Even if you haven't signed up yourself, chances are that you've heard of Twitter. As a professional photographer, is it something you should even care about. If you think Twitter is just good for updates on what people are buying at the grocery store, you might want to take another look. Used correctly, it can acutally be a great resource for photographers.

Build A Network

The first step, of course, is to build a network of other photographers to interact with. You want to focus on building a following of people who are interested in photography, Photoshop, or other imaging-related areas. Simply visit a Twitter directory, like Twellow and search for terms like photography or photographer and follow those people. Many of them will follow you back. Once you have a few hundred photographers following along, you can start getting some return on your time investment.

Network

As you build friendships with photographers across the country, you gain the opportunity to get business referrals from them. Last year, I had a photographer refer a client to me because he lived in a different state and couldn't help them with what they needed. I would have never met that client if the other photographer hadn't introduced us via Twitter. Its all about building relationships.

Get Your Questions Answered

Photographers love to talk about Photoshop, camera equipment or whatever else you can think to discuss. Trying to decide if that new DSLR will meet your needs? Ask the question on Twitter and you can get some great input from other photographers. It is very similar to posting a question on a photography forum, but with a more controlled audience. I got stuck in Photoshop a while back and aired my frustration on Twitter. Within a few minutes, I had actually received a reply from someone who actually works for Adobe. He walked me through the solution and got me back on track. You just can't ask for more than that!

Be Inspired

One of my favorite uses for Twitter is being exposed to new artists and their work. People will often tweet images that they have created or that they find inspiring. It doesn't take much time to click through a few images and see what they are talking about. Whenever you are waiting around and need to pass the time, browsing through your Twitter feed can actually be a very educational diversion.

Give It A Try

Try it out for a few weeks and see what you think. Like most things in life, you get out of it what you put into it. Take the time to build some relationships with other photographers and let them lead you to better photography. It just might be a key part of your new marketing plan.