By Monte Enbysk

Twitter is like a huge cocktail party happening around you, with all kinds of people chattering about all things business and personal. But at this party you can hear what everybody is saying — without having to race around to listen to all the conversations.

That’s how Joel Comm, author of the best-selling, “Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time,” describes the latest rage in social-media tools.

A big party sounds like fun, you say, but what good will it do for your business?

Get an audience for yourself, your business

Twitter is all about doing business, and it’s a free opportunity you shouldn’t pass up, Comm and many fellow entrepreneurs say. “Twitter is about building relationships and enhancing your brand,” says Comm, the CEO of a marketing technology startup in Loveland, Colo., and a leading expert on strategies for making money online.

One look at online shoes and clothing retailer Zappos — and the site it has created to aggregate all public “tweets” about it — and you can see how Twitter has transformed its business. Marketing Zappos on Twitter was the brainchild of CEO Tony Hsieh, who “tweets” himself (along with his employees) and has generated some 600,000 followers. “You can read [the tweets] and see the positive sentiment, as well as come across people that mention that they just placed their first order after following Tony,” says Aaron Magness, who oversees brand marketing and social media at Henderson, Nev.-based Zappos.

How about smaller businesses? Seattle freelance journalist Linda Thomas, known on Twitter as The News Chick, has amassed more than 3,000 followers in only five months of using the tool to share news tips, engage with readers, and generate freelance assignments. “Twitter has generated business for me,” Thomas says, noting that she’s now writing for a national editor who noticed her posts on Twitter. According to one recent tally, Thomas’s tweets were 4th-most “re-tweeted” (shared) in the country, ahead of The Wall Street Journal’s top writers and behind only journalists from The New York Times and USA Today.

Twitter is equal opportunity; the big companies with the most resources don’t always do the best. “I became an active user in January of this year, and now I’m approaching evangelist status as I try to convince all journalists to open accounts,” says Thomas, who does freelance radio work as well as blogs and writes for print publications.

8 ways to get Twitter working for you

Can Twitter work for you? Yes it can, if you use it wisely. Here are eight tips, courtesy of Comm, Magness, Thomas, and other sources for this article.

1. Create a user name that people will associate with you and your business.

   Comm’s user name is twitter.com/joelcomm. Flashy? Maybe not. Easy to remember? If you are familiar with Joel Comm, it is. Rather than using her own name, Thomas chose a handle that will not only stand out more, but that reflects her passion (news and journalism) and personality. She has since trademarked “The News Chick,” and also uses it for her SeattlePI.com blog where she dissects local media issues.

   Choosing a user name is similar to choosing a domain name for your Web site, Comm notes. “It should be an item you think about deeply.” If your business name is unique and easy to remember, use it. A random choice that is neither memorable nor easy to associate with your business is a missed opportunity, Comm says.

2. Likewise, create a background and profile that reflects your business or profession

   You want your Twitter page to stand out, but you also want it to bear some semblance to the industry you represent. Dunkin’ Donut’s page should obviously have a different look than Marvel Entertainment’s page; same with MTV versus Luxor Hotel Casino.

   Choose a theme and distinctive colors, and create a profile that identifies you and your company appropriately, but isn’t all business. Go ahead, mention that you like to ski or are active in your community or coach youth sports. Be brief, be positive, be human!

3. Use your tweets (140 characters maximum) to add value.

   This can be done in a number of ways, and there are no rules here. What Comm advises is:

   • Ask questions of your customers.
   • Provide answers.
   • Share your company and product news.
   • Use pithy quotes and sayings, which often bring replies and re-tweets.
   • Reply and re-tweet items yourself.
   • Provide links to interesting articles, pictures, cartoons, videos. Know that audio and video links can be even more powerful than text links.
   • Conduct contests, sweepstakes, and give-aways.
   • Promote your blog and/or Web site.
     • Compliment people.
     • Recommend “tweeps” (other Twitter users) you find interesting.
     • Market things either blatantly or subtlety — both can work with the right touch, Comm says, especially if you add humor.

   “Unless one finds value in your content, people won’t find you interesting — even if you are a celebrity,” says Mani Karthik in his DailySEOblog.com blog.

   But you shouldn’t be about business only, says Comm says, who urges users to, again, be human. “Just be careful what you tweet,” he adds, because negative or poorly thought-out comments could ruffle more than a few feathers.

   “Be real, honest, and yourself,” advises Zappos’ Magness. “Don’t hire a PR firm or an ad agency to be your voice. You need to be interested in others, as opposed to being too focused on being interesting to others.”

