Tweeting Helps Businesses Take Off
March 2nd, 2010

It's become part of our language over the past year. In 2010, it's practically the norm to use it. Meanwhile, there are still people who are still not quite sure exactly what “Twitter” is. With so many people across the world “tweeting” on their computers and cell phones, it's a wonder that anyone actually speaks in person anymore.

Best selling author of Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged, Michael Stelzner doesn't think that this is necessarily a bad thing though. Not if you are a business owner, that is.

Today, Twitter is being rampantly used by entrepreneurs everywhere to advertise their businesses with just a few short key strokes. Stelzner admits that, at first, he didn't quite understand the instant messaging service and why it was so popular. But soon enough, he became amazed at how much access we was able to receive to high profile individuals who could help his business.

In his article “How To Use Twitter To Grow Your Business” from CopyBlogger.com, Stelzner reveals how business professionals use Twitter to increase the success of their companies. Referring to Twitter.com as “micro-blogging platform”, Stelzner acknowledges that it is one of the most popular and fastest rising communication tools in the world today.

He writes that between 5 and 10 thousand new people join Twitter everyday. It is believed that there are up to 5 million users of the free service at present. Using Twitter is quite a simple process. It allows you to post updates, or “tweets”, which are up to 140 characters long, as often as you wish.

When you are “followed” by someone, he or she may read your tweets just as you may read those written by people that you follow. As Stelzner puts it, “it’s a constant stream of communication.”

Zappos.com CEO, Tony Hsieh has found that Twitter has become an incredibly cost-effective and simple method of growing his client base. Says Hsieh: “We’ve found that Twitter has been a great way for us to connect on a more personal level with our employees and customers. We use it to help build our brand, not drive direct sales...In the long term, Twitter helps drive repeat customers and word of mouth, but we’re not looking to it as a way of driving immediate sales.”

Evidently, Twitter is a great way to see what customers are saying about your products and services. It allows for instant communication which, of course, can translate into increased sales. One of its greatest benefits is the fact that when a website address is typed out as a “tweet”, it serves as a direct link to that website. Entrepreneurs find this to be an excellent way to direct traffic to specific promotions, deals and giveaways online.

Other business owners prefer to “follow” than “tweet”, finding the practice a rewarding way of developing new business relationships. As Stelzner explains, “Cindy King, an international sales specialist, saw a huge boost in business inquires by implementing a strategic Twitter plan.”

Said King: “Following the right people on Twitter was key. There are some people very gifted at building relationships on Twitter. As I followed these online community builders, I realized that some of them are also excellent direct response copywriters. They get their Twitter followers to take action.”

Logging on to Twitter literally takes seconds. It is free to use and is clearly very effective as it is only growing in popularity. Business owners who take advantage of this service are sure to keep up with the rest of the pack in today's marketplace. Keeping pace, of course, is the best way to set yourself up for taking over the lead in your industry. So get tweeting!