Ten Ways to Use Twitter to Market Your Business

Steve Thompson
Microblogging, which is the practice of writing short blog posts (usually under 100 words), has become the latest crazy. Twitter, of course, is the essence of microblogging, offering only 140 characters per post. This encourages bloggers to condense their ideas and observations as much as possible. But how can Twitter help market your business?

1- Announce New Products

Twitter is an excellent tool for letting hundreds (or even thousands) of people know about new products you've made available for sale. Depending on the people who are following you, an unlimited number of consumers will instantly have access not only to a brief product description, but also to a link that takes them directly to the product page on your web site. Direct marketing is one of the best ways you can use Twitter to market your business.

2- Advertise Discounts

Microblogging doesn't make advertising discounts much easier except that Twitter offers the ability to include a link with every post. If you've decided to offer a discount on the products or services of your business, make a quick announcement via Twitter and watch the hits roll in. This means you never have to waste another opportunity to gain new clients.

According to Brian Clark of Copyblogger, the discount on the viral Wordpress theme "Thesis" met its capacity in just a few minutes because the word was spread on Twitter. In fact, people who weren't even assocated with the creation of "Thesis" were twittering about it, which meant that the word spread like wildfire. See if you get the same results using Twitter to market your business..

3- Spread Ideas

One of the easiest ways to use Twitter to market your business is to plan new seeds in the minds of your readers. Mentioning a simple quote or statement of fact can have a larger impact than a full article on your regular blog. For example, if you sell travel gear for your business, you might mention problems you've encountered on the road and solutions that your business provides. Easy as pie, and microblogging ensures that it is done in just a few words.

4- Connect with Suppliers

Twitter doesn't just have to help market your business to consumers. In fact, it might be even more beneficial to connect with suppliers, vendors and other people with whom you can form partnerships. Microblogging allows you to network with people of like mind and trade, fostering arrangements that can benefit you for the rest of your career. So rather than just looking for consumers as followers, look for people in similar businesses.

5- Finding Solutions

Ever have one of those head-scratching problems that you cannot figure out? Turn to Twitter! Your followers in microblogging can respond to your request for tips in a matter of seconds, giving you the benefit of an enormous boardroom full of brainstormers. Plus, the responses have to be succinct to fit into the space allotted, so you won't have to sort through verbose answers to your questions.

You can use Twitter and other microblogging platforms to market your business, but as with every form of social media, you have to stay on top of it. Updating at least once a day will ensure that you continue to earn followers and your Twitter account will never grow stale.

Source:

Brian Clark, Thesis WordPress Theme Discount (It Wouldn't Happen but for Black Friday), Copyblogger.com

Published by Steve Thompson

Steve is a full-time freelance writer. In addition to the more than 3,000 articles he's written for AC, he has also written articles and other materials for more than 100 happy clients. He enjoys writing abo...   View profile

21 Comments

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  • Don Simkovich 2/8/2009

    Alright, I'm going to get my Twitter account going now . . . I've stood on the sidelines for quite a while.

  • Luke Slomka 2/8/2009

    i am a new "twitterer" if thats the right word. i had not thought of using it in some of the ways outlined above and now its been bought to my attention i think it will be usful, thanks for the info

  • Chelle 2/7/2009

    I am newer to Twitter, great ideas!

  • John Mario 2/6/2009

    Good article. Thanks for the information.

  • Jennifer Wagner 2/6/2009

    I've never used Twitter. I may have to check into it. Thanks for the information.

  • Lori Crawford 2/6/2009

    Thanks for the tips. It just reminded me that I've been neglecting Twitter. I just added it to my Facebook profile so I can hit more folks at once. Great article!

  • Sarah Holmes 2/6/2009

    BTW, I usually wish people would let me know when my articles make the first page. So just a FYI this made the first page. I dont know if my articles ever do, but if they do I would want to know. :)

  • Sarah Holmes 2/6/2009

    This says 10 ways but I only saw 5?

  • Abasster 2/6/2009

    Good tips. Now I can start using Twitter better.

  • Carla Neeley Freitag 2/4/2009

    I went to Twitter once but didn't know what to do. Thanks to your marketing tips, I think I will try again.

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