Twitter for Business - Resources specifically on Twitter to help a business owner learn, optimize and advertise.

Collection of 137 Small Business Twitter Tips (PDF)  Instant download.  There are many more since this report came out.  We are now into thousands of apps.  Remember, life is a buffet and don't try to pig out by eating everything you see.  Need help?  Here I am.....

Twitter Tips Cheat Sheet (PDF) No email or opt-in required.  This is a basic list and will keep you busy for hours.  Twitter is not about MORE TIME, it is about doing it with brevity and LESS TIME.   Most of the struggle is in the mind since the logic is still so new.  Enjoy.  .

Twitter for Business Guide  by John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing.

State of Twittersphere by Hubspot  An update on 01/10/10 for the status of Twitter.  Twitter is evolving and how to best use twitter for business needs to be reviewed.  Watch the video presentation: State of the Twittersphere, How businesses are using Twitter.

Social Media Guidelines & Micro-Blogging from the CDC.   This document has been designed to assist and provide information to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees and contractors on the process for creating microblogging profiles, requirements for planning and design, and best practices for participating and engaging on Twitter, the micro-blogging site in which CDC currently participates.  If they can do it?  So can you.

65 Ways to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business from Tonya R. Taylor.  You can follow @RisingStarIdeas for daily free tools, tips and resources to grow your business.

Twitter FAQ 

Who should you follow on Twitter?

Who are you?   What is your goal?  Are you listening, learning, sharing, marketing, networking, or a public service?  Do you offer value or you a sponge absorbing new ideas and the latest news (gossip).  Who you follow will depend entirely on YOU.  Hopefully you will focus on the quality of what you offer.  There is no right or wrong for how to do Twitter but if you expect to maximize the tool, it is best to understand yourself and your purpose.  Twitter is just another way of connecting after all... just like a phone connects people.

Here is a list of great people & companies you can follow on Twitter.

Who will follow you on Twitter?

Everyone and anyone.  Since everyone has an agenda, its tough to say.  Sales people, life learners, news hounds, gossipers, MLM'rs, consultants, writers, and benevolent generous givers.  There are automatic systems in place where you will be followed automatically because of your geography, keywords, and profile.  There are even programs that will auto follow you if you were followed by someone's competitor.  Of course you hope that only people who have something of value will follow you, a person who you can have interaction with ... where there is a win-win.

How many times should you tweet on Twitter?

Once.  No... 3 times... no.... 18 times a day.  hmmmm....  All answers are OK but it depends on YOUR goal.  Remember, it is only 140 characters and a public announcement.  There is usually just enough space for a title which gives a shout out, a link, a snippet of what you might be doing.  If you have business online (or blog, etc.) then tweeting more often might be to your advantage.  If those who are following you are only following 5 other people, your frequent tweets may drive them nuts. 

How important is TWITTER?

The world does NOT revolve around Twitter.  It is about you.  It is about other people.  It is about you interacting with other people.  Twitter is simply a tool to make it faster, easier, simpler (& funner) to ask a question, give an answer or share something of special value.  It broadens your options since contacts are now world wide.  It narrows your focus since you can search for special topics that you are passionate about (or geography).  If you are a business trying to use twitter, then first think:  "I now have a new means for customers and potential customers to connect personally with me and my business.  How can I listen, solve problems or offer added value to them via Twitter."  "Think locally, act personally" - Jeffey Gitomer  How will you use Twitter to this end?

How much time does Twitter take?

To type 140 characters and hit 'send' can be a snap.  To post 4 or 5 valuable tweets a day will take under 10 minutes a day.  Since there are a thousand + apps for Twitter (and growing) and since learning a new piece of software in the beginning always has a learning curve, I would say you will spend at least 30 minutes a day learning the tools of your choice (see the cheat sheets above).  The bulk of your time will be spent simply learning and practicing.  As long as you don't hop from app to app, you will pick up speed in less than a couple of weeks.

How to learn Twitter recommendations?  

