How to tweet in 0 characters

Almost 95% of corporations are using social media today, with more than three-quarters reporting a resultant increase in website visitors. From there, close to 60% generated more leads.

So what? As a cleantech startup, you don’t have the time to follow trending issues and generate related content. Nor do you have anything to sell. What’s more, if you’re raising VC then you’re probably communicating with just a handful of stakeholders, so there’s no need for social media’s one-to-many format.

Fair enough. But that doesn’t mean you should completely ostracize yourself. Social media can still be incredibly valuable for introverts who have nothing to say. That’s because it’s a great place to listen. In fact 65% of corporations say they use it to gather marketplace intelligence from competitors and peers.

So don’t think of Twitter as a chirpy little blue bird, think of it more as a “stalk”. With an hour or two of research, you can open an account and follow dozens of organizations of strategic relevance to you—from VCs to important journalists and potential partners.

What could you get out of it?

1) See how comparable technology platforms are perceived in the market
2) Get a feel for how people are positioning competing platforms
3) Identify the hot issues in cleantech VC and edit your pitch accordingly
4) Steal stats for your presentation (people use Twitter to promote well-researched articles and white papers)
5) Learn what prospective partners are up to so you can better understand their challenges and drivers

By its very nature, Twitter is easy to monitor. At just 140 characters, the author’s message will be obvious at a glance. Even if it links to a larger piece, the tweet should provide a concise summary of what you’ll find if you click it.

So take the time to sign up and follow organizations and people that are important to you. It’s well worthwhile, even if you’ve got nothing to say.