How Do You Twitter?

Email was amazingly fast when it was new. Instant messaging was even faster. Instant became more powerful with Twitter — you can send messages to an unlimited number of people at once, and those people can receive your messages a variety of ways. A rotating quote on the Twitter.com home page describes Twitter as "the telegraph system of Web 2.0."

What is Twitter?

Twitter is described at the Twitter site as a microblog. It's that and a blog on steroids at the same time. Instead of writing a blog post (or in addition to writing one), you type and send a short message of up to 140 characters via the Twitter site, your mobile phone, an instant messaging program, or a third party application. The message goes out to cyberspace instantly and to people who are subscribed to your feed. Or in Twitter language, your followers (people who receive your Twitter updates) can read your tweets as soon as you send them — via mobile phone, IM, RSS feeds, and the Twitter website.

Unlike blog posts, you can specify who receives your twitters, and you can send private messages to individuals in your network. You can also track specified words and be updated via mobile phone or IM whenever a word you're tracking is used. (Web updates are reportedly coming soon.)

Who twitters?

People who want to tell their followers that they just had lunch or are on their way somewhere twitter. Friends and family members twitter to stay in touch. Some people use Twitter to share something interesting that they came across or to give their opinions about recent events. Adults twitter. Kids twitter. Unfortunately, spammers also twitter (but if you don't follow them, their spam won't reach you).

Twitter isn't only for casual conversation and tidbits. Barack Obama uses Twitter to announce events he's attending and updates to his website. CNN uses Twitter to announce breaking news. A conference organizer posts deadlines and updates via Twitter and used Twitter to announce that three followers would be randomly chosen to win conference passes.

The growth of Twitter

Twitter has been experiencing growing pains. Recently the Reply feature had to be turned off temporarily in an attempt to keep Twitter working during high load times. While this article was being researched, a "Twitter is over capacity. Too many tweets! Please wait a moment and try again" message appeared several times at the Twitter site. But those who thought that Twitter wouldn't last appear to be wrong. As with blogs, Twitter has continued to grow in popularity and usage. According to a May 2008 report, nearly 1.2 million people per month had signed up with Twitter in the past three months. Twenty-four percent of users are classified as heavy users, and traffic is much higher on weekdays than on weekends.

Twitter as a networking tool

Twitter allows users to follow other people for short periods of time or indefinitely. It can help users build relationships and develop new ones. You can learn more about people in your network by following them via Twitter, and you'll have more to talk about with them. When you're looking for someone for a particular task or job, you'll be better able to decide whether you want to work with them.

Some ways to network with Twitter:

Publish tips and interesting bits of information related to your area of expertise. You'll develop more followers and build a reputation as an authority in your niche.

At events, update followers with schedule changes, your whereabouts, brief reviews, and tips on what to avoid and what not to miss. Give out your Twitter username to people you meet at events, and if you follow each other, you'll have added to your network.

When you have a good number of followers, ask questions via Twitter about how to solve a specific problem or to find out who has information about a topic. Chances are that someone will know the answer, and the interaction will help build relationships.

Search Twitter conversations via Summize.com for topics that interest you, and start following people whose tweets are about your interests. Add a lot at first and then reduce the list to those whose tweets are most worth following to you. Some of them may start following you as well.

Twitter as a marketing tool

Twitter can be useful as a marketing tool to be used with other marketing methods. Because people have to choose to follow you and can stop following you at any time, it's a form of permission-based marketing.

Examples of uses for Twitter as a marketing tool:

* To summarize and link to new blog entries, newsletter issues, and other updates to your website
* To announce sales and other time-limited offers
* To introduce new products or services
* To publish news about your area of focus, especially breaking news
* To share bits of knowledge that are useful to your followers and that help establish you as an authority in your field
* To initiate conversations with your followers

Publish your Twitter username at your website and on your business cards, and keep your tweets with your Twitter business account professional.

Related blog articles

* How to Become a Known Niche Authority
* Newsletter or Blog? Have Both!
* How to Market Your Brand via Social Media Websites