4. Engage with people.

   Unless you are a celebrity, you need to “follow” people for them to want to follow you. General etiquette is that you follow someone and he or she follows you back, though this is not a hard-and-fast rule.

   Twitter provides you with unprecedented access to experts, celebrities, and people you would not otherwise meet. If you don’t like the idea of “following” people (similar to but less intrusive than submitting a friend request in Facebook), then you’re probably not ideal for Twitter. The act of following someone is basic — you are looking for interesting people who you may learn something from and who may learn something from you.

   Building a following of folks likely to share your interests improves your chances of finding new prospects and enhancing your brand. And, on Twitter, there is more upside than risk in reaching out to people you don’t know, since the personal information you disclose is likely to be minimal.

   Similarly, replying to questions or comments, and re-tweeting posts that you find interesting will help you engage with people who could become prospects for your business. The opportunity you have to mingle with lots of different people online is hard to match today.

5. Use Twitter as your support desk.

   Countless examples have surfaced about how businesses have learned about and even resolved customer-service issues via searches on Twitter. Some companies now use Twitter proactively to solicit feedback — one example being Comcast and its ComcastCares page, where Frank Eliason puts a human face on the large cable company to answer questions, address problems, interact with customers, and promote Comcast offerings.

   Even a small business, Comm says, can use Twitter to get immediate feedback, offer assistance, promote goodwill among customers, and publicly display your customer-service successes. You just need to devote time to monitoring Twitter on a regular basis. “It’s doing customer service without the tickets,” he says.

6. Check out Twitter tools and mobile applications.

   It’s mind-boggling to see how many applications have been created to support Twitter. If you have to choose only one, pick one of the mobile applications, such as Twhirl, that lets you post and read tweets from your iPhone or cell phone.

   Here are some of the others that Comm highlights in his book:

   • URL shorteners: These come in handy for minimizing the length of URLs , thus giving you more space for your text. TinyURL, PonyURL, and Bit.ly are some examples.
   • TweetDeck: Let’s you see more tweets, as well as replies and direct messages, at once; it also features automatic updates.
   • TweetBeep: Get e-mail alerts on Twitter, such as when people have tweeted one of your search terms.
   • TwitPic: Send out links to pictures with your tweets.
   • TweetLater: Schedule tweets in advance, lets you track keywords on Twitter, and more.

7. Track your results — and use shortcuts to follow what is said about your company.

   Building the number of followers you have is one way to generate results on Twitter, but not the only way. Robert Jacobs, acting assistant administrator for NASA’s Office of Public Affairs, argues in a PC World article that the best measure of Twitter’s effectiveness is not the number of followers you have, but the degree to which your information is re-tweeted and shared across Twitter.

   Follow the “Updates” section, which is an easy way to see tweets mentioning your user name are listed. Also, use Twitter Search to track any mentions of your company, your industry, and your competitors. If you follow a lot of people and companies yourself, you aren’t going to be able to read every tweet. Don‘t even try!

   Also, track how your messages are received. Are people engaging with you? Are you finding new prospects? Are you enhancing your brand? You should be; if not, your messages may be the problem.

8. Know the 8 steps to Twitter failure, courtesy of Joel Comm.

   • Don’t follow anyone.
   • Become the Twitter promo king (that is, do too much self-promotion).
   • Don’t interact with others.
   • Talk about yourself incessantly.
   • Use your Twitter feed as an RSS feed.
   • Use an impersonal brand as a user name.
   • Don’t track anything.
   • Don’t tell your customers you’re on Twitter.

Embrace — and enjoy

“My two words of advice to journalists, entrepreneurs, small-business owners, and anyone else — embrace it,” Linda Thomas says of Twitter. “It’s a free and easy way to communicate with potential customers, clients, and colleagues. And it’s fun too.”

About the author Monte Enbysk is a senior editor at Microsoft Office Live, and writes about Web-related issues for small businesses. He previously was a columnist and managing editor of the Microsoft.com Small Business Center, and before that a writer and editor at MSN Money, Washington CEO magazine, and daily newspapers in Washington and Oregon. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/monteenbysk.

