Twitter. You know what it is right? You’re familiar with tweeting? I hope so…..if you’re not then you must be an advanced 4 year old who can navigate the internet but not type. If you are not on Twitter, you need to go and sign up for an account now.
Anyway, now that that is out of the way, you need to realize how powerful of a tool Twitter really is. With the chance to micro-blog, Twitter gives you the ability to quickly connect with your customers, interact with them, and seek out advice or comments. Not to mention all the networking that can come from it, the business relationships that you can build, and the fun you can have.
Twitter Is Instant Market Research
No matter what your product or service is, you can find someone out of 4+ million plus registered users on Twitter that would use it or have an opinion on it. Inviting people to try out your website and provide feedback is a great way to get first hand knowledge about your site. Sending free samples of your products to people you meet on Twitter is a great way to build buzz about your business as well as develop future customers. Ask a question on Twitter and you’ll get an answer. Find people with similar interests and use them as a research base. Whether you’re looking for someone to give feedback on your website, try a product, or just take a poll, Twitter is the perfect atmosphere to do it in and get the instant responses you need. This one alone could save you and your business hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Twitter Knows No Boundaries
One of the best things about Twitter is that it is on all the time, all day long everyday. So, no matter what you are doing or what time it is, Twitter is available and so are your friends/followers. There are so many applications that let you tweet from your phone, that you can always just be a couple clicks away from getting a response. In many cases, I have asked questions on Twitter via my Blackberry or before going to sleep and by the time I get to chance my responses a few hours later or the next morning, there are answers to what I was asking about. The chance to get such a variety of opinions and responses is something that every business person and entrepreneur needs to be utilizing.
Twitter Offers Business Opportunities
Twitteriffic, Splitweet, TwitAds, TwitterBerry, TweetDeck, TwitTip, the list continues. All these sites and services were developed off of Twitter. The opportunities that Twitter has opened up for entrepreneurs is incredibly vast and what is already out there is just the tip of the iceberg.
Social Media is the New Jesus
As students and entrepreneurs, I am sure that you are all on Facebook. By the way, connect with me via the Dorm Room Biz fan page. Anyway, you are also familiar with using social media sites besides Facebook like MySpace, YouTube, Digg, and more. So why are you not utilizing Twitter in the same manner? Whether you are using social media websites to connect with old friends, find clients, grow your business, or just have some fun, you need to add Twitter to the mix.
The Big Guys Are Using It
If for no other reason, you should be on Twitter because many of the major corporations in the world are using the service. Your location and industry does not matter. Everyone from Fox News, CNN, The New York Times, Zappos, Amazon, Northrop Grumman, Comcast, and so many more. Plus, it does not stop at just companies, many of the largest celebrities in the world are on Twitter including Barak Obama, Shaq, MC Hammer, Brittney Spears, and many more. Following some of these people and reading their tweets are interesting and fun.
Now, explain to me why you’re not on Twitter? If you ARE on Twitter, leave a link to your profile within the comments so everyone can follow each other.
You can follow me at @ChrisPund. If you’re interested in outdoor news, gear reviews, and my other website, TheGearHouse, then you can also follow me there @TheGearHouse.
Twitter is a great social networking and marketing application for entrepreneures for both small and large businesses. BUT it’s important to not just rely on ONE product – use Twitter, it’s many 3rd party applications that can help leverage the power of Twitter to another level, and various other online tools such as Blogs, Wikis, traffic analytics, URL shorteners, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Connect, and various other products — tie them all together, and you have yourself a very nice semi-viral and self-supporting network that feeds off each of the products.
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