[edithy]

If you haven’t been living under a rock lately, then you’ve probably heard something about this little instant messaging / micro-blogging platform/social media tool called Twitter. Chances are, you even have an account and are twitting away.

What is Twitter?
If you have been living under a rock, Twitter, as I already mentioned, is an instant messaging / micro-blogging platform/social media tool that allows you to post 140-character updates called Tweets. Twitter allows you to follow other people so that you can see their tweets; other people can follow you so that they can see yours. It’s a happy, happy cycle. You can even tell the world that you just ate a donut or are feeling like Homer Simpson. Hey, tweet and let tweet.
But aside from answering the question, “what are you doing?” which is the penultimate query one answers on Twitter, it is actually a whole new field of opportunities for business owners both big and small. Both CEO and the average Joe can sign up for an account, build a following, and viola! Instant online promotion and advertising. Check this article from Business Week if you don’t believe me. Yes, even CEOs tweet.

Twitter for Business
Now, how do we use Twitter to promote your business? Easy. Social media may just be the fastest, easiest, most fun way to promote your business in this day and age. Sign up for free, connect with people, and there you go. It is the most popular micro-blogging, social networking tool at this day and age, and I can’t even begin to imagine how many people are on Twitter. That, my friend, means a huge potential for traffic. Here are three tips to using Twitter to promote your business.

Perfect Your Profile
One way to attract a lot of followers is to create an attractive bio. Be clear but concise and tell your potential followers what your business is, and what you do or what you sell. Think keywords. The World Wide Web is all about keywords. Twitter is no different. Also, don’t forget to put a link to your website. That’s why we’re building you a Twitter following, to get people to your site. Make your little Twitter world attractive and interesting. Let Twitter be your website’s eyes… you know, the window to the soul and all that. In this case, let your website be the soul.

Follow the Right People
Following the right people is important, but having the right people follow you may just be the most crucial thing when maximizing Twitter for your business.
Connecting with the right people, which, unfortunately, is actually harder than clicking on the tiny “follow” button. A lot of people on the twittersphere do not automatically follow anyone who follows them. To have an enormous number of followers, be sure to have interesting tweets. Remember the donut and Homer Simpson? That may just not work when trying to build a reputation as a serious business. Same goes for ads. If you don’t like spam, then chances are you won’t like twam (twitter spam, seriously).
Do marketing. There are a lot of people on Twitter who are awesome community builders. Finding them, following them, and getting them interested in you is a great way to build your little Twitter niche.

Broaden Your World
Again, there are millions of people on the twittersphere. Connect with them. Reply to tweets, use this nifty little thing called Twitter Search to find out what people are looking for, and what people are saying about you, your business, and your products or services. Build business relationships on Twitter. It’s not just about your tweets, it’s about how people interact with you through your (and their) tweets. It’s a great way to get traffic and leads.

Twitter is an awesome way to interact with all manner of people, and it’s a great way to get in touch with potential customers you wouldn’t have been able to interact with otherwise. All the world’s a twitter, so take your business to the next level and tweet away.

[jonathanfigaro]

Great Advice. Twitter can only help one become successful! How are you using twitter effectively?

[kameron]

great advice, twitter is a very useful way to advertise and market using web 2.0 strategies

[my_misyel]

Using twitter really helps in promoting your business specially if have active followers.

[benmaxime]

great advice thanks!

[eileen521]

I'm going to have a try!

[GreenStar]

Thank you for taking the time to post this advice, i love free tips!!

[munash]

Thanks for your time and the great tip.
What I do for example since I run an internet business that is based on the Law of Attraction and The Secret, I keep putting up nice inspiring quotes! So think of your products sometimes when you are tweeting.

[Synn]

I just started reading "Twitter Power" and I love it so far. Do you recommend it?

[andyrobbets]

great advise
thanks for it
nice tip

[Driven_Magazine]

we have recieved over 150 followers, by doing what you suggested!

