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However, a few months ago I was tasked with branching out into social media. Although I have had a Facebook account for some time, I have never really used it. But I kept hearing about Twitter this and Twitter that and really, I tried to dismiss it. That was until a friend sent me an invitation to join.
Originally, I had a major barrier to overcome: what can you do in 140 characters? And of course, Twitter when used creatively especially with URLS embedded, you get a lot more value than just 140 characters.
Then I had to work out, how to start engaging with people, ideally in the UK and secondly, what could I offer or share which would be of value to the 56 million Twitter users worldwide?
Then I stumbled across Tweetdeck. I watched a few tutorials on Youtube and suddenly, it all fell into place.
On Tweetdeck I have a window searching for the phrase 'public speaking'. Then whenever that term pops up in a tweet, it appears in a column in Tweetdeck. It's amazing how many US conversations have the phrase 'public speaking sucks'.
Now why does public speaking suck? First of all, it's a difficult skill to grapple with. Secondly, you need some advice, some resources and a strategy on how to be successful with your speaking assignments.
And this is where I step in. I send them the following tweet:
Hi, Some awesome articles re public speaking / presentation skills. Hope they help. Rgds Vince College of Public Public Speaking Articles
I have refined the message a number of times because I would get replies like, 'Cool, thanks Vince' and 'Awesome, thanks for the tips'.
Now I believe that this is highly targeted interaction. I'm not asking anybody to buy anything, only to visit the web site and see if any of the articles are of use.
For those people who are really interested in public speaking and personal development, our web site is a primary resource. We have a blog, 'how to' articles written by experts, a humorous quotations page and transcripts of some of the most famous speeches in history.
95% of my readers are in the US, there's no way I'll ever do any business with them, so what's in it for us?
Simple, we get enormous web traffic from interested readers, and the pages I have mentioned are our most visited pages. As you can imagine, giving away or making people aware of valuable resources, I receive a large number of followers every week. So for us, this is a win-win situation.
When people indicate via a reply, a direct message or RT that the articles have been useful, I give them a link to a short vocal development video on Youtube, with of course, a link back to the College of Public Speaking.
We now rank highly on page 1 of Google and in the midst of a recession, the phones have continued to ring.
So I want thank Twitter for climbing the heady heights of Google's page 1, reducing our PPC budget by £200 per month and for giving us the opportunity of helping hundreds of people worldwide.
Occasionally, and it is only occasionally, I get the odd message saying 'Don't spam me' and I always reply with an apology. Naturally, I would never deliberately upset anybody. The interesting thing is, that I follow a large number of people in the US who are in my profession. I have read their articles and blogs and there is a mountain of quality material out there. I am delighted that so many of them choose to follow me and the College of Public Speaking.
Public Speaking Courses and Presentation Skills Training London
Comments from the last few days...
@casthompson thank you for the public speaking articles!
@tigerpathteam Thanks again, I am so appreciative!
@myshelle woah, thanks lol i didn't actually expect anyone to give me any help.
@uk_wspa Hi thanks for the follow! Now this is truly important... and we would truly appreciate your help.
@dickiearmour Hi Vince, thanks for taking the time to contact me with the articles and video links. And thanks for the follow. Regards
@jedalaurin adding it on my bookmark. Thanks!
@donbarry Hi, thanks for the link! Reading Lyman MacInnis' book is also helpful.
@jackbarber Thanks for the link Vince - didn't get the Tweet in time but looks a useful site, I got the job anyway!
@sweetcaramela Thanks A lot...im gonna need it!
@mickdickinson wow, thanks, you've got some great stuff there.
@dublintrail that's cool. Did you go through their training the trainer program? Do you create content/teach for them? I am following U now :)
@suzannabaum many thanks for passing along the great articles at http://bit.ly/viIRM. Excellent resource material.
@enemyofdebt Thanks again that one was good! Anything else you can throw at me is welcomed.
@sebhaigh thanks Vince. Looks like you've put a lot of effort into that. Added to my favourites..
@emmmaj wohoo - Jackpot!
@girlosophy Thanks @vincestev am pretty used to public speaking but tips to improve are always welcome
@faisal___ RT @vincestev I am sure that these public speaking articles will be very useful; #toastmasters #speaking
@david_wiggs Thanks for sharing. Good articles. I think the only problem I have with public speaking is not shutting up :-)
@rachyrach1 that's great! Thanks! I work from the emotional part of it as well...but how to vid's are always great! Going to start making sum
@jazzzyjamie Sweet! Thanks!
@olinaqian I will host an event this weekend, so the speaker introduction part is really helpful!
@wootang01 Thanks, Vince; we'll definitely watch one of your videos in class
@alabamawhirly that is both funny and kindly of you - thank you
- The College of Public Speaking is committed to the development of effective communication throughout all strands of society, both within the UK and internationally. CoPS's trainers and lecturers devote a proportion of their time and expertise to a myriad of pro bono projects.