Spending time on Twitter lately? The site can be addicting, especially to newcomers. I realized pretty quickly that if I were to make the most of my Twitter-time and be as efficient as possible while using it to network, I needed to pick and choose who I followed. No fluff allowed. Did I connect with a good majority of the person’s tweets? Could I see myself retweeting their tweets? Do they post so much that I’d get lost amongst all the noise? And most importantly, would reading their tweets educate and inspire me, support my entrepreneurial goals, and make me a better business person? I know I’ve only just scratched the surface of amazing entrepreneurs on Twitter and that this list will constantly evolve, but here are a handful I would strongly recommend:
@GuyKawasaki : Co-founder of AllTop.com, “an ‘online magazine rack’ of popular topics,” Guy not only tweets links to interesting AllTop articles but entrepreneurial quotes, insightful comments, and sites, too. Plus, he’s incredibly highly regarded in the entrepreneurial community. Definitely a guy (eh eh) to pay attention to.
@GaryVee : Gary Vaynerchuk, a New Jersey wine-shop guy and founder of WineLibraryTV, has quickly become famous on the internet for his passionate talks about social media, personal branding, and business sense. It only takes listening to a few seconds of one of Gary’s talks to inspire. And I’m not talking a run-of-the-mill jolt of inspiration, but a butt-on-fire, lightening bolt, rocket fuel-induced motivation that will leave you wondering what you did to get anything done BEFORE you listened to Gary. He tweets inspirational tidbits, his daily going-ons, updates on his book, Crush It, and details about his business ventures (always varied and increasing in number). Don’t miss out on the entrepreneur everyone else is talking about.
@J_Canfield : Co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and motivational speaker, Jack frequently tweets about personal development topics. Readers will like how he often tweets multiple times on the same topic in succession, eliciting discussional responses. Perfect for self-improvement junkies and business-minded folk of all kinds.
@zappos : Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh is the kind of entrepreneur who is using Twitter for all the right reasons – to extend the reach of his brand and make a personal connection to each and every one of his customers. The vast majority of Tony’s tweets are personal observations (which, I might add, are hilarious) about his normal day-to-day. So he’s not a tweep to follow to get advice, but one to pay attention to as an example entrepreneur who’s doing it right. Or at least pretty well. Way before Twitter came along, Zappos had built it’s brand to be known for customer service, connecting with their customer on a personal level, customer service, and did I mention customer service? Tony’s Twitter use is a perfect example of how a CEO can indirectly support his brand by extending a personal voice to a growing company. Well done.
@mashable : Pete Cashmore, CEO of Mashable.com, a blog dedicated entirely to social media and Web 2.0, frequently tweets recently posted articles and the day’s most popular posts. Ensure that you’re up-to-date on everything social media by following Pete and spend some time digging into Mashable. The amount of short, informative articles on everything social media is enough to take care of ANY unanswered SM question. Also, if you’re ever feeling left out because you’re not familiar with the latest buzz-word floating around Twitter, you’ll know where to go. If it’s been flying around the Twitterverse for more than, say, 15 minutes, there’s no doubt Mashable has at least one write-up about the topic. Yes, they’re THAT up-to-date. An entrepreneur today knows the importance of social media and personal branding; keep yourself educated.
Your thoughts – what tweeps do YOU think are most important for entrepreneurs?
I'm an author, marketer, and mommy who loves to read, write, and drink coffee. My husband and I live in suburban Kansas City with our two little girls. This site chronicles my world. Thanks for stopping by!
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