Using Twitter in Your Online Business

Twitter is a social networking site that has gained extreme popularity in the last few months.  Namely because it can do things it wasn’t originally created to do - ranging from  getting out of jail to being a digital secretary. 

All the news hype aside, Twitter works on a pretty simple idea.  In 140 characters or less, tell people what you’re doing right now.  It might seem like a huge invasion of personal privacy (and do people really care that you’re talking to your pet hamster about your plans for world domination?) but it can be a bonanza for businesses when used the right way. 

Here’s how to make the most of Twitter for your online business:

1.  Find and Follow - Twitter works best when you can find and “Follow” other Twitter users.  Search by location to find people in your area or search by interest or your particular industry to see who else is “tweeting”. 

You may find that some of your competitors have already started using Twitter as a platform to keep their customers up-to-date.   But there’s no reason you can’t also click on and “Follow” their customers too!

Chances are, they will return the favor and follow you as well.  Your “followers” are people who want to stay informed about what you’re doing - but don’t overdo it with massive posts all about selling.  Remember, Twitter is meant to be short and to-the-point.  You only have 140 characters or less, so it’s important to make your text count!

2. Keep them Up to Date - What can you share about your business in 140 characters or less?  It could be a post to your latest blog entry, a new product you’re considering testing, or a freebie you’d like to give away to subscribers.  Twitter is great for “mini press releases” to potential buyers.

3.  Network and Inform Yourself - Stay up to date and “in the loop” - not just in your industry, but with people whose work you follow and admire.  For example, I follow Brian at Copyblogger because there’s never a shortage of good, relevant information on his site about copywriting.  I also follow my fellow web designers and marketers to see what they’re working on now. 

4. Get Help - If you need a pro to help with just about anything online - from web and graphic design to search engine optimization and marketing, why not ask fellow “Twits”?  Someone in your list of followers is bound to have a recommendation.  Be careful though, one of my followers subscribed to every web designer’s Twitter profile he could - and was inundated with messages!

5.  Get Feedback - Twitter is a great way to get feedback on just about anything - your products, services, ideas and more.  What you learn could be used to improve your offer or create a completely new product.  But you’ll never know until you ask.

Overall, Twitter is a great way to not only keep in touch, but to also share your findings and news with people in, and around your “circle”.  The fact that you have to keep your message short also prevents Twitter from becoming too much like a blog. 

Try it out and follow me on Twitter too!

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