What is Twitter?

You probably already know this since you clearly know how to use a computer, but Twitter is a “microblog.” “Micro” meaning small and “blog” meaning blog. You have 140 characters to deliver a message, so to those of us that are of a more verbose nature, we have to be clear and to the point. Twitter also serves as a social network and like any social network you have “friends” who aren’t really your friends but that’s okay, we won’t tell anyone. Your “friends” on Twitter are called “followers” but don’t get too excited about having followers, you’re not a cult leader…yet.

How Does Twitter Work?

Twitter couldn’t be easier. You sign up for a Twitter account and then start posting the 140 character messages and just like that you’re tweeting. Once you’ve posted a tweet, it goes into your Twitter feed. Your followers will then see your tweet on their Twitter account. It’s very similar to how a blog’s RSS feed reports to the RSS readers. But again, it’s smaller.

Isn’t Twitter Just For Celebrities Like Ashton Kutcher and Burt Reynolds?

No, unlike being Punk’d Twitter isn’t just for the super famous. Regular Joe’s like you and me can use Twitter to not only let our friends and family “follow” us, but we can also promote our business and help improve our visibility online.

How Does Twitter Help Market Small Businesses?

Many large companies are already achieving success with Twitter. For them Twitter is a quick way to update their already large base with instant updates on exiting deals and exclusive offers.

For a small business Twitter supplements other online marketing methods like SEO, PPC, email marketing campaigns, and banner adds. Use Twitter to communicate with your current clients so they can learn more about you and the exciting things your company is doing.

What kind of results can I expect?

It’s important to remember that Twitter is a social marketer and not a direct marketer. It’s important to refine other elements of your online marketing like SEO, PPC, and Link Building before you start a Twitter campaign. The combination of all these methods can keep your company ahead of your competitors and on the front page of search engines. Once you maximize all these marketing efforts Twitter will serve as a great way to communicate to a core audience. A major benefit of marketing with Twitter is being to update it from your mobile phone. Tweeting on the road helps you (and your customers) to stay involved with all your new and fresh ideas. It’s important to remember Twitter is a long term marketing method, so be patient and keep tweeting.

How To Get Started With Twitter…

If you are ready to give Twitter a go and see what it’s all about, here’s a quick start guide for how to get the most out of Twitter.

1. Create a free Twitter account
2. Search for people you know and who you want to follow and then hit the “follow” button underneath their avatar to follow them.
3. Tweet about yourself. And don’t forget you only have 140 characters, so keep it simple and straight to the point.
4. At first use Twitter to talk about yourself, your company, and why people should follow you with the aim of building a relationship with your customer so they feel more comfortable spending their money with you. This could be tweeting about your family, values, news articles, articles of interest to your business and so on. If only all relationships could be based on 140 characters.
5. If you release a new product or if you have a special discounted offer then be sure to tweet about, but it’s important to mix in real life messages with these promotional deals so people don’t think you’re just here for the buck.
6. Use Twitter to follow other companies in your niche so you can stay ahead of their deals, promotions and just to get a feel for how they too use Twitter to promote their company.
7. Once you’ve established yourself on Twitter start sending out your Twitter address with all other facets of your marketing campaigns like newsletters, press releases, emails, and physical mail-outs.

What To Avoid…

There are some methods that can start to hurt your relationship with your followers and they are as follows:

1. Automated software programs. At first they seem like a good idea but it’s important to remember Twitter is about building relationships and an automated message comes off as impersonal.
2. Don’t follow everyone who follows you. Following too many people can make the important tweets get lost in the shuffle. Find other tweeters who are relevant to you and leave the others by the wayside.
3. Don’t spend too much time on your tweets. Twitter is supposed to supplement the more intense marketing methods you use. Have fun with it and keep your tweets light in nature.
4. Don’t tweet to strangers. Well, don’t let just anyone be a follower, look out for bots and sexual predators—this is still the Internet, sexual predators are everywhere. (Not as bad as MySpace, but they are out there.)

Now I must go and post this awesome blog on my Twitter account. As always, I hope this helped.