Don't Be Afraid of Twitter

Original Article from IntelliSites, the smart choice for web design (and SEO!)
The Twitter bandwagon is getting pretty crowded.

Everyone from retirees to tweenage iPhone addicts has joined Twitter to get the play by plays of their friends' lives.  And from PETCO to Pampers, every company in every industry seems to be tweeting as well.

What?  Your business hasn't taken the Twitter plunge yet?  Well, now is a great time to make your Twitter debut.

The Power of Twitter

Twitter is all about sharing information.  You share information with your list of "followers" (the people who have agreed to be notified when you post something), and then those people can pass the information on to their followers as well.  If you've posted something worth passing along, your information can go out to a pyramid of people in the blink of an eye.

FOR FREE.

From a marketing standpoint, this is amazing.  For zero dollars and zero cents, you can advertise your latest promotion or the big news at your store to a huge audience.

So...What's the Catch?

Having a free platform and a big audience is an awesome opportunity.  But we all know individuals who have had similar opportunities...and blown them.  After all, every once in awhile, a seedy drunken uncle gets a hold of the microphone at a wedding and gives an impromptu speech that makes the bride hide under the table.  And every so often, a coffee house open mic night turns ugly.

With Twitter, there is a right way to handle the opportunity for all the free advertising, and a not so right way.  Some unwritten rules and protocols are starting to develop on the Twitter scene, and before you jump up on Twitter's stage, it might be a good idea to get a brief on the dos and don'ts by some Twitter geeks - er - qualified Twitter experts.

So definitely don't be afraid to get your business involved in Twitter ASAP.  It's free, it's fun, and it's fantastic for marketing.  But to avoid accidentally sharing the fate of drunken Uncle Sketchy ... you might want to to have a little chat with a more experienced tweeter before you get started.