<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="/smallbusiness/wiki/articles/8-tips-for-using-Twitter-for-your-business.aspx#abouttheauthor">By Monte Enbysk</a></h5>
<p><a id="backtop"></a></p>
<p>Twitter is like a huge cocktail party happening around you, with all kinds of people chattering about all things business and personal. But at this party you can hear what everybody is saying — without having to race around to listen to all the conversations.</p>
<p>That’s how Joel Comm, author of the best-selling, “<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://twitterpower.com/">Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time</a>,” describes the latest rage in social-media tools.</p>
<p>A big party sounds like fun, you say, but what good will it do for your business? </p>
<h2>Get an audience for yourself, your business </h2>
<p>Twitter is all about doing business, and it’s a free opportunity you shouldn't pass up, Comm and many fellow entrepreneurs say. “Twitter is about building relationships and enhancing your brand,” says Comm, the CEO of a marketing technology startup in Loveland, Colo., and a leading expert on strategies for making money online. </p>

<p>One look at online shoes and clothing retailer Zappos — <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://twitter.zappos.com/">and the site it has created to aggregate all public “tweets” about it </a>— and you can see how Twitter has transformed its business. <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/zappos">Marketing Zappos on Twitter</a> was the brainchild of CEO Tony Hsieh, who “tweets” himself (along with his employees) and has generated some 600,000 followers. “You can read [the tweets] and see the positive sentiment, as well as come across people that mention that they just placed their first order after following Tony,” says Aaron Magness, who oversees brand marketing and social media at Henderson, Nev.-based Zappos. </p>
<p>How about smaller businesses? Seattle freelance journalist Linda Thomas, known on Twitter as <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/TheNewsChick">The News Chick,</a> has amassed more than 3,000 followers in only five months of using the tool to share news tips, engage with readers, and generate freelance assignments. “Twitter has generated business for me,” Thomas says, noting that she’s now writing for a national editor who noticed her posts on Twitter. <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://almightylink.ksablan.com/2009/04/journalists-retweeted-more-than-top-newspaper-sites/">According to one recent tally</a>, Thomas’s tweets were 4th-most “re-tweeted” (shared) in the country, ahead of The Wall Street Journal’s top writers and behind only journalists from The New York Times and USA Today. </p>
<p>Twitter is equal opportunity; the big companies with the most resources don’t always do the best. “I became an active user in January of this year, and now I’m approaching evangelist status as I try to convince all journalists to open accounts,” says <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://lindathomas.com/">Thomas</a>, who does freelance radio work as well as blogs and writes for print publications. </p>

<h2>8 ways to get Twitter working for you</h2>
<p>Can Twitter work for you? Yes it can, if you use it wisely. Here are eight tips, courtesy of Comm, Magness, Thomas, and other sources for this article. </p>
<ol>
<li>
<h3>Create a user name that people will associate with you and your business.</h3>
<p>Comm’s user name is <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/joelcomm">twitter.com/joelcomm</a>. Flashy? Maybe not. Easy to remember? If you are familiar with Joel Comm, it is. Rather than using her own name, Thomas chose a handle that will not only stand out more, but that reflects her passion (news and journalism) and personality. She has since trademarked “The News Chick,” and also uses it for <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/thenewschick/">her SeattlePI.com blog </a>where she dissects local media issues. </p>
<p>Choosing a user name is similar to choosing a domain name for your Web site, Comm notes. “It should be an item you think about deeply.” If your business name is unique and easy to remember, use it. A random choice that is neither memorable nor easy to associate with your business is a missed opportunity, Comm says. </p>
</li>

<li>
<h3>Likewise, create a background and profile that reflects your business or profession</h3>
<p>You want your Twitter page to stand out, but you also want it to bear some semblance to the industry you represent. <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/DunkinDonuts">Dunkin’ Donut’s page </a>should obviously have a different look than <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/marvel">Marvel Entertainment’s page</a>; same with <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/mtv">MTV </a>versus <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/luxorlv">Luxor Hotel Casino</a>. </p>
<p>Choose a theme and distinctive colors, and create a profile that identifies you and your company appropriately, but isn’t all business. Go ahead, mention that you like to ski or are active in your community or coach youth sports. Be brief, be positive, be human! </p>
</li>
<li>

<h3>Use your tweets (140 characters maximum) to add value. </h3>
<p>This can be done in a number of ways, and there are no rules here. What Comm advises is: </p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Ask questions of your customers.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Provide answers.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Share your company and product news.</p>
</li>

<li>
<p>Use pithy quotes and sayings, which often bring replies and re-tweets.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Reply and re-tweet items yourself.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Provide links to interesting articles, pictures, cartoons, videos. Know that audio and video links can be even more powerful than text links. </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Conduct contests, sweepstakes, and give-aways.</p>
</li>
<li>

<p>Promote your blog and/or Web site. </p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Compliment people. </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Recommend “tweeps” (other Twitter users) you find interesting.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Market things either blatantly or subtlety — both can work with the right touch, Comm says, especially if you add humor.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>

