Reading Brian Stelter’s story in the New York Times was a little unbelievable, but completely inspiring. And made me wonder what we could do through twitter – or how his story could help other companies.

The basics: Brian Stelter started a twitter account specifically to help him lose weight. Every day, he would tweet what he was eating, when he was working out, and how much he had lost. It was a chance for him to be held accountable and have a cheering section. He said he thought about trying weight watchers and other programs, but none would keep him motivated…so he turned to twitter. The post talks about the success he has seen, and the results he is experiencing. One of the most impressive results were the number of people who supported him, sent him messages and even called him. He in turn became motivation for others, who joined in his weight loss goals!

So how can a business learn from what Brian did? What are the take-aways from his twitter plight to lose weight?

1. Have something compelling to talk about. Brian found a group to follow him because he was putting himself out there and giving people a real chance to connect with him. Businesses need to be open in the same way. Provide answers, help and be available for your consumers and finding a follower base will be easy.
2. Create a community. The followers liked Brian’s account because he created a community around his weight loss. Others could comment, share their stories and be involved. Giving people a place to share a common bond will create a stronger network.
3. He stuck with it. Just like his weight loss, he also stuck with twitter. He didn’t ignore it, or worse, do it for a month and then give up. His accounts reliability meant that others were willing to follow and be a part of it. People don’t want to follow accounts that will disappear overnight.
4. He talked about things everyone understands. If you try to be too technical, or share content that only a small percentage of people will care about it is hard to gain followers. People want to be able to respond and understand – so give them content that is on their level. Stay away from the technical jargon.

Many companies try to over complicate what it takes to find success through social media. Brian’s account and results show that there are better ways. Open lines of communication, sharing real stories and being honest to your followers will deliver the best results.

What else can we learn from his twitter account and how he managed it?