Landmen Explore the Depths of Twitter
Landmen Explore the Depths of Twitter
By Michele Day
Landmen are wondering why connect to Twitter when already connected to Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+, Instagram, texting, emailing, and more. The answer lies in the forever changing social media landscape where one platform such as Facebook is popular, and then quickly another platform rises to the masses, as in the case of Twitter. Social Media continues to evolve like technology moving from the rotary phone to the sleek smart phones. In 2015, Twitter has grown to 500 million users with over 350 million active users, and is gaining momentum in the business industry, according to Ingrid Lundgren of TechCrunch. Twitter has serviced over 1.6 billion search queries, is one of the most visited websites, and is called the “SMS” (Short Message Service) of the Internet, as noted in the “Twitter.com” site information.
Since Twitter is free, it is an easy way to connect to other landmen and businesses in the oil and gas industry. With educational Tweets, landmen can become leaders in connecting and highlighting future advances in the field of oil and gas. In addition, landmen can see what competitors are saying and stay up-to-date on leading news in the industry. According to Twitter, “millions of people use Twitter to create, discover, and share ideas with others. Now people are turning to Twitter as an effective way to reach out to business too.”
Twitter was created in March, 2006 by Jack Dorsey, an undergraduate student at New York University who presented the idea to Odeo, a podcasting company. With founders, Evan Williams, and Biz Stone, and Noah Glass, the idea emerged into a network of sending and reading 140 character messages which they considered microblogging and more of an information network versus a social network.
With Twitter’s growth in popularity, businesses began to utilize Twitter to build recognition. For example Amy Guth, general manager of RedEye/Metromax landed her job through Twitter: “I was originally hired by the Chicago Tribune to bring a digital angle to the books section after using Twitter to basically live-tweet and crowdsource stops for my book tour about five to six years ago. I then morphed that gig into being the social media lead for the newsroom, and then into my current role."
Twitter helped Josh Bois, co-founder of GlobalGoodNetworks.com, build clients and reach goals as an entrepreneur: “I have made quite a splash for myself as an entrepreneur, and Twitter has been a huge key to this. From sponsorship deals to new clients, Fortune 500 pitches and CBS Radio meetings, Twitter has helped me scour the Internet for qualified individuals and organizations to reach out to, approach key contacts and secure next steps. Twitter is helping me secure press, blog interviews, and all sorts of new business leads and clients every day or week. Currently, I am fundraising through Twitter by reaching out to billionaires, millionaires and venture capitalists to grab their attention, get their agreement to speak about topics I present, and set meetings for sponsorship or investment calls for me and my partners."
Another success story is Gary Frisch, founder of Swordfish Communications, who landed a leading client through Twitter: “I launched my PR agency in late 2007, after spending seven years with a Philadelphia agency. In 2009, I wasn't much of a Twitter user, but I signed on once in a while. One day, I saw a tweet from a former colleague highlighting an article she had placed in The New York Times. It heavily quoted an entrepreneur I had previously located and 'groomed' as a source for exactly this type of story. I'd spoken with this gentlemen many times, and had placed him in a few articles myself. After reading the article, I sent him a short email, congratulating him on his mention in the Times. He thanked me and, in the same note, asked what kind of PR program he could get for $XXXX per month. Soon after, he became my client for that amount. His business put my agency over the top in terms of profitability in 2010, and as a result, I was able to purchase a home in early 2011 — my first since divorcing and selling my prior home two years earlier. I've always credited Twitter with getting his business and, ultimately, my beautiful new home!"
Paul Burris, co-founder of TouchIN2 Technologies, saw Twitter followers turn into customers: “We recently started a Twitter campaign by hiring a young freelancer. We were unsure on the impact it would have, but it is making a huge difference at trade shows we attend. Many people who have started following us on Twitter are coming to see us, thus resulting in more sales for us."
Landmen are seeing the benefits of Twitter and are connecting to others in the industry to share network news and promote their skills. Following are some of the Twitter connections landmen are following:
Oil and Gas IQ News @Oil (Latest updates and analysis from across the Oil and Gas IQ Industry)
OilandGas JobRecruitment @oil_recruitment (Over 425,000 registered oil and gas professionals view 14,000 new jobs per month. Free to register.)
