Twitter is one of my favorite social networking sites. I have met a lot of great people while simultaneously increasing my brand recognition. For those who still aren’t convinced that Twitter is a site they should incorporate into their marketing campaign, take a look at these figures:



I am not advocating that networking on Twitter is going to make you rich (stay far away from anyone saying it will), but in the event that someone needs a product or service, they will be more inclined to do business with companies that took the time to develop a relationship with them. Those who are against social networking typically feel this way because they believe it is too time consuming. Although I will never understand how connecting with people is a “timewaster”, those who feel it is are probably not using the right tools. Check out the following tools:

Track your brand

Bit.ly: By far this is one of my favorite applications. Not only can you post your information, but this site enables you to see the number of clicks, locate where the link was clicked (i.e. Twitter, Outlook, etc.) and country location. It is amazing to be able to quantify your results.

Hootsuite: This application is perfect for companies that manage multiple Twitter accounts. It has the capacity to track your tweets (I still prefer Bit.ly), but is different because it allows you the opportunity to see what is happening on Twitter. You also have the ability to converse with people on Twitter, but you can also create groups, future date tweets, add RSS Feeds, etc.—all things that are not currently available on Bit.ly. You can also be alerted by email when a future tweet is sent (this will remind you to check for @replies to your tweet—there is nothing worse than sending information and not being there when someone has a question). In addition, if you have a Ping.fm account (this is another great application that simultaneously updates numerous social networking sites) you can update your networks via Hootsuite.

Socialoomph: Much like Hootsuite, Socialoomph is also an all in one application and allows you to use Bit.ly to shorten your URLs. One of my favorite features is the ability to have your @replies sent to your email. If you want your replies sent by the hour, check out Tweetbeep.

Tweetdeck: This is a desktop application that enables you to never miss a tweet! It functions much like Hootsuite and Socialoomph and allows you the option to shorten your URLs with Bit.ly. However, you are only able to simultaneously post to Facebook and MySpace.

Check out Twitter Profiles

Twitter Search: For those who don’t want to venture outside of Twitter... Click here to read the rest of this post at the TargetStars Blog.




The TargetStars Blog is authored by VAF member LaTosha of TargetStars.


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