As marketers, we are constantly looking for new ways to learn. The industry is in constant motion. New tech developments, fresh platforms, and an ever changing audience are just a few factors that can make maneuvering the world of online marketing more difficult.  Platforms like Twitter are a critical asset to marketers and businesses alike. While looking to improve our strategy, we decided to take a look at a few experts in the field that are completely owning it right now –this is how we started following Gary Vee.

For those that aren’t familiar, Gary Vayverchuk is an entrepreneur that has hustled to explode his business. He is the CEO and co-founder of VaynerMedia, a full-service digital agency servicing Fortune 500 clients. He got his start by establishing one of the first ecommerce wine sites, WineLibrary.  He helped to grow his father’s business from 4 million to 60 million in sales. His track record speaks for itself and anyone who has heard him speak in a video or at an engagement knows that he is filled with some great advice and hard truths for others in business.

We decided to start with one platform to change things up and see what his advice would be. Here are the 5 twitter lessons that we learned from Gary Vee.

Twitter is the Only Social Network

The basic functionality of Twitter is to tweet to people. In order to have a successful Twitter campaign for your business, you can’t forget the basics. The point of a social network is to socialize. Open up your audience. If you want to get someone’s attention, then you need to also be in the conversation. You can start by following a ton of people. Giving someone a follow is flattering. Too many people are utilitarian in this regard. Its black and white to them. If you go through Twitter thinking, “they’re not valuable so I’m not following them” – you are limiting your audience. It means something to people when they are being followed. The strategy here is that it feels good to people. We’re all still fans. You are giving them something they want. People appreciate that.

Once you have some followers, be in the conversation. Get social. You shouldn’t be spamming the comment section of big influencers just trying to jump on their gravy train. Just be yourself. Add expertise, wit, and advice where you can. You should work to be the most intelligent question on a tweet or add the most interesting comment. Don’t self-promote. Just be a person in their eco system for awhile. This is how you’ll be noticed for your skills and industry expertise.  Just put your lens on the topic and let things grow from there.

Build Your Channel by Quality of Output

Put out great content. We’ve shouted this from every mountain top by now. Offering great content is the only way you’re going to build a successful channel. You decide what that great content is for your business. Original articles, videos, ebooks, offers and more. The sky is the limit here, but it needs to be high quality and it needs to be desirable to your followers.

Hustle

Once you’ve put out the great content –you have to learn to hustle. Make it happen. Without the hustle, how do you expect people to care? You shouldn’t be spamming people with your content, you should be researching your target reach and finding out a way to bring value to someone and then leverage that to give you exposure. Want a big influencer to mention you? Find out what you can do for them. It’s a give and take. This person has built an empire; what have you done to earn your slice of the pie?

Document Your Journey

People don’t want to be sold to. They want to use social media to be social. You should be incorporating more real life onto Twitter. Start documenting your journey and start telling your story. This is much more interesting for people. Pull back the curtain and show your gears. What are you working on? How did you get here? Who is the face behind the scenes? What advice do you have to give? Act like a human if you want to achieve human interaction.

Use Search to Meet Your Needs

Twitter is an incredible ecosystem of news and conversation. Your business could seriously benefit from a strong use of the twitter search bar. Are you a consultant looking for new clients? Use the search. Are you selling a product you think certain people need? Use the search. You have a sea of information, data, and keywords at your fingertips. Utilize it to your benefit.

No matter what lessons you learn, every business is unique. You have to learn to adapt and change in the world of online marketing. Find your strengths and build on them. Find your weaknesses and learn to transform yourself as a result of them. Twitter in particular is a platform that allows you to talk to everyone, regardless if they follow you or not. That is quite possibly the biggest asset of all.