</ul>
<p>"Unless one finds value in your content, people won’t find you interesting — even if you are a celebrity,” says Mani Karthik in his <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://www.dailyseoblog.com/">DailySEOblog.com</a> blog. </p>
<p>But you shouldn’t be about business only, says Comm says, who urges users to, again, be human. “Just be careful what you tweet,” he adds, because negative or poorly thought-out comments could ruffle more than a few feathers. </p>
<p>“Be real, honest, and yourself,” advises Zappos’ Magness. “Don’t hire a PR firm or an ad agency to be your voice. You need to be interested in others, as opposed to being too focused on being interesting to others.” </p>
</li>
<li>
<h3>Engage with people. </h3>
<p>Unless you are a celebrity, you need to “follow” people for them to want to follow you. General etiquette is that you follow someone and he or she follows you back, though this is not a hard-and-fast rule.</p>
<p>Twitter provides you with unprecedented access to experts, celebrities, and people you would not otherwise meet. If you don’t like the idea of “following” people (similar to but less intrusive than submitting a friend request in Facebook), then you’re probably not ideal for Twitter. The act of following someone is basic — you are looking for interesting people who you may learn something from and who may learn something from you. </p>

<p>Building a following of folks likely to share your interests improves your chances of finding new prospects and enhancing your brand. And, on Twitter, there is more upside than risk in reaching out to people you don’t know, since the personal information you disclose is likely to be minimal. </p>
<p>Similarly, replying to questions or comments, and re-tweeting posts that you find interesting will help you engage with people who could become prospects for your business. The opportunity you have to mingle with lots of different people online is hard to match today. </p>
</li>
<li>
<h3>Use Twitter as your support desk. </h3>
<p>Countless examples have surfaced about how businesses have learned about and even resolved customer-service issues via searches on Twitter. Some companies now use Twitter proactively to solicit feedback — one example being&nbsp;<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/comcastcares">Comcast</a>&nbsp;and its ComcastCares page, where Frank Eliason puts a human face on the large cable company to answer questions, address problems, interact with customers, and promote Comcast offerings. </p>
<p>Even a small business, Comm says, can use Twitter to get immediate feedback, offer assistance, promote goodwill among customers, and publicly display your customer-service successes. You just need to devote time to monitoring Twitter on a regular basis. “It’s doing customer service without the tickets,” he says. </p>
</li>
<li>
<h3>Check out Twitter tools and mobile applications. </h3>

<p>It’s mind-boggling to see how many applications have been created to support Twitter. If you have to choose only one, pick one of the <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://www.squidoo.com/twitter-mobile-apps">mobile applications</a>, such as Twhirl, that lets you post and read tweets from your iPhone or cell phone. </p>
<p>Here are some of the others that Comm highlights in his book:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>URL shorteners: These come in handy for minimizing the length of URLs , thus giving you more space for your text. <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://tinyurl.com/">TinyURL</a>, <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://ponyurl.com/">PonyURL</a>, and <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/">Bit.ly</a> are some examples.</p>

</li>
<li>
<p><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://www.tweetdeck.com/beta/">TweetDeck</a>: Let’s you see more tweets, as well as replies and direct messages, at once; it also features automatic updates.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://tweetbeep.com/">TweetBeep</a>: Get e-mail alerts on Twitter, such as when people have tweeted one of your search terms. </p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://twitpic.com/">TwitPic</a>: Send out links to pictures with your tweets.</p>
</li>
<li>

<p><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://www.tweetlater.com/">TweetLater</a>: Schedule tweets in advance, lets you track keywords on Twitter, and more.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<h3>Track your results — and use shortcuts to follow what is said about your company.</h3>
<p>Building the number of followers you have is one way to generate results on Twitter, but not the only way. Robert Jacobs, acting assistant administrator for NASA’s Office of Public Affairs, argues in a <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/162943/10_twitter_tips_for_the_workplace">PC World article</a>&nbsp;that the best measure of Twitter’s effectiveness is not the number of followers you have, but the degree to which your information is re-tweeted and shared across Twitter. </p>
<p>Follow the “Updates” section, which is an easy way to see tweets mentioning your user name are listed. Also, use Twitter Search to track any mentions of your company, your industry, and your competitors. If you follow a lot of people and companies yourself, you aren’t going to be able to read every tweet. Don‘t even try!</p>
<p>Also, track how your messages are received. Are people engaging with you? Are you finding new prospects? Are you enhancing your brand? You should be; if not, your messages may be the problem. </p>

</li>
<li>
<h3>Know the 8 steps to Twitter failure, courtesy of Joel Comm.</h3>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Don’t follow anyone.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Become the Twitter promo king (that is, do too much self-promotion).</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Don’t interact with others.</p>
</li>

