It's just a bunch of mindless chatter, who cares what you think of Brett Favre joining the Vikings!" and "This will never catch on." These are all very valid arguments. But in public relations, Twitter is quickly becoming an important conduit to creating relationships with clients and networking with journalists.

One great question that was asked recently was "What if my clients aren't on Twitter? Then it doesn't really apply to me!" True, Twitter is making strides in B2B marketing and consumer marketing every day. Box office hits are even being attributed to whether or not the movie got good Tweet reviews. But, Twitter really relies on being a 2-way communications tool, and if your client isn't hopping on the trend, it's tough to justify the jump onto Twitter. Or so I thought.

But then, I found #agchat and I changed my mind.



I am already a participator in #journchat- a weekly conversation on Twitter between bloggers, journalists, and PR professionals. The weekly chat has already helped me do my job better- by letting me gain insight into journalist perspectives and network with journalists and PR professsionals. I never realized there were more #chat's out there until I stumbled upon #agchat.

#agchat is another weekly conversation (founded by agricultural advocate Michele Payn-Knoper) among agriculture marketing professionals and those in the agriculture business.

It occurred to me that even though your specific client may not be on Twitter, there are those out there (such as the participators in #agchat) who can give you valuable insights into your industry. Learning first hand information from professionals in your industry is ALWAYS a way to improve in your career and to improve your work for clients no matter how old you are or what industry you serve.

So, IHF Twitter for once again providing me with ways to conduct PR in a more effective way.