The Basics of Twitter — A New Marketing Tool

Learning the basics of Twitter is critical to any business that wants to tap the power of online social media. In just a very short time, businesses large and small are finding ways to integrate Twitter into their marketing efforts. And when they do, they are finding that they can sell more products and services in ways they never imagined. From building brand awareness to raising funds for non-profits, Twitter has proven to be significant in meeting marketing objectives. That’s what makes learning the basics of Twitter so important.

Twitter Basics

The basics of Twitter begin with its purpose — to post short messages (“tweets” as they are called) of 140 characters or less for anyone and everyone to read. Sounds simple enough. And to most people it probably doesn’t sound particularly useful. But in a very short time, Twitter has become a tool that quickly spreads information around the corner or around the world in an instant, all the while building communities of individuals who share a common interest. As a result, Twitter is able to connect people with one another at deeper, more meaningful levels. This is why Twitter has quickly risen to the top of the heap in online social marketing.

Among the more basic usages of Twitter is to distribute short bursts of information about your business. It could be a brief blurb about a new product, or a link to a longer announcement about a special offer just for Twitter users who follow your company’s tweets. Some have used Twitter to conduct an online contest. There are many possibilities, thanks to Twitter’s tremendous flexibility and seemingly endless supply of people who like following tweets.

It’s all about relevance!

Perhaps the most important thing to remember when applying the basics of Twitter is relevance. Your Twitter program needs to be relevant to followers of your tweets; these are your customers or potential customers. Remember that they don’t want to be sold something. They want to engage in a conversation. This is critical. If you try too hard to do nothing but sell with your tweets you can quickly turn people off and they will stop following your Twitter posts. But if you plan carefully and use Twitter as a communications channel for connecting with customers and giving them the opportunity to be part of the discussion, you will go a long way to winning them over and eventually winning at the cash register.