Using Twitter for Business

When I first heard about Twitter–a tool for instantly broadcasting the stream-of-consciousness minutiae of your life to the world–I was pretty sure it was a cross between a complete waste of time and navel gazing on crack.Turns out I was right.

A quick peek at the most recent posts–called “tweets”–include information on what people are having for breakfast, laptop woes and depressed thoughts over last night’s home team loss. (Plus a bunch of foreign-language tweets that may range from the ridiculous to the sublime and back again.)

Twitter users–often called Tweeple (or worse) can update their status using 140 characters or less, the aforementioned “tweet.” If you join Twitter you can “follow” other tweeple, which causes their updates to appear on your home page. In turn, they can follow you as well, a form of permission-based marketing. You can also converse with them through Twitter, but always in 140 characters or less.It’s kind of like an IT haiku.

Within this expanding base of exhibitionist navel gazers are a growing number of people who are using Twitter for business. And I’m not just talking about aggressive Web marketers who tweet every blog post they make and create links to all their online activities.

Rather, there are professionals who are using Twitter as a communications tool. (Imagine that!) Here’s how you can use Twitter for business:

To find these interesting tweeple in the midst of all that noise, you can use the Twitter search box that will search matches in others’ profiles, but not on individual tweets. Here are a couple of 3rd party tools that allow for more advanced searches:

The more people who follow you on Twitter, the more influence and networking opportunities you have. Thus, it makes sense to try and build a following. Here are some ideas on getting others to follow you:

While the rules and guidelines of Twitter etiquette are still evolving, guidelines from other social media sites can used:

Professionals and consultants have had the most impact at Twitter; most businesses are still trying to figure out how to use Twitter as a communications tool. If you’re not a one-person shop, here are a few ideas to help get your creative juices flowing:

For more ideas, or just to engage me in conversation, I invite you to follow me at Twitter. I promise not to tell you what I had for lunch.Unless it’s really good.