What’s up tweeples? Anyone who wants to follow me, please do so, and send me a quick tweet on Twitter.

If that makes absolutely no sense to you, then read on, because you need to get involved and grasp the power of  one of the hottest (if not THE hottest!) marketing tools available on the Internet right now!  That tool is known as Twitter.

Twitter is a website that allows you to keep in contact with people in an ultra-compact way known as micro-blogging.  The term fits Twitter perfectly as each post made from a user is limited to a maximum of only 140 characters. Now, when you first get a glimpse of the size of a 140 character message, the first thing that comes to mind is probably something like “what could I possibly say of any value that would fit into that amount of space?”.  However, once you start particpating and get the hang of things, you’ll quickly be amazed at how informational a “tweet” can be.

A “tweet” is the user’s term that replaces what you would typicall refer to as a “post”, or a “message”. In fact, many Twitter users also refer to themselves and others as tweeples.

The Basics Of Twitter

Twitter is a social platform that allows users to share their tweets with each other in real time similar to a chat program. There are millions of people currently signed up with profiles on Twitter and the messages range from every end of the spectrum from life’s little chit chats, to marketing tips and business deals.

When you create a profile on twitter, you get to choose a unique user name, and your page has a bio section that also allows you to upload a photo, create a short bio, and link to a url of your choosing.

This same profile page has a link that reads “follow”.  This is where the magic happens. When you’re using Twitter, you only see updates (tweets) from people that you choose to “follow”.

As your list of followers grow, so does your network capabilities as you can reach all those people who have chosen to follow you, instantly. The power lies in your network. As you begin to capture the interest of your followers,  you have the potential to reach their network of followers as well…and so on…and so on.

Twitter is free, it’s fun, it’s great for business networking. The only possible bad side is that it takes discipline to not get addicted and spend too much time on it when you should be working on other things, so maybe you better stick to a rigid schedule with your “tweet blogging”!

Although you may have heard strong opinions on how to use Twitter properly, there really is no right way. There are people who use Twitter purely for the social aspect and chat about their day, their relationship, gossip, etc. There are other people who use it strictly for business and branding.

You are free to use Twitter for whatever purpose you choose. However, if you are marketing your website, products, and/or services, then there are things you’ll want to avoid if you plan on your efforts being effective.

• Self-Promo Overload
  It’s important to remember that Twitter is ultimately a social platform, not a sales platform. Although there’s no harm in dropping a promotional tweet here and there, you’ll need to mix it into regular tweets that offer something a little more than only your latest sale. Share articles you read and other interesting stuff you find online, but don’t simply push your own promo, or else you’ll lose credibility quick.
  
• What Are You Doing? (No! not literally!)
  The Twitter home page famously reads “What Are You Doing?” just above the field where you type in your 140 character tweet update. However, that doesn’t mean that you add an update every 5 minutes with messages like “I’m peeling potatoes”, “starting the car”, or “havin’ a smoke”.  Of course, it’s fine to send a few really personal or even mundane tweets throughout the day, but don’t lose sight of Twitter’s primary function which is to socialize, network and connect. You need to be somewhat engaging.
  
• Don’t Be Auto-Social
  There are extra tools that you can use now to automate some of your Twitter tasks. While some people swear by them, many Twitter users despise them. It takes away from the very essence of connecting and networking when you have everything automated.  Many feel like it’s a bit spammy as well when you choose to follow someone and receive a DM (direct message) from them seconds later with  link promoting their website.  If you are sending out automated messages, why not just a “hi” and a “thank you for following me”?
  Whether or not to use automation is up to you, but maybe wait until you get a taste of it yourself  and also get a feel of how other people are talking about it on twitter before making a decision.

If you haven’t actually used Twitter and only heard about the basics of  it being a micro-blogging method that allows you to spurt small messages with a maximum of 140 characters, you may roll your eyes with a response along the lines of “what’s the point?”.  However, it’s exremely common for that mindset to quickly turn around once a person actually utilizes Twitter to it’s fullest capabilites.

The number one reason that Twitter is a great tool for marketers is that it separates itself from all the other techniques, making it’s only function to be a ultra fast connection to create and build relationships.

The real-time interaction is simply unbeatable and the although it initially sounds like it would be a waste of time to some, the 140 character message limit actually seems to be a major benefit. Maybe that’s because with only 140 characters, you are forced to choose every word very carefully to ensure that the message is effective?

Another reason that twitter works well for marketers is that you have a network base of readers who chose to follow you and read your messages because they are interested in what you have to say.  There are those who abuse the system ad follow mass amounts of people in bulk just with the hopes that those people will feel obligated to follow them back, but for the most part, people follow you out of interest or recommendation from another user they respect.

Ultimately, Twitter has several reasons that it works well for marketers and it’s increasingly becoming the must-use networking tool for Internet marketers.

If you haven’t already, try create a Twitter profile today and start tweeting your way to new followers, customers, joint ventures, and just plain addictive fun!