Twitter has grown from the SMS-type of communication its founder started out with to a phenomenal marketing tool. Twitter was created in 2006 by Jack Dorsey as a form of SMS communication. Only 140 characters including spaces could be used then. Today, it has become a multimillion dollar venture of immense value to many business people.

Most people do not know that there are more effective ways of using twitter to promote their businesses or websites than placing direct adverts. This is what most twitters do. By integrating Twitter into your account on other social sites such as Facebook, you can realize greater value.

For instance, I have a Facebook account. Every tweet I make appears on my Facebook home page. This makes it easy for me to advertise all my products and websites on both Twitter and Facebook at once, with just a simple click. Look for as many social sites as possible into which Twitter can be integrated so as to maximize on Twitter marketing. If you have no accounts elsewhere, then creatively make people aware of your products without blatantly referring to them. Creativity always gets people more curious than boring product endorsements.

It’s true you can have many followers who have no interest in what you are offering. This calls for you to use the various search techniques to get followers who will be of value to you. You can use the same techniques to get others to follow your followers! This creates a circle of connections and increases your followership, albeit indirectly.

You can use your connections to sell your products for you. Now this calls for a thorough knowledge of how to do that because many Twitter users do not know how to go about this, all they are good at is sending a few tweets here and there.

Here lies the difference: know the right kind of people to follow and who you should follow yourself. Take a celebrity like Britney Spears for instance. Everybody wants to follow her. If you choose to follow everything she is up to, your page is likely to get filled up with messages you won’t even want to read. It would be easier for you to visit her page and read all you can about her recent activities. This is how to follow people while keeping your pages free for more important feeds.

These two tips are just an example of how Twitter marketing can be used skillfully. There are many more you can learn and practice as you use Twitter more.

As a micro-blogging application, Twitter allows you to be short, precise and friendly with your words. You really have to practice writing short, effective messages if twitter is to be of help to you because many words are a big no. Only 140 characters per tweet are allowed.

It may seem too short to have any impact, but it works quite well in passing the message across and raising the curiosity of the readers. Saying too much sometimes makes you give away too much unnecessary information anyway.

Follow the tips below and see how much success Twitter can bring your way.

- Get Followers. Who you follow and who follows you has an impact on your Twitter account. Ensure this lot is made up of people who have similar interests as you. Aim to get into a network composed of your target market.

- Be active. You cannot afford to go for days without twittering. Get involved and make frequent tweets, comment on other people’s blogs, start discussions and such things. Find new people to follow and new people will follow you.

- Listen. Listening to what people have to say sometimes works even better than talking on Twitter. Letting what other people on your network say sink in and thinking about it can help you learn so much you didn’t know.

- Show respect. Let your words speak respect and wisdom so that other people can also respect you.

- Don’t oversell. If you spend too much time selling your products on twitter, you will burn out faster than you would have imagined. Take the time to build relationships so that you can maintain your followers.

- Make use of Twitter Tools. Twitter tools are there to make your tweeting time effective. There are plenty of tools you can try out such as Tweetdeck, Tweetlater, and Twitter Fox .

- Keep your tweets short. A maximum of 120 characters is what I’d recommend. This will give you enough room to include RT@YOUR NAME at the end. Short messages are also friendlier than long boring ones.

- Think through what you want to post. Don’t just tweet for the sake of it. What you type should be carefully thought through. It leaves a permanent record and can either build or break you.

- Keep Interacting. Keep communication open by twittering often and socializing with other people. You will find it more beneficial.

- Include links. There is no better place to share links than on Twitter. Post links to your blogs, website or a friend’s website. Do it often and build your business base.

Twitter is a free micro-blogging service made up of many different self-organized networks of friends and communities, where members send and read each other’s updates. These updates are called “tweets”. Tweets borrow the concept of texts and are 140 characters long. They are sent to a member’s followers and are received on the Twitter site and other affiliated websites, via cell phone text messaging services and other applications such as twhirl and tweetdeck.

Here is how you can put Twitter to use in your business.

Get hooked up with business mentors and partners on Twitter

Twitter can open up your way to a great discovering and learning journey. You only have to follow the right kind of people. You have the chance to network with like-minded people who you can network, partner or collaborate with or look- up to for information, ideas or guidance.

Use Twitter to Improve Customer Service

It provides a friendly, informal environment to relate with your customers. It is also easier and faster to reach your customers.

Direct people to your company, product or service using Twitter

If you can get a large network of followers, Twitter can be a free-ad, personalized service. Get as many people as you can to follow you. You can add your twitter feeds to other social networking profiles and bank on the influence these people have to reach more people. Don’t join Twitter with the aim of selling your products only; socialize to get an added advantage – be interesting and professional at the same time! Many companies on Twitter such as Ford and Starbucks take advantage and post new offers to their followers.

Use Twitter as an Opinion Poll

Twitter can be a source for free, fast and reliable feedback on a service, product or new idea. Coming from a potential market segment, this information is very vital.

It is a Great way of posting company updates, news as well as organizing meetings

It is possible to post news updates and headlines on the happenings in the industry on a company’s website on the company’s Twitter account.

You can also use Twitter as a group-sending tool to broadcast meeting announcements. Use hash-tags when sending your message so that you do not end up sending your message to the wrong people.