<li>
<p>Talk about yourself incessantly.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Use your Twitter feed as an RSS feed.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Use an impersonal brand as a user name.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Don’t track anything.</p>
</li>
<li>

<p>Don’t tell your customers you’re on Twitter.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
<h2>Embrace — and enjoy </h2>
<p>“My two words of advice to journalists, entrepreneurs, small-business owners, and anyone else — embrace it,” Linda Thomas says of Twitter. “It’s a free and easy way to communicate with potential customers, clients, and colleagues. And it’s fun too.” </p>

Let’s take a look at some of the measuring and tracking tools at your disposal:

1)http://BackTweets.com : A search engine for Twitter. See who’s tweeting your links and more. Can also sign up for email alerts of new findings.

2) http://Addictomatic.com : A little different than the others , you type in a keyword, topic or phrase and out it goes searching the top blogs, news sites, Google, Technorati, Ask, YouTube, Flickr, Digg, Topix and more. You’ll be given a personalized results page to bookmark with everything it finds related to your topic.

3) http://Buzzoo.net : All about Internet buzz, it tracks several different websites to bring you what’s “hot” right now.

4) http://Surchur.com : Search for the latest and greatest on topics that are popular right now. Type in a keyphrase and it searches blogs, social news sites, photo and video sites for your chosen topic.

5) http://Commentful.Blogflux.com : This service watches for comments on blog posts, Digg, Flickr, and others and notifies you of any findings.

6) http://AlertRank.com : A better way to organize and sort Google alerts. Get a daily report emailed to you in a spreadsheet format of what it finds.

7) http://BoardTracker.com : A search engine for forums only. Monitor discussion boards and be notified by email when a thread matching your search terms is discovered. Free to use.

http://www.google.com/alerts : I’ve been using this “secret weapon” for years. Simply type in your name or company name and receive daily emails of results found. They do the work, you receive the links. Free and nice.

9) http://BrandsEye.com : An online reputation management tool with a real-time, concise overview of your online reputation. Multiple levels of services and pricing available. Starting at $1.00.

10) http://Twazzup.com : Another Twitter only search engine.

11) http://SiteMention.com : Type in your url and find out what’s being said about you. The results returned are gathered from Google Blog Search, Twitter, FriendFeed, YouTube, MySpace, Digg, Delicious and many more.

12) http://Brandwatch.net: This service tracks your brands, companies, even the ompetition. Sign up for free weekly updates on any brand. Their detailed reports break down what sites like you, your most talked about features, weekly summary of all blogs and forum activity. Very similar to the old “press clipping” service.

13) http://Trackur.com : A tool that scans many websites including blogs, news, image and video sites, forums and notifies you of any mention of your brand, products/services. Easy to use and affordable. Prices vary depending on need, a personal account is only $18.00 a month, corporate account $88.00 a month with other options also available. Try a “personal” account free for 14 days.

14) http://FiltrBox.com : This one searches online news sources, Twitter and others to find out what’s being said about you or your company. Pricing is based on the number of users, but there is a free version that provides “5 filters” and 15 days of what they call “article history”.

15) http://SocialMention.com/alerts : Just like Google Alerts but for social media. Enter your keyword phrase and email address to be notified of any new findings. Searches blogs, microblogs like Twitter, bookmarks, comments, events, images, news, videos and more.

16) http://BlogPulse.com : A search engine that searches only for data posted to blogs. Enter your keyword, hit submit and off it goes to gather results.

17) http://BackType.com : Billing itself as a “conversational search engine” they index millions of conversations from social networks, blogs and other social media.

18) http://sm2.techrigy.com : Industry insiders claim this to be the leading social media monitoring solution online. Choice of free or paid version. Free is limited to five searches and 1,000 results. There are three paid professional levels: Gold, Diamond, or Platinum.

19) http://ReputationDefender.com : This paid service finds out everything there is to know about you online, and if negative information is found they try to have it removed. Different types of plans are available such as “My Reputation”, “My Privacy”, starting at only $14.95 a month.

20) http://Topsy.com : Topsy will track your tweets that have been retweeted so you can find out who’s been sending you all that “link love”. Type in your Twitter user name and you’ll be amazed at what you find.

If you’d like to track incoming traffic from your various social media profiles, an easy way to do it using Google Analytics can be found here http://Tinyurl.com/kuc9rL

Just as there are many ways to market your company using social media, as you can see, there’s a multitude of tools and services at your disposal to track and see if all of that hard work is paying off. Smart companies realize the importance of social media in their marketing efforts and are utilizing it on some level. How smart are you?