Having been entrenched in the redesign of this blog for the past month, I was suffering “blog-posting withdrawal.” And while I recognize that starting off here by “reposting” Darren Rowse‘s TwiTip guest post by Jenny Cromie (“8 Ways that Twitter Can Grow Your Freelance Business“) isn’t quite as rewarding as getting original content on the boards, it does give me a chance to test my rockin’ new template, as well as remote posting using ShareThis.

It also provided me with the light bulb that I now have a TWITTER FOR BUSINESS case study to tout (or tweet, if you like).

Before I dive into that, I want to take this opportunity to thank Shane Poteete at BUILT CREATIVE for his collaboration, patience, dedication and determination in what started as a “little blog-building project” that wasn’t little at all, it turns out. (After all, blogs often do build big communities.) So a deep-hearted thanks to Shane and his team for their design and (far-beyond-the-initial-scope) code work.

I also want to thank the folks at We Fix WP, a business I met on TWITTER!!! (Thus begins my case study on how Twitter can help your business!)

The folks at We Fix WP saw a post I made on Twitter about WordPress, the platform for this blog. (Well, it was actually a post about how Internet Explorer is destroying the universe, which resulted in a contact from a website dedicated to freeing the web from the ruinous force that is IE6, but I digress.) We Fix WP returned a tweet offering assistance. We moved our discussion offline and they rounded out our effort swiftly and seamlessly. After working with them, I now consider them my go-to WordPress resource.

But the story doesn’t end there!

Along the way, I reached out to a few other Twitter friends (@rjleaman, @jamesdickey, @niknaz, @discocowboy, @afhill, @atwookie, @mousewords, @calebhays, @jaskeg, @coreymade, @afhill to name a few) and received valuable feedback and support throughout the redesign/recoding phase of my blog relaunch—all communicated via Twitter. I then twansmitted (sorry, couldn’t help myself) their feedback along to the team at Built Creative and, together, we processed it all accordingly.

So the next time you see me and ask me what Twitter has done for my business…sit down and make yourself comfortable, because my answer will be anything but brief. But that should come as no surprise to anyone who has ever chatted with me, online or off. Which reminds me, if you’d like to share the gift of gab, my twitter handle is @usegraymatter.

Thanks again to everyone who supported my design, technical, creative, branding and social media objectives. And especially to Shane who NEVER got mad at me for messing with the code. Even though, he was given VERY good reason to—often.

I promise not to touch it. Much.

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Believe the Hype
Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, My Space, SlideShare, Flickr…it’s a lot, I know. And I keep hearing the same question: “But have you gotten any business out of it?” My answer: That’s not why I can be found at any of those places (at the moment). I’ve jumped in the water and I’m soaked through to the virtual skin with the possibilities of it all. I’m in a service business, but right now, these web-based social venues are not about “getting more business” online—they’re about “getting more out of my business network” online so I can build my business better offline.

Learn. Share. Link.
The truth is, I haven’t even scratched the surface of what any of these social media outlets can do for me. The untapped potential at my fingertips is enough to keep me awake at night, I tell you. Now, instead of going online to search for information that I’m interested in, the information I’m interested in comes directly to me. Once you find the global, national, regional and/or local leaders in your online community, you’ll have instant and consistent access to the content, thinking and innovation that may inspire you on the local level. In turn, you can then filter, frame and forward on content, thinking and innovation to (and for) the clients, peers or prospects who are interested in what you have to say. (HINT: This is the part where you actually DO “get business out of it.”)
So instead of looking at online social media outlets as “forced socialization” (which is how some real life networking functions can feel), think of it as “flexible socialization” that you can customize, alter, enhance, engage and disengage at a hard cost of $0. And as an added bonus, you don’t even have to dress up and put on your uncomfortable shoes. The only cost here is your time. And for that, I say input equals output.

Make Social Media Make Sense To You
If you STILL think you “don’t have time” for this stuff, consider finding a few (or even one!) good blogs to read that are put forth by someone who has invested the time to sift through the virtual layers of dialogues, chatter, posts, walls, comments, etc. (Obvious recommendation to subscribe to my posts here on GrayMatter Minute, as just one REALLY GOOD example.) And chances are you’re going to eventually find yourself wanting to join the conversation. When you do, be strategic and break it down:

Stop Talking Yourself Out of It and Tweet Yourself Into It, Already!
I recommend trying Twitter as a starting point if your online objectives are business oriented, as are mine. Twitter will lead you to great blogs, great thinkers, great sites, endless resources and even face-to-face meetups (or “TweetUps” as they are called) with other tweeters. Here’s a great post from Sarah Evans (a.k.a. @PRsarahevans on Twitter) that can help you get your head around the Twitter “How To’s” so you can fast track your learning curve. You’re also going to want to check out Darren Rowse‘s blog: TwiTip.

Move Yourself From A Follower to A Following
Take it from someone who was never a big fan of networking events because they felt so forced. It’s the absolute and unabashed flexibility social media offers me that has me singing…er, tweeting, posting and facebooking…its praises. You’ll be amazed at what building your own little (or big) following can do for your business. You’ll probably even find yourself no longer asking if you’re “getting any business out of” social media and focusing more on the value you’re “bringing to it.” And that, folks, is the real bottom line on social media.

Find Me and Say Hello
Get to know my business better on LinkedIn: Renee Lemley
Join the conversation I’m having on Twitter: www.twitter.com/usegraymatter

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I promise myself (and my 1 other follower…thanks, mom) that I will return to the written word in my posts very soon here on my little blogcast, but I keep stumbling upon these fantastic video links that do such a GREAT job showing some of the things I’d otherwise be trying to say in my posts.

So here’s another, for all the folks who keep asking me, “What is Twitter?” (And there are a lot of you out there. You know who you are.) This one’s for you…

You can link directly to this video presentation at TwiTip, a blog for newcomers to Twitter. Or head straight to youtube if that’s where you’re most comfortable, virtually speaking. TwiTip is edited by Darren Rowse from ProBlogger and is all about getting started on Twitter and making the most of your twitterstream. This site will be a much needed “How To and Why Should I” for newbies. So if you are a newbie, I highly recommend you signup for his RSS feed or Subscribe via email.

If you’d like to follow Darren Rowse on Twitter, just click on @problogger.

Like lists? Don’t miss: 17 Ways You Can Use Twitter by Dosh Dosh, a blog offering “internet marketing and blogging tips, alongside social media strategies. Best consumed by bloggers, entrepreneurs, web publishers, marketers, freelancers and small business owners.”

Like pulp? Leaf through some of the very handy resources on the Twitter for Business Reading List from Pistachio Consulting.

That’s all for today. Time to close out another gray matter minute, always committed to saving you time online. Well, look at that! Managed to do some actual writing along with this video post. Hope you find the links useful.