How can you effectively network as a sustainability professional on Twitter?

I don't know, what is Twitter exactly? I remember a guy that love X mentioning something about social media and the next big thing. SustainabilityX?

Twitter is indeed a free-speech social media platform where views and opinions are often challenged and debated. Thus, it is important to be professional as a sustainability leader but open to debate because people don't easily ignore you if they don't like your views but engage in debates that might be difficult for you to handle. Public sentiment decides whether your opinion is taken positively, negatively, or neutrally. As a Sustainability leader, you need to engage with a scientific audience that can comprehend and follow your content and ideas. If you are private then putting less information is better but it's important to direct interested people to your active platforms like your website, Linkedin, or research papers.

Twitter has historically provided a platform for sustainability professionals to connect with like-minded individuals, organizations, and experts. This is how I began building my own professional network in the space in 2012! The social media platform can be a hub for building a supportive community and exchanging ideas with people who share a passion for sustainability. Now, fast forward to 2023, LinkedIn is definitely the place where more people are engaging around these topics in longer-format, more proactive and supportive ways.

Playing devil's advocate, consider LinkedIn for impactful networking in sustainability. Unlike the saturated and often politically charged Twitter, LinkedIn offers a less crowded space. Posting once a week on LinkedIn puts you in the top 1%, ensuring your voice stands out. Share your personality in posts to build a following efficiently. LinkedIn's professional focus facilitates meaningful connections in the sustainability world without the noise. Plus, who needs the Elon Musk drama when you can foster genuine connections in a more focused environment?

Content is the key on Twitter currently. Share what's authentic not what matches your narrative. Thus, it's important to read and ensure that you are not sharing something that has no evidence and thus, no authenticity. If you are writing your opinion/Op-ed, then mention it clearly. Also, engage with other tweets where you find information relevant. This helps to grow your like-minded audience. Don't just share something out of your instant headline reaction because Twitter does a lot of fact-checking via Community notes and others to prevent spreading misinformation. The variety of thought is amazing on Twitter as diverse people engage on Twitter instead of journalists who generally push some defined narratives.

Another way to network on Twitter is to share valuable and original content that showcases your skills, knowledge, and passion for sustainability. This can include your own blog posts, articles, podcasts, videos, infographics, reports, projects, or case studies, or curated content from other sources that you find useful or inspiring. By sharing valuable content, you can provide value to your followers and potential connections, and also establish your authority and credibility in the field. You can also use hashtags, keywords, and tags to increase your reach and visibility, and to join relevant conversations and communities.

Just like all social media platforms, consistency is the key to success. On Twitter, it's important to understand your audience which is not one-topic focused as careers generally, thus, Being consistent and authentic is good but being simple is the best you can do for your audience to engage with your content. Try to formulate your content with bullet points, graphs, photos, and videos because attention span is very low on Twitter, and people scroll faster on their feeds. Thus, it's important to catch their attention first and then provide them with interesting content.

Networking on Twitter requires consistency and authenticity. You need to be consistent in posting, engaging, and following up with your connections, and also in maintaining your professional brand and voice. You need to be authentic in expressing your opinions, values, and goals, and also in showing your personality and enthusiasm. By being consistent and authentic, you can build trust, loyalty, and reputation among your network, and also attract more opportunities and collaborations.

Finally, networking on Twitter is not only about online interactions, but also about expanding your network offline. You can use Twitter to find and attend local or online events, workshops, conferences, or meetups that are relevant to your field or niche. You can also use Twitter to reach out to potential mentors, collaborators, or employers, and request for informational interviews, feedback, referrals, or introductions. By expanding your network offline, you can deepen your relationships, showcase your skills, and explore new possibilities.

Twitter is a great space to engage with out-of-the-box content. Twitter by nature is more open and thus, a hot platform for debates. If you are not an active Twitter user it would be helpful to update yourself with a diverse range of thoughts, especially in the sustainability domain where a lot of practices are followed for years, challenged by some and ultimately proven to be unsuccessful by the pieces of evidence later such as Carbon credits and many others. There are no binary decisions in sustainability as good or bad, it's a huge spectrum just like SDGs which contradict themselves if you try to achieve them all, it's impossible to achieve success in improving all SDGs. Skepticism and rationalism are key to true sustainability wisdom.