Guarav Agnihotri @Guarav81184 (author of Oil, past, present, future – An Indian perspective)
Reema Harfoushi @ReemaHarfoushi (A Process Safety Engineer in the Oil & Gas Industry)
EIA @EIGgov (Independent statistics and Analysis from the US Government)
Thomas Fox @tfoxlaw (Attorney specializing in FCPA compliance solutions and international transactions)
TAP Management Inc @tapmanagement (Tweets from TAP Management where Energy Access columnist is based. Specializing in mature fields.)
T. Boone Pickens @boonepickens (T. Boone Pickens’ official Twitter account, updated by Boone himself and members of his team)
Emily Pickrell @EmilyPickrell (Energy reporter for the Houston Chronicle)
Chevron @Chevron (Tweets from the Chevron communications team)
Landmen find that staying connected to industry news helps them in Tweeting educational posts which others find valuable and pertinent to their profession. Having a sincere interest in promoting others on Twitter or other social media helps to build relationships and followers. The ancient saying still applies, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” According to Dale Carnegie’s recently updated book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age”, connecting meaningfully with others on social media builds lasting relationships. “Post brief, admitting notes. Interact with them and discover what problems you might help solve or what pursuits you might help promote; we are all driven by pain and pleasure, so such prospects exist in every person. When you are sincere in your endeavors to connect with others, chances are always higher that meaningful connection will occur. Progressive, mutually beneficial collaboration is then possible. And today, genuine connection and collaboration can quickly become infectious.” Business author, John Maxwell states, “All things being equal, people do business with people they like.”
Strategically posting positive Tweets can be beneficial to encouraging other landmen, how others view you, and can actually be helpful to your health. According to a new study published in the journal “Psychological Science”, people who use Twitter to vent and say mean stuff might be more likely to die from heart problems. Researchers looked at the tweets of 1,300 Americans and found a link between heart disease and expressing negative emotions like anger and anxiety on Twitter. Studies have shown that being negative tends to be associated with things like anti-social behavior and a poor diet, which can lead to heart problems.”
With the landman’s busy schedule how much time is needed to stay connected on social media to stay relevant and not oversaturate the market. According to Social Media Examiner’s 2013 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 36% of marketers spend more than 11 hours per week on social media and 62% spend more than 6 hours per week on social media. Landmen can set aside 5-10 minutes in the morning afternoon and evening to answer questions and post pertinent Tweets. Landmen are careful to avoid wasting time on social media by strategizing social media with effective tools such as Buffer, a reporting tool that helps to schedule and automate posting content. Another tool used is Socialoomph, a scheduling tool which helps to track keywords. Another commonly used tool is Hootsuite, a social media tool designed to save time. Choosing a tool can save an estimated of 3 hours per week, according to Neil Patel of “BufferSocial”.
With Twitter statistics proving added value to landmen, Landmen can get started by setting up a professional profile which represents professional skills in their social network. Choosing a Twitter name that identifies landmen should not have punctuation for ease of remembering and use on mobile devices. Landmen can include their company logo and headshot for the profile photo. Look at other Twitter professional profile photos and identify if you would want to connect with that person or not. It is still relevant that a “picture is worth a 1000 words”. A study performed by PhotoFeeler showed that a smile impacts likability on profile pictures. “A smile with teeth visible gains an average of +0.33 for Competence, +1.35 for Likability, and +0.22 for Influence.”
Completing the Twitter account profile in the account settings gives the website location, contact information, and identifies the landman’s skills.
Landmen are careful about following Twitter rules of “aggressive following” and “aggressive following churn”, which can suspend a Twitter account. Aggressive following is defined as indiscriminately following hundreds of accounts just to garner attention. According to the Twitter Help Center, “Aggressive follow churn is when an account repeatedly follows and then un-follows a large number of users. This may be done to get lots of people to notice them, to circumvent a Twitter limit, or to change their follower-to-following ratio. These behaviors negatively impact the Twitter experience for other users, are common spam tactics, and may lead to account suspension.”
After completing the profile set up, landmen are ready to observe other landmen’s Tweets. See what adds value to a landman’s life professionally and even helpful tips for landmen when relaxing. After researching and building up information, think about what you want to Tweet, engage others in answering questions, and post informative Tweets. Landmen have found that Twitter is a valuable social media tool, and that it is better “to Tweet than not to Tweet.”