The Twitter Revolution

Social media websites are a modern phenomenon. They have become a force in global marketing. Two sites, www.twitter.com and www.ning.com, are part of this revolution. They form an easy to implement, and use business model which you can use to market and sell your product or service.

Twitter and other microblogging sites prove the power of words. Companies like Comcast, Sprint Telecom, CNN, British Airways, Gartner, Inc., Eastman Kodak and many more are finding that 140 characters can dramatically help reach their Customer base.

According to a February 2009 article by Paul Gillin entitled Why Twitter Beat second life:

"Twitters Member base has reportedly eclipsed 4 million and it has a dedicated following among communications professionals and corporate executives. It's also rapidly being adopted by b_to_b (business to business) marketers."

The reason for Twitter's popularity is explained by Mr. Gillin:

"Twitter is so simple that it can be used on a cell phone or BlackBerry. It takes minutes to Set up, requires no local software and makes users instantly productive. It is emerging as the most important Social Media platform of the last two years."

How are people using Twitter? Dell made $1 Million by distributing coupons via Twitter last Christmas (2008) according to Mark Gibbs in Network World magazine, March 2009. Couples 'Twitter' together according to an April 15, 2009 USA Today article by Maria Puente. She notes:

“When his wife went into labor in South Florida last Month, J.D. Andrews, 41, started Twittering, while his wife Katherine, 37, started texting. Thousands followed their progress offering advice and name suggestions.”

San Francisco based coffee shops and bakeries have sent tweets to their customers about specials or products they may be out of that day, according to Jeremy Quittner’s article Turn On, Tune In Tweet Out in the April/May 2009 isssue of BusinessWeek Smallbiz magazine.

These two examples show the vast reach of Twitter and social networks. This is relationship marketing at its best. It is an ideal way for small businesses to reach and keep in touch with their customers.

The downside is there are many hundreds, if not thousands, of irrelevant tweets. This takes some getting used to when you first start using Twitter. However, there are numerous tools which will help keep track of your tweets, the people who follow you and who you are following.

One such tool is Tweetdeck. It allows the user to filter followers and to list them in categories. Others, such as, Tweetscan and Twellow allow the user to search and categorize people using Twitter.
More and more Twitter is being combined with other social networking sites like Facebook and my favorite, Ning, to create powerful business models. These models are very low cost and can enhance existing web sites and other online and off-line marketing.

It is this business model that I explain in my ebook entitled Secrets of Building a Profitable Business Using Twitter and Ning. Creating a profitable business model can mean global profits for you during this twitter revolution.

Sincerely,
H. Court Young
Author, speaker, publisher & geologist
Promoting awareness through the written word
http://www.hcourtyoung.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/hcourtyoung
Phone: (303) 726-8320

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