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You may not have heard of Twitter, but you will. It is the latest social media craze and has many attractions for both personal and business users; not least the fact that it’s year-on-year growth is around 1000% (according to Nielsen Online).

What is Twitter?

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users (Tweeters) to send and read updates (Tweets), 140 characters at a time.

According to Twitter, “It is a service for friends, family and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?“.

Users send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short Message Service (SMS), or applications such as Tweetie, Twitterrific and TweetDeck. These updates are available via the Tweeters profile, or delivered to ‘followers’ life-feeds.

What’s in it for Business?

While Twitter is still in the early stages and has relied on others to add functionality some common uses include:

• Establishing new contacts (using ‘following’)
• Building your network (of ‘followers’)
• Engaging with your community (by ‘replying to’ posts)
• Discovering Trends (using the search, #tags and analysis tools)

How do I use Twitter?

Getting started on Twitter is free and takes minutes. It begins with:

• Sign-up (The biggest challenge is choosing your Twitter name)
• Skip the next two screens (unless you have a Webmail account with Google, Yahoo, etc. or want to follow Twitters ’suggested’ Tweeters, I recommend skipping the next two screens)
• Personalise (by adding you own profile picture, your location, a brief bio and a suitable background image)
• Follow (find your contacts and local Tweeters using the email tools and Find People search. Also check the followers of people you know and build your network)
• Search (for Tweets on your subject, view the profile of the Tweeters who posted the items and follow them)

So once you’re set-up, how will you use Twitter?

Here are a few suggestions:

• Have conversations (Twitter is conversation tool, you post an update and people reply)
• Search on your company, brand and products (find people who are talking about stuff you’re interested in and follow them)
• Engage with people who are talking about the stuff you’re interested in
• Build positive relationships
• List your Favorites
• Publish helpful content (this builds your followers)
• Use #hashtags to promote products, events, etc.
• Take your Twitter relationships offline via Tweetups

Extracting Value

Twitter is perhaps the best example so far of a real time public news service. In fact it’s not uncommon for news to break first on Twitter, then be picked up by the Media. esp. where this involves some disaster, shooting or scandal.

Tracking the frequency of keywords gives Twitter watchers a real time view of what’s happening. If these updates relate to your company or products you have a measure of the ‘buzz’ that effects you.

These are some ways Twitter can help your business:

• Your Followers provides a measure of your reach (both quality and quantity are important)
• Grading your followers shows their influence and the stage of your relationship
• Using @Replies shows your level of engagement (the higher the better)
• Monitor inbound Traffic from Twitter to your website (is anyone listening?)
• Monitor sales linked to Twitter traffic (is it working?)

To make the most of Twitter you’ll need to use a few Tools & Resources. While this list is growing, these should get you started:

• Tracking the Buzz (TweetingTrends, Twist, Monitter, and TwitScoop)
• Tiny URLs (allow you to shorten the URL and fit the 140 character limit. E.g. bit.ly, is.gd, ow.ly, tinyurl.com)
• Twitter Feed (RSS feeds to / from Twitter)
• #Tags (used to index updates when keywords are not enough)
• Twitter APIs (Dan @Zambonini at BoxUK has produced a great Twitter API list)

Through using Twitter to engage with industry leaders and customers alike, and by tracking and analyzing Twitter activity companies gain valuable insight into the issues that are important today. How you use these contacts and insights is up to you.

Recently Tammy Corbett from Red Carpet Web Promotion posted a number of observations on Social Media. These are reproduced here for your consideration.

There has been a significant jump in the popularity of social media websites over the past few years. With it has come a shift in the way that people search for information and how they share and consult opinions on the Internet when making purchasing decisions.

Social media sites such as StumbleUpon and Digg, give users a voice on the Internet by providing tools to connect, exchange views, share content, information, and recommend products and services using the “thumbs up or down” approach. This has caused a huge shift in the way people search for information online. More and more, Internet users rely on the opinions of others before they buy into the validity of a product or service. “Word of mouth” is no longer only from mouth to ear, but is more frequently spread on social media sites and it has never been so powerful. Any product or service deemed worthy is promoted, shared or discussed in these online social communities.

A question that business needs to address is how to engage with these exchanges in a way that adds value and is profitable for everyone concerned; or to put it another way, “How should Business approach Social Media Marketing?”

Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing (SMM) targets users by promoting content through bookmarking, blogging, online video sharing, and social networking to potentially expand audience and drive traffic. Businesses are beginning to understand the power of these influences when it comes to establishing a reputation and growing their online business. Social media marketing strategies such as a business’ engagement in various social media websites can help to reinforce the brand and build a stronger personal connection with users.

Publish Social Media Business Profiles. One of the most important social media marketing methods includes posting business profiles on social media websites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Instead of waiting around for consumers to come to you, you reach out to your target audience. Solidifying your presence in the social media community creates a direct interaction between business and consumer that may not dramatically improve conversion rates but is definitely capable of establishing brand power and credibility. The valuable feedback consumers provide promotes insight in determining what business strategies are working and what should be re-evaluated to, e.g. make a website more user-friendly.

Engage with Search Engines. The influence of social media sites has changed the way search engines define placement. Images, videos and news content featured on social media sites such as Youtube, Digg, and Flickr are equally capable of sitting comfortably at the top of the search results leaving others, who have not yet jumped on the social media bandwagon, a little confused.

Use Social Media on your own Website. Take a hint from the popular social media websites by adding some type of interactive quality to your website. Engage the viewer and create an atmosphere of inclusion and direct contact that encourages a user to come back and visit again. Forums and social applications can help you compete for traffic in an evolving market.

Become an expert in your niche. Yahoo Answers is a great place to start. You can create a business or company profile and begin answering direct questions and supplying information to those in your target audience.

Join Social Networks. Social networking provides a means to promote association and the exchange of knowledge while also establishing business contacts and connections. Post your business profile in the popular social and business networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn, but also make sure to concentrate your attention on your niche audience by joining social media networks that represent and support your business or company’s ideas.

For example if you are selling organic produce and you set up a profile in a social media network such as Care2.com, an environmental portal, you are then communicating directly with those individuals who will support your product or service because of a shared interest. These types of social media communities will extend their approval by sharing in discussions about your products or services with other users and even in some cases “become a fan” of your featured webpage.

Some examples of popular niche social networks include:

• TravBuddy.com for the traveller
• Tipd.com for those seeking financial advice
• AutoSpies.com providing money saving and insider information on cars

Publish articles to popular social media news sites such as Mixx.com, Digg.com, and Propeller.com. These sites allow you to post articles and vote on news stories.

Share videos and images by setting up accounts with Youtube.com and Flickr.com, leaders in online video and imaging to reach a broad or targeted audience.

Use Social bookmarking on sites such as Del.ici.ous and Ma.gnolia.com provide an opportunity to store and share links.

Blog. Blogging enables you to provide information and updates about your business to customers. Unlike ‘News’, which is typically regarded as non-human corporate marketing; blogging provides the business with a personal and very human voice and one which is more likely to be respected and trusted by your customers.

In Conclusion

Businesses that incorporate social media marketing into their conventional marketing plan have the advantage of reaching audiences using a whole new approach. The benefits of strengthening the brand and increasing traffic to your website are just the tip of the iceberg. Establishing your business as a leading authority in your industry promotes good quality links and better search engine placement, which in turn improve your reputation and increase sales - something we can all benefit from in today’s tougher economic climate.