Using Twitter For Business

Social media is the latest craze when it comes to marketing your business. As with all advances in technology, there are early adopters ... many who get involved so early that the technology does not fit its intended use. As the technology becomes more accepted, there will generally be an explosion of ideas as to how the technology can be employed. This is the point most businesses find themselves with Twitter, today.

What is Twitter? It is a messaging system which found its origin in the Out of Office message. It is formatted as a brief text message which should be concise and informative. Brief is key as a Twitter message can be no more than 140 characters (including all spaces and punctuation).

With a Twitter account, you post messages which others choose to receive. This is called following. Messages are called Tweets. Tweeting can be used to deliver information about products and/or services, special offers and sales coupons, customer service information, and any other information which fosters a better business relationship. Curious about how a company might use Twitter? Consider the following:

• When people working in the Empire State Building twittered that they were craving ice cream delivery, New York local chain Tasti D Lite was there to listen and meet their need.
  
• When electronics buyers look for good deals, the Dell Outlet Twitter account helps them save money with exclusive coupons.
  
• When Houston's coffee drinkers decide where to get their daily dose, many choose Coffee Groundz, which lets them order via Twitter.

So, how do you get started using Twitter to ptomote your business? I would suggest you take about an hour and read through Twitter 101 for Business. You can find it at http://business.twitter.com/twitter101/