Despite the fact that 255 million people use Twitter, some businesses want nothing to do with it. They see it as little more than a waste of time. However, these anti-Twitter activists fail to realize that the social media outlet has an unmistakably large influence in the marketing industry. Unlike Facebook, Twitter gives you the opportunity to customize your audience to suit the precise needs of your business, and the best part of this is that it’s completely free.

Perhaps the biggest reason why marketers avoid Twitter is because of the stigma that it wastes time. After all, you can only say so much in 140 characters, and social media is notorious for holding countless time-wasting outlets filled to the brim with nonsense. What these companies might not realize is that Twitter isn’t meant for sharing complex theories or detailed posts. Instead, it’s recommended that you view Twitter for what it is: A micro-blogging site for sharing thoughts, facts, or ideas.

A Custom Audience
Twitter is much different from a company blog or even a Facebook page. When you publish a post on your blog, you are giving the general public permission to view it and respond with their thoughts. However, a tweet is something else entirely. It is delivered to a specific group of people who have chosen to follow your page. The advantage of this is that you can know for sure that your business is targeting those who are interested in your brand.

Follow Other Companies in Your Industry
You might not like it, but you coexist with your competitors in your industry. The phrase, “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer,” comes to mind. By following your competitors, you can see what they’re up to and set similar trends in your own work environment. You can also follow other professionals you look up to, which can give you new ideas to improve your business practices.

Use Twitter as a Marketing Tool
When you use Twitter for marketing, your followers can generally do one of four things with your posts:

• Ignore it: Believe it or not, this is the worst thing someone can do to your Twitter posts. Sure, you might not get a response or a retweet, but at least it’s not negatively affecting your business.
• Read it, but without response: While this doesn’t produce immediate responses either, the user is still reading your post. This might trigger a later response, such as a comment or a retweet.
• Respond to it: If a user finds a post which is particularly interesting to them, they might comment or respond to it in some way. This is one of two optimal situations, and if you pique their interest, you might have just found a prospective client.
• Retweet it: This is another useful position to be in. If one of your followers retweets your post, they will share it with their followers. Before you know it, you might have a string of retweets which has been seen by thousands of users; all prospects.

By intelligently using Twitter to its greatest potential, you’ll find it to be a valuable communication tool and a great marketing medium. You can foster a feeling of trust between your business and its prospective leads. Do you use Twitter as a marketing outlet? What are some of your favorite ways to take advantage of it? Let us know in the comments.