Twitter has been all over the news recently. The network daily news programs have reported on Twitter and invited viewers to follow them on it. The weekly news magazines have had stories on it. And people are talking about members of Congress Twittering while listening to Obama speak.

So What is Twitter?

Twitter is a service through which you can communicate and stay connected through short simple “posts” (Tweets) that can be read on a website or a cell phone, etc. A free social messaging utility for staying connected in real-time.

How Can It be Used?

Many people use it to tell their friends what they are doing at a particular time. But the same format can be used to announce special offers from a company, give out new information about a business, promote a brand, announce an expansion into a new product or a change in policy. It can be used to see if one or more customers have problems with a product or service so a company gets the message and maybe changes the way they do things or explains their practices and maybe defuses situations before they do much harm. A responsive company can actually help its reputation.

Two recent news reports illustrate how important Twitter can be as a supplement for your business website and a way to promote your website:

1. Dell reported that it has made several million dollars in orders using Twitter to announce sales and to report what items it has added to its refurbished section.
2. The U.S. State Department asked Twitter not to do a scheduled maintenance that would cause it to be down for one hour during the election turmoil in Iran because Twitter was being used by the people there to arrange gatherings and to warn of problems.

So what does that mean for your business? It means that if you have merchandise you want to move quickly, Twitter might be able to help. Also that if you want to communicate with your customers and prospects, Twitter can keep you in touch with people who are interested in what you have to say and want an easy way to find out what is new. Harness the value of short direct posts as the Iranians are doing about their election. Many companies have information they would love to disseminated the same way.

Your “Tweets” (posts on Twitter) can even be found by keyword thus letting more people know about your company and its website. The website can be linked from a Tweet and from your profile.

So How Would YOU Use Twitter?

Actually, you need to think about that and then as things developed, you will probably find more and more ways of using it. Every business would be different. Get those involved in your company together and brainstorm. What information do you want to tell your customers, prospects and then general public? What would they be interested in hearing about. Where do these two things intersect?

Where Would YOU Start?

First you have to open a Twitter account. Then you have to announce that you have it and what you intend to Twitter about. If you put a notice on your home page that you plan a series of one day sales and you will post those on your website but for those who don’t want to check the website every day to see if you have a sale, you will also Twitter about it so they might want to follow your “Tweets”. For those who want to follow you on Twitter, they can just do so with one click if they already have a Twitter account. If not, it is free and easy and even quick to set one up and then follow you.

For you to post a message that will go out to all who follow you, you go to your account page on the Twitter website and if you are logged in, you post a message. You only get 140 characters but it can link to a page on your site with more details.

Naturally, you have to have something to say that people are interested in. Sales, discounts, new products, new information you are offering, changes in policy, cities you are visiting, speeches you are giving, articles and blogs that mention your company and your products, reports that show the effectiveness of what you offer, or something that just occasionally reminds people that you are offering what you offer so they don’t get talked into getting something similar from one of your competitors because your name wasn’t on the tip of their tongue. You can even create online Twitter Coupons for products and services. For every type of company and its website, what you might want to Tweet about—that people might want to follow you to find out about—might be different.

And you might want to follow others or just check out what they are saying occasionally. You can either officially follow others or, if you don’t want them to know you are following them as in the case of your competitors, you can just go to their Twitter page to see what they are saying.

Where Can We Get Helping Setting Up Twitter?

Although it is quick and easy to set up a Twitter account, you might want to get professional advice, ideas and customization MIS, Inc. is here. We can help you think of ways to use Twitter to help your business and we can make your Twitteraccount look more like it is part of your business. Some Twitter accounts we have customized:

• Sandia Peak Restaurants in Albuquerque
• MIS, Inc. Company
• Dashbee: A Complete Business Solution
• Karim Ardalan

Once you are set up and have a plan to start with, you will find it as easy to post on Twitter as it is to send a short email.

Related articles

• “20 Must Read Beginner Twitter Tips for Small Business Owners, August 12, 2009″
• Mom-and-Pop Operators Turn to Social Media which makes the point: “Much has been made of how big companies like Dell, Starbucks and Comcast use Twitter to promote their products and answer customers’ questions. But today, small businesses outnumber the big ones on the free microblogging service, and in many ways, Twitter is an even more useful tool for them.”
• Social Media: “Get Your Head Out of the Sand” By Liana Evans, Search Engine Watch, Jun 22, 2009
• Search Engine Watch: “Users are jumping on Twitter like the bandwagon of a winning sports team…. Twitter is a broad-based communication medium…. we get to trade links and information about our industry,
• Managing Negative Online Comments about Your Company in Social Media (from High Ranking Newsletter, June 24, 2009)
• Distributing Content Through Social Networks: Jakob Nielsen’s usability study to discern guidelines for companies and organizations: “Businesses that post too often crowd out the user’s real friends and become unpopular (and thus risk being unfollowed). Users listed too-frequent postings as their top annoyance with following companies and organizations on social networks.” Also: “The three great motivators are fear, greed, and exclusivity, and social network postings can address the latter two. Users were particularly interested in getting deals (greed). Yet, while users recognize that corporate postings are commercial — rather than friendship-driven — they do resist overly aggressive selling. Finding the proper balance is crucial.”

Some Places Discovering ways of Using Twitter

• The City of Albuquerque answers short questions with short Tweets of Information: This may well save them on phone calls.

The new website includes their updated logo commemorating their 30th anniversary. We developed the new website in a content management system (CMS) called ExpressionEngine. This allows them to be able to easily manage and maintain their own website, without having to know anything about html or how to put together a website. They’ve been able to easily enter all their events and classes.

It was a pleasure working with Steve Smith and the team at AANM and we look forward to working with them for years to come!