Twitter - The Ingenious Social Media Platform

Unless you’ve been hiding under a large, airtight, soundproof, and well-hidden rock, you most likely have heard of Twitter. Twitter is, in essence, a micro-blog, in which users update their status, known as “tweets,” in 140 characters or less. Each Twitter user builds a network of friends and contacts by “following” other users, and having other users follow them. President Barack Obama famously used Twitter to update his supporters during the presidential election, and his first tweet upon winning the election made news everywhere. Quiznos, the fast food chain, promoted their sub sandwich giveaway relying mainly on Twitter and other social media, and they gave away one million subs in three days.

Just the Facts, Ma’am

Twitter is like Facebook or MySpace stripped down to the bare necessities – “What are you doing?” Yes, you upload a profile picture, write a short bio, and redesign your page, but the essence of Twitter is to find out what is going on with others and share with them what’s new with you. It can be used for recreational purposes only, but it has huge potential for businesses.

You can use the search menu (http://search.twitter.com) to find people with a common interest, whether you’re a writer, a marketer, a designer, or a candlestick maker. Once you’ve connected with your target network, you can announce a new service, solicit opinions or advice, or promote a giveaway. Your followers don’t need to invest a lot of time into following you – your page isn’t busy with pictures of the latest vacation or the results of an online quiz you just took. All they need to do is read your 140 character update. Your message can go viral very quickly as your followers share your updates with their followers in the form of a "re-tweet".

Twitter to Go

One of the biggest advantages of Twitter is that you don’t need to be sitting at your computer, or even own an iPod or Blackberry, in order to send and receive tweets. Twitter has a mobile phone application, which allows you to tweet as easily as you text. Whenever the great idea hits - you’re standing in line at the supermarket, sitting in the waiting room, or watching your kid go down the slide - you can share it with the world.

Blogging and Twitter Go Hand in Hand

Twitter is a great resource for driving traffic to your blog…and vice versa. Whether you’re announcing the launch of a new blog or a new post, Twitter offers a quick, easy way to remind your followers to come visit you. Place the link to your blog in your status. For your blog readers that are not yet Twitter-fied, embed a Twitter link on your blog, which announces your latest update and invites them to follow you on Twitter! You need to engage your target audience in multiple ways, and the Twitter/blog combo is great way to do it. Twitter-logue

Use your Twitter status to have instant, real-time dialogue with your followers. Blogger Hillel Fuld, (HilzFuld on Twitter) who writes at www.technmarketing.com, often uses Twitter to ask advice for an article he’s writing, elicit his followers’ opinions, announce a new blog post or podcast, and keep his followers up to date with the latest technological developments. The 24/7 availability of Twitter engages your followers – and the more “human” and authentic you are, the more likely it is those followers will become clients.

A Conduit to Twitter

Your customers want to have access to their Twitter account whenever they’re working. Why not let them access it through their Conduit community toolbar? The toolbar is endlessly customizable, and users can personalize their toolbar to include their Twitter homepage. You want your customers to use their toolbar as much as possible, so let them do as much as possible on it! In addition to the hot link to your site, updates about your product, games, weather report, and all sorts of fun gadgets, add a link to that allows users to connect with their must-have social media sites, including Twitter. Just another way to make your Conduit toolbar “stickier” and an indispensable part of your customers’ connected lives.

Twitter is fast, easy, and free. Be careful not to abuse the system by constantly promoting yourself or tweeting advertisements, or you will get yourself "unfollowed". Use it as an opportunity to truly interact with and engage your followers, find out what they want, and respond to them, whether it’s a question, complaint, or sage advice. Be funny, be serious, be inquisitive – just be present!