Harnessing The Power of Twitter for Your Business

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Harnessing The Power of Twitter for Your Business

It almost sounds silly to even hear the word "Twitter" coupled with business. It sounds more like something your children would ask for at Christmas. However, despite the unusual name, as Twitter grows so will its ties to the world of business. This begs the question, how is Twitter a powerful tool for businesses?

If you're not familiar with Twitter, it is a microblogging tool, which in essence gives users 140 characters with which to communicate. Examples of posts include links to articles, advice, self-promotion, questions, and statements about what people are currently doing.

Posts are sent to people who have chosen to follow you, and you receive posts from people you've chosen to follow. It's kind of like an ongoing Facebook status update, only responses can be viewed online in a browser, obtained via specialized Twitter clients, sent and received via text messaging, accessed using numerous iPhone apps.

So how are businesses supposed to get a return from a microblog that only gives you 140 characters to work with? Before talking about how businesses should use Twitter, it's important to first talk about how Twitter should not be used. 

Twitter should not be used solely for marketing. Buying billboard space along highways is an example of exclusively advertising, but Twitter isn't an exclusive advertising outlet. There are many Twitter users who solely use Twitter to promote their own business, and therefore, have very few followers. Airline company JetBlue is an example of a business that is tapping into the power of Twitter. @JetBlue posts linked items to their website, while also responding to customer complaints, helping people catch connecting flights, answering customer questions, and keeping people informed about airline trends. The point is to diversify the ways your business uses Twitter, to meet different people's needs and wants.

To tap into the power of Twitter, you must learn the craft of listening to your followers and responding with content that is relevant and engaging. This doesn't mean that you don't promote you business; it just means that you post content that compliments your business promotion. This may include sharing articles about your industry, asking users how you can better your business, responding to questions and complaints, offering incentives and conducting surveys....

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