Those readers already involved in Twitter know what the headline of this column means; for those who aren't yet dabbling in the Twitter aspect of social media, @PavementMag is the address of Pavement's Twitter account.
Using that address we are able to post regular updates throughout the day -- as often as is worthwhile -- to our Twitter account. And if you're "following" us on your Twitter account then you can see the updates. So far, after a little more than a week of active Twitter use (as of this writing) we are following 146 people or companies, are being followed by 46, and have made 38 tweets (postings). A nice start, we're told.
So what's the big deal? Well, use of Twitter gives us another way to communicate with the industry -- and for the industry to easily communicate with us -- and with thousands of others. We now can connect via:
* Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction magazine
* Our website (www.pavementonline.com)
* Our e-newsletter (Blacktop Update)
* Facebook (www.facebook.com/PavementMagazine)
* And now Twitter (@PavementMag)
And where the magazine, the website and even the e-newsletter provide an opportunity for in-depth communication, Facebook and Twitter offer quicker, more brief, more immediate contact, often in the form of updates or even just links to articles, videos or even websites that we think might benefit paving & pavement maintenance contractors in some way.
What's the benefit? Well, we're still learning (we've only been involved on Facebook for a year) but consider this: Within five minutes of establishing our Twitter account and sending our first tweet (announcing our arrival and a special discount on National Pavement Expo seminars) NAC Supply, Ingleside, IL, retweeted our announcement to 256 of their "followers." With one tweet we had reached 256 people we didn't know, almost all of whom are probably in the industry. Imagine if your customers did that for you?
So "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter @PavementMag. This could be very interesting.
