People who don’t use Twitter sometimes ask me why I started using Twitter.  The reason is simple: I was the cofounder of a startup company, and all startup companies have zero credibility: they have no customers, no track record, no glossy sales materials, no industry relationships, and an untested product.  You improve those things slowly, which we have done.  But on day one, you need to do everything you can to demonstrate, among other things, that you are who you say you are. 

Twitter is a no brainer for that.  With Twitter, I can have a conversation with a customer, and later when that customer Googles me and my company, she can see that I think and write about the same issues that we talked about.  She can also see that I spend seven days a week thinking and writing about those same issues that she cares about.  And, over time, she can see that I’ve done that for a long time.  That’s one source of credibility, and that’s what drew me to Twitter in the first place.  But gradually, as my company grew, I began to interact with people and Twitter became more valuable as a source of new connections and relationships.  In my next post, I’m going to tell you why this has led me to create a brand new Twitter feed for myself, @willmarlowchats.

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Will Marlow is a digital strategist/online marketing consultant.  He’s the co-creator of  AlumniFidelity, which is a Web 2.0 fundraising platform for colleges, nonprofits and secondary schools.   He’s working with clients such as UVA, the College of William & Mary, the University of Oklahoma, and Bowling Green State University and he loves nothing better than a thorny marketing challenge.  He would love to help you market your business on the Internet, boost the fundraising numbers for your school or nonprofit, or sellout your next big event.  Email him at will@alumnifidelity.com.