Seven Apps to Optimize Twitter

If you are new to Twitter or just want to leverage the power of social networking, here are seven Twitter applications to try. Twitter apps can help to promote your business or brand, stay on top of what is trending on Twitter, or even personalize your Twitter personality. Some require a sign up and some require a subscription. All of these Twitter apps are easy to use and set up.

Bubble Tweet: Bubble Tweet provides an opportunity to record or post a 30-second video message to your followers. The video pops up like a bubble over your Twitter page and then pops away when it finishes. You can use this application to make your page more personal by showing who is behind the Twitter curtain. Consider using this application if you are marketing a product or wish to give a personal message to your followers. The bubble does not automatically appear when someone visits your Twitter page. Followers must click on a URL to play the bubble message. No download required, just enter your Twitter name on the website.

twtQpon: This app is a free coupon creator that allows you to give your followers a coupon for your products or services. Click "Create a Twitter Coupon" and fill out the form, including valid date for the coupon. Do you have an online business or store in the community? Consider using twtQpon to reward your followers with a discount offer and promote your business at the same time.

TwitThis: TwitThis works like Digg in that you can easily tweet links you want to share with your followers. You can easily add a TwitThis button or link to your website. Consider adding to your blog so that readers can simply tweet about your content: they click the button, their Twitter page opens, and the short link is ready to tweet from the update box.

TwitterHawk: This Twitter app is not free but it is an interesting tool for marketers and business owners. You set up a search term in TwitterHawk, and the app finds tweets/conversations about that topic. It then provides a list of those matches and you can reject or respond to the selected tweets. You can also set up auto replies and responses are sent automatically. Link tracking is also available. TwitterHawk is running a special of 10 free credits when you sign up, and then 5 cents per tweet after that.

CoTweet: This application is great for businesses or groups who want to create a Twitter account that multiple people can use. Each user sets up a profile, but all the tweets are published through one Twitter profile. According to CoTweet, some major companies like Ford, McDonald's and Coca-Cola use this app. One great way to use it is to assign tweets for follow-up to others in your group. Tweets can also post to Facebook and other social sites. CoTweet is free to use. Consider this app if you work off site or need everyone in your group to stay connected.

Tweetburner: Tweetburner is a handy URL shortener to reduce the number of characters in your tweets. From this online application, you can also post to your Twitter account as well as track the number of clicks from the short links. You have probably received tweets from users with the distinctive "twurl" in the URL.

Monitter: Here is another easy to use keyword tracker for Twitter that has a very cool interface. Clicking the link to Monitter takes you to a chart of three columns. Type three words or phrases into the three search boxes, and you see real-time results of matching tweets. You can also download a Monitter widget for your website. Find out what people are tweeting about your topic or brand right now!

Optimize your Twitter experience by using Twitter apps. Applications like these help promote your business or your website through social networking. Targeting your audience, managing time and workflow, keeping track of trending topics, and scheduling your tweets is super easy when you use these Twitter apps.