| Twitter is an unprecedented force in business, in | | | | TweetDeck is a standard tool for power Twitter |
| marketing, in popular culture. | | | | users. It allows you to pay attention to selected users... |
| Oprah has a Twitter account. | | | | and selected types of messages. It's like putting |
| John McCain has a Twitter account. | | | | blinders on, and only focusing on the targets right in |
| Twitter is a micro-blogging service that enables you to | | | | front of you. Twitter Marketing Tools of Choice: |
| send and read updates, known as tweets. | | | | Monitter: Monitter is a browser-based tool that let's you |
| It is a communication tool built on answering the simple | | | | see real-time messages containing whatever |
| question: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" | | | | keywords you're interested in. While it won't show |
| Twitter's simplicity has been a key to its success. You | | | | historical tweets, it will show recent and future tweets |
| can contribute to your Twitter status from the Twitter | | | | for that keyword. You can then jump into |
| web site, or from one of thousands of 3rd-party | | | | conversations with people who are talking about your |
| web-based tools. You can contribute from your cell | | | | key subjects . Thus building relationships. Twitter |
| phone or PDA. | | | | Marketing Tools of Choice: TweetBeep: TweetBeep, |
| Twitter's use for business has grown. And 3rd-party | | | | like Monitter, will also track the occurrence of particular |
| tools to facilitate business functions have exploded. But | | | | keywords. But it adds the additional convenience of |
| which tools do you use? | | | | emailing you those tweets, or conversations, with your |
| To successfully answer that question, let's ask the | | | | keyword. This makes things even more automated for |
| Twitter question: "What are you doing?" | | | | you. You don't even have to visit Twitter, until you get |
| Or, more directly, "What are you trying to do?" | | | | a TweetBeep about someone discussing your topic! |
| | | | Honorable mention: will do what these other tools do, |
| 1. Generate leads: Automatically scheduling your | | | | but in a bit more of a simple fashion. However, the |
| content ahead of time allows you to have a constant | | | | advanced search feature in lets you do some crazy |
| participation in the conversations going on on Twitter, | | | | cool things. Like look for tweeters in a particular |
| without having to check in every day. It ensures that | | | | geographical area! So if you want local leads - here's |
| your followers continuously hear from you, and can | | | | an option for you. |
| even follow your links to your content pages, without | | | | 3. Re-using your existing blog content in Twitter: If you |
| your constant presence. This automation is critical for | | | | already have content online, you want to expose the |
| business success on Twitter. How does this generate | | | | new audiences on Twitter to it. Feeding your blog into |
| lead for you? Well, you can intersperse tweets about | | | | your Tweet stream is easy with TwitterFeed. Twitter |
| a valuable giveaway on your site. A video, an eBook, | | | | Marketing Tools of Choice:TwitterFeed. Twitterfeed |
| some electronic information product. The link in your | | | | will syndicate the blog content that you've worked so |
| tweet should point to a lead capture page, where | | | | hard to create, and disseminate it across Twitter. |
| individuals in need of what you're offering will | | | | Bringing back traffic to your site. |
| exchange their contact information for what you're | | | | 4. Find business partners Twitter Marketing Tools of |
| offering. Voila! You have a lead generating engine! The | | | | Choice:Twellow, Twellow and use different algorithms |
| larger and more targeted your audience of followers, | | | | to show you the top Tweeters for any given |
| the more fruitful this can be as a lead engine. Twitter | | | | keyword. You can then follow those individuals, and |
| Marketing Tools of Choice: TweetLater and | | | | strike up conversations with them. Even better, you |
| Twittertise are the two best tools to use for this | | | | can find out what they're tweeting about, and seek to |
| functionality. I think TweetLater is the better of the two. | | | | add value. If you can position yourself as a valuable |
| It is richer and easier to use., If you combine the ability | | | | resource to them FIRST, you will be able to create a |
| to schedule tweets, with the ability to track the clicks | | | | mutually beneficial business relationship. |
| on the URLs in those tweets (see URL-shortening | | | | 5. Tracking your outbound links: Twitter Marketing |
| services below), you're really cooking on the Twitter | | | | Tools of Choice: bit.ly is a URL-shortening tool. |
| Marketing front. | | | | Because you're limited to 140- characters in each |
| 2. Have conversations with people specifically | | | | tweet, long URLs are not practical. While there are |
| discussing a need I can meet: As you get more and | | | | many URL-shortening tools out there, being one of the |
| more followers, it simply becomes impossible to follow | | | | most popular, bit.ly will keep track of how many clicks |
| all the conversations. Rather than trying to keep track | | | | you've received for each bit.ly-shortened link. Thus |
| of thousands of conversations, or shutting all the | | | | giving you some marketing metrics upon which you |
| conversations out all-together, you can use the | | | | can act. Tweetburner is popular in this respect, as well. |
| following tools to filter out the noise! Envision it as | | | | So there you have it. |
| dipping a cup into the stream, for a drink... rather than | | | | With this particular set of Twitter tools, you can start |
| dunking your head into the river, and trying to drink. | | | | being an EFFECTIVE Twitter Marketing Guru TODAY. |
| Twitter Marketing Tools of Choice:TweetDeck: | | | | All these tools are 100% free. |