Driven Magazine

[edithy]

Absolutely, I recommend the Twitter Power book. In fact, Joel Comm the author will be at our event in October, BizTechDay, as a speaker. You can learn more at BizTechDay

[karateguy]

But, you do have to be careful.. you can actually promote too much.. One has to be a active user and contribute

[Maxewhite]

Twitter's tweeting capability has gone too easy and noticeable that is why more and more people especially entrepreneurs are having fun posting their links and updates through their Twitter accounts. Bringing in much business opportunities, there are a lot of ways on how Twitter can help at AccountingWeb.com:

Some social networking sites seem to come and go, largely unnoticed. Not so with Twitter. The tweeting phenomenon has grown exponentially and entrepreneurs are finding that Twitter provides some excellent opportunities for business promotion. Here are ten steps demonstrating how using Twitter can bring you business.

1. Smart registration

Key to the registration process is using the right keywords in your biography. You have to be clever though as, like every other area of Twitter, you're restricted in the number of characters you can use. Most members use various search engines to track down relevant people to follow, so use search terms you think will be popular. If you're targeting SMEs for instance include 'small business', 'small businesses', 'SMEs', 'entrepreneurs' etc. Equally if you're after clients or customers in a particular locality include that as a keyword.

2. Respond to others

Like other online communities such as forums and groups, the key to making the most of Twitter is demonstrating that you're an expert in your field. Keep an eye out for particular issues you could help with by scanning tweets or using a Twitter search engine. If people recognize that you know what you're talking about and you're willing to offer bits of advice for free, they are much more likely to do business with you.

And don't forget to check the '@replies' section on the right hand side of your Twitter page. This lists the members who have tweeted directly at you so you can respond. You could also type your username into a Twitter search engine to see whether there are people who you aren't following have been talking about you.

3. Tweet when you're out of the office

Ensuring you tweet on a regular basis is key to building a good community. One way to make sure this happens even when you're busy doing other things is using a service which sets up pre-scheduled tweets for particular times in the future. There are several sites which allow you to do it but our favorite is HootSuite.

4. Be human

Adding a human element to your tweets will build personality around your business and avoid perceptions of a faceless organization. Representatives of computer business Dell for instance post under their real names plus the company - e.g. RichardatDELL which is a good idea. You should also post about non-business issues too although avoid anything too salacious or very personal.

5. Ask questions

As well as responding to other people's questions you should also ask some of your own. You can't know everything and it will encourage some community interaction. You could also use it to do a bit of market research and ask questions directly related to your business or sector.

6. Every character counts

With important things to say and only 140 characters in which to say it, it's important you're as succinct as possible while at the same time getting your point across. If you're including links to your or other people's Web sites use a service such as TinyURL.com or is.gd which allow you to shorten URLs.

7. Retweet, retweet, retweet!

If you're new to Twitter you may be confused by the regular use of 'RT'. This stands for retweeting which is the reposting of particular tweets from other people on your page which you find particularly interesting or useful. It's worthwhile doing this as it demonstrates to your followers you're not all about flogging your products or services but you're also willing to share tips and advice. Retweeting may also encourage a particularly influential member to start following you. The accepted way of retweeting is to type 'RT' following by @ and the tweeter's username. e.g. 'RT @dan_martin Having a look at AccountingWEB.com.'

8. Tweet on the move

Just because you're on a train or at a conference without a laptop doesn't mean you can't tweet. There are various applications such as TwitterBerry and Twitter for iPhone which allow you to update your page from your mobile phone. This also allows you to react instantly to particular events.

9. Who to follow?

There are thousands of people using Twitter who could be particularly useful to your business. While Stephen Fry, Britney Spears, and MC Hammer may be entertaining with their celebrity revelations, it's the people who can directly benefit your company you want to be following.

There are several ways to track them down. Via the Twitter search engine you can search tweets for people who are interested in the areas you cover. MrTweet meanwhile will suggest to you which influencers and followers you should check out. In addition, Twitter Grader grades your profile against the entire Twitter community as well as giving you a list of the top tweeters in your locality, and Twellow.com lets you search members' biography, name, job title, and location.

10. It's not all about you

Don't go overboard with promoting your business by bombarding your followers with links to your Web site, as it will be treated as the Twitter equivalent of spam and encourage people to stop following you. By all means link to your Web site or blog but say something interesting about it rather than just dumping a link. It is also a good idea to post tweets about subjects not linked to you or your business.

[marysmith]

Thank you for sharing, great post, now I am more than sure that Twitter really helps in business promotion.