Social Media! It’s everywhere! And you can’t get away from it even if you try. I’m sure that you have noticed that after reading an online article, there are multiple ways of “sharing” it through various social media channels, including Twitter. And television reporters, politicians and entertainment personalities always remind you to “follow them” on Twitter. So, if you haven’t guessed it by now, this blog is all about Twitter.

This is Part 1 of the “The Twitter Saga” series and the objective of this blog is to share the basics of what Twitter is and the benefits of using it for your brand or business. In future posts of “The Twitter Saga”, I will share more specifics regarding best practices using Twitter and ways to get more impressions on your posts.

If you are like me, when Twitter was first introduced, I thought to myself: Do we really need another type of social media? But over the past number of years, I’ve been using it, enjoying it, and most importantly I’ve been working with clients to build social media strategies so they can take full advantage of everything it has to offer.

So, let’s start at the beginning. Twitter is an online social networking service that enables users to send and read short messages at a maximum of 140-characters in length. These are called “tweets”. When you are registered for Twitter, you can “follow” anyone you like. Now, this is very different than Facebook because on Facebook, you normally only connect with your friends and family to share pictures and insights with them. On Twitter, often times you “follow” companies and people who you do not even know, which makes it less personal, but broadens the potential to reach new people in your target audience.

In a world where we are accustomed to getting information in smaller and smaller chunks, Twitter allows us to get information super quick. It is essentially a “mirco-blog” to get the latest news story, sports score, gossip or to keep in the loop with what is happening with our favorite brands. So, why does Twitter only allow 140-characters? When the creators of Twitter came up with the idea, they realized that the standard length of a text message is 160-characters and they thought it would be wise to stay within this range as to not inundate users, as the majority of people would be viewing it from their mobile phones. The additional 20 characters (to make the 160 characters) are used for the sender’s username, also known as your Twitter handle, which starts with an “@” sign.

While there are many benefits, here are some of the highlights on ways to get the most out of Twitter for your company or brand:

MARKETING & PROMOTION

This benefit is pretty straightforward. Use Twitter to inform your customers of your latest offerings and drive them to your site to get more information, read your blog, review a press release, or purchase your product.

BUILD YOUR NETWORK

By following people related to your business, you can start a conversation with them simply by reading and commenting on their posts, or by direct messaging them. And, what happens if you run into someone at a conference that you’ve talked to or recognize from Twitter? Since you have already been in communication, you now have a valid reason to talk to them. Just think of the ability to network and connect with potential clients.

KNOW YOUR COMPETITION

You can learn a lot about what your competition is offering and saying just by following them. This will allow you to see what they are offering and more importantly allows you to come up with a unique way to say something different about your company or brand.

REAL TIME COMMUNICATION

Twitter allows for two-way interaction and provides its customers a way to participate in the conversation, make comments and ask questions about your product or service. Businesses can also monitor and see what consumers are saying and are able to respond to them publicly or directly with advice, solutions, or simply to thank them for being a customer.

So, if you are not already using Twitter, sign up today to take advantage of everything it has to offer, as it is an excellent way to create awareness of your brand. And if you want more knowledge more about this powerful tool, read The Twitter Saga Part 2 to learn the specific tactics on how to engage your followers.

What do you think? What are some other benefits of using Twitter?

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Want to learn more about Twitter? Check out the following resources, where I obtained some of the above information: Twitter Basics: Why 140-Characters, And How to Write More, The Best Uses of Twitter, and The Benefits of Using Twitter.