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From understanding its culture and attracting followers to choosing your following and using desktop applications, there are a number of factors that can increase your odds of social media success when it comes to using Twitter for business.

Part 8 of the Minnesota and North Dakota BBB’s 2009 Focus Seminar, offers simple tips and information to help you succeed when it comes to using Twitter as a business and social media marketing communication tool. Driving community participation is key and the best way you can get participation is to publish the fact that you are on these channels. Put it on your website. Use it in your email signature. Promote it on your offline materials.

Aside from creating a following and getting real participation, another item that’s going to effect your success with Twitter is finding the right programs.  We mentioned earlier that by itself, Twitter is not exactly “user-friendly” but there are desktop applications and software programs that work with Twitter to make it easier and more convenient for the user.

Tweet Like A Pro

• Desktop Clients – view tweets, replies and direct messages all in one interface, group people together, handle multiple accounts, monitor what others are saying
• Twitter Search – Find other people
• Tweet Schedulers – setup tweets to be published at a later time, auto follow people, send automatic direct messages to people who follow you
• Integrate Files - images and video
• Twitter Mobile – tweet and monitor your twitter account from your mobile phone

The more you know about Twitter and the people who use it (tweeple), the easier it will be for you to use it to leverage your business and marketing goals. Watch Part 8: Setting Up for Social Media Success now and be sure to tune in next week for the exciting conclusion of “How to Use Twitter for Business.”

If you haven’t had that “ah-ha” moment where everything becomes crystal clear, the clouds part, sun comes out and the little Twitter bird starts a chirping… or I mean tweeting, you are not alone. Using Twitter for business and marketing is still new for a lot of companies and even the ones who have been using it for a while are still playing around with their accounts, trying new things to really get the most out of their time and efforts.

Keep in mind that every business is different, so what works for one company will not necessarily deliver results or even make sense for yours. But to get an idea and good example of a real life business application of Twitter in action, check out Part 7 of the Minnesota and North Dakota’s Better Business Bureau’s 2009 Focus Seminar presentation, “How to Use Twitter for Business.”

This should help shed some light on what we’ve been building up to for the last few weeks now and maybe even help you reach your “ah-ha” moment.

Using Twitter for Business

• Think of Twitter as vehicle to get the word out
• Twitter works in real time
• Your followers represent your audience
• Twitter is a great place to find new people
• You need to participate – it’s suppose to be social
• It is not a dumping zone  – that’s what your blog’s for!

Watch Part 7, “Twitter In Action” now for a real life example of how Twitter can be used for business and be sure to stay tuned for more useful tips on using your business Twitter account.

Often times the most difficult or challenging part of learning a new technology is understanding the lingo. When you don’t understand the jargon, it can seem as though what you’re reading is in a completely different language.

If you’re not familiar with Twitter, Part 6 of the 2009 Minnesota BBB Focus Seminar presentation, “How to Use Twitter for Business,” will help you learn the foreign tongue of Twitter lingo. And once you’ve mastered the lingo, it will be much easier to go about using your business twitter account.

The Language of Twitter

• Tweet – Update or post
• DM – direct message
• RT – retweet
• @username – public reply (dialogue)
• #keyword – hash tag
• Tinyurl.com, Bit.ly or is.gd – url redirects (used to shorten and track urls)

Watch Part 6, “Learning the Lingo” now to get a handle on the jargon Twitter uses. And be sure to check back again next week for more useful tips on using your business Twitter account.

Now that you’ve created and configured your business twitter account, it’s time to get comfortable with it so you can begin using it as a social media marketing tool.

Part 5 of the “How to use Twitter for Business” presentation from the 2009 Minnesota BBB Focus seminar gets you acquainted with your Twitter homepage, dissecting the various components which include:

• Following – People you are subscribing to
• Followers – The people who are subscribing to you
• Updates – Number of Tweets you’ve made
• @username – People who have made public comments about your tweets, that are visible on their personal profile pages
• Direct messages – comments others have made to you that are not public

The video continues to walk you through your new business Twitter account, showing you how to find people to follow and how tweets work. Tweets? What’s a Tweet?

Tweets are how you communicate on Twitter.

• They are small updates consisting of 140 characters or less
• Can include trackable links to images, content, videos, etc
• Will be public on your page unless you protect your account (or direct message someone)
• And with be visible to your followers as well as on your own profile page (this also means they are indexable by search engines)

Watch Part 5, “What the Tweet – Dissecting your Twitter Account” now and be sure to check back next week for another exciting installment of “How to use Twitter for Business,” and more insider tips on how to leverage your twitter account to get you more business.

Alright, now that you have a grasp on what Twitter is and how other businesses are using it in their social media marketing plans, it’s time for you to “join the conversation.”

Part 4 of the Minnesota BBB”s 2009 Focus Seminar provides a basic walkthrough of the steps involved in setting up a Twitter account and offers some tips on how to best configure it as a business marketing tool. Like initiating any business or marketing strategy, it never hurts to be prepared.

Keep in mind your overall marketing objectives as you set up your account. It might be a good idea to think through or even prepare a few of these before you start like your username, bio, what picture you want to use (yours or your company logo?), a background image, etc.

Creating Your Account

1. Choose your username
2. See if your friends are on Twitter
3. Choose others to follow

Configuring Your Account

1. Choose your time zone
2. Write your bio
3. Select to protect or not protect updates
4. Add your phone number
5. Choose to receive update notices
6. Upload your picture
7. Design your background

For more tips and insight on using Twitter to get you more business, watch Part 4: Creating and Configuring a Business Twitter Account. And be sure to stay tuned for more from, “How to use Twitter for Business.”