I recommend that you buddy up with someone of no consequence (me?) to practice and get twitter tips.  In that way, you speed up the learning curve and focus on the more important stuff.  It used to be AOL, eBay, then the last few years Facebook.  Now Twitter...  So addiction and excess is possible.  It does after all, feed your ego and give you a perception of control.  Once you know your purpose, you will spend the amount of time necessary to take care of your customers, help people, listen, research.  The answer will be yours and yours alone.  2 minutes?  Sure.  Or maybe an hour a day.  Just stay focused on your goal.  (Isn't that always the case?)  Do not view Twitter or social media as "the answer" but they will offer anyone who makes the effort to learn the new tools more connected to the people they serve.

What are Twitter Lists?

Maybe it would be easier to think of it as labelling someone on Twitter.  Whether you are following someone on Twitter or not, you can label them (put them on a list).  Ever try to find someone on Twitter you are following?  Do you go to the people search?  Having all of those with legal under a legal list and sales people unders sales people lists would help you know who is where.  When the time comes and you want to connect with a few of he marketing connections, or know what is happening specifically to marketing, you can simply click on your list and look at the feed for those ones labelled marketing.  Of course Seesmic and Tweetdeck already have the list feature but for Twitter to put is online means the list can be shared with others with a link.  The old question of "Do you know someone who ....." can now have the response:  "Sure here is a link to my Twitter List." 

Be sure to reach out to those people who have you on their list.  It has to be a good thing.  By putting you on one of their lists, there is a good chance they want to have easy access to you in the future.  This could mean potential collaboration, client, sale or maybe a long lost love trying to get their courage up. 

Twitter as marketing weapon webinar by Guy Kawasaki.  Here is the recording and here is the script.

• GroupTweet: Twitter gives you the option to send a private message to another user with its Direct Message feature — but what if you want send that message to more than one person? You could copy and paste the message over and over for several users — or you could use GroupTweet to take care of everyone at once.
• twtpoll: Twitter can be a great tool for soliciting feedback, but tallying up those responses can be a pain. By using twtpoll, you can turn you simple query into a poll or survey question in wide variety of formats — and twtpoll even tabulates the results.
• Twittercounter: This handy app allows you to update your Twitter account via e-mail. It even passes along any replies your tweet might receive. This is an excellent workaround if you want to post an update but the computer system you are using doesn’t allow you to access Twitter via a Web browser.
• TweetBeep: If you want to stay abreast of what people are saying about you (or your brand or your blog post) on Twitter, but you don’t want to have to obsessively check the site all day, TweetBeep is the answer to your prayers, sending you regular updates on any search terms you choose to give it.
• TwitLonger: This one is a little controversial, but Twitter’s character length is one aspect of the social network that many new users struggle with. TwitLonger offers a convenient workaround, allowing long tweets to be continued on another page via a custom link. Many Twitter purists will tell you that tight, pithy posts are part of what make makes Twitter such a great platform — and I have to say that in 99% of all cases, they’ve got a point. Most of the time, you’re better off just writing an irresistible headline and then directing followers to your website for more info. But for those rare occasions when a long tweet is justified, TwitLonger is there for you.
• TweetShare: Twitter may only grant you 140 characters, but a picture is worth 1,000 words. Too bad Twitter doesn’t easily support sharing multimedia content. Tweetshare isn’t just about posting content online, however, it’s also about inviting discussion. Even when Twitter begins supporting multimedia content with its next big update, having a way to organize a conversation around that content will still be a valuable tool to have in your arsenal.
• Twitter for Busy People: When I’m tweeting for work, I’m all about the latest links and info. But my personal account is geared toward my social life and keeping up with friends — some of whom are pretty prolific tweeters. The beauty of T4PB is that it groups together tweets by individual users, so I can quickly check up on what a particular person has been up to lately, without having to wade through everyone’s tweets.
• ManageFlitter: Why let inactive users and fair-weather followers keep your following total artificially high? ManageFlitter identifies the dead weight and then helps you cut it right out.