How Twitter Is Used as Marketing Tool for Business – Small Business Twitter Use

Twitter has emerged as a powerful branding tool & an advertising tool for businesses. Large corporations, like Dell, Starbucks, Motrin & Sprint, have regularly been using Twitter to engage customers. Political leaders of US have used Twitter in political campaigns successful in the 2008 US Presidential elections.

In fact, there is a Twitter Political Widget that shows Capitol updates on Twitter. Called Capitol Tweets, it shows the latest tweets from members of Congress who use Twitter. The Sunlight Foundation’s Capitol Tweets widget updates you every 10 minutes with the latest tweets from members of Congress.

A recent post on how Twitter is used for Business refers a market study that shows Twitter is used as a business-to-business marketing platform, alongside its emerging utility for consumer marketing. The article highlights the social media consultant Rodney Rumford’s views on Twitter being used for business.

1. small businesses are using Twitter to advertise
2. marketers use Twitter for reaching out to customers with promotional messages
3. get feedback on ad campaigns
4. track consumer behavior & customer sentiments by following Twitter conversations
5. promote press releases

Twitter has been used for advertising for Small Business. But if done the wrong way, wrong Twitter use could hurt your brand & your business as well. Here are some innovative thoughts how using Twitter to help grow your business & build your brand.

• invite your email contacts to start using Twitter, then add them as followers. This grows your Twitter followers immediately. It is just not important to have followers – it is only important to have the right followers
• request your friends to Re-Tweet your posts in their networks causing a viral effect. You can also request your followers to get more followers. You can also get into arrangements with other Twitter users to help promote yourselves mutually
• run a social campaign on Twitter to create a buzz. Social campaigns get a lot of attention & you will also be associating yourself with a good cause
• start using your Twitter URL in your email signature & business cards
• join conversations related to your business. You can use Twitter Search to find out similar businesses
• put a business logo on your Twitter profile
• help promote your Twitter followers by using a Twitter widget. Widgetbox has a free Twitter widget for your website & blogs for download

You could follow Pro Media Blog on Twitter for more interesting updates on setting up & running a profitable online business.