Twitter is just a fad, right — peopled by a herd of sheep who can be categorized into two groups:

1. Those chasing their own tails looking for the next great get rich quick scheme
2. Those who have nothing better to do than to broadcast the minutia of their lives in boring 140-character snippets.

Wrong.

Sure, there's a certain percentage of the 200 million Twitter accounts that may fall into one of these categories. There's always at least a little truth in any stereotype, right? However, in the right hands, Twitter can be a powerfully efficient tool for marketing your business online. And, if you're smart enough to be reading this, you're smart enough not to be part of either of those groups!

It's All About Connections

Every business has goals to strive for and problems to address that can be placed into two broad camps — both of which can be ably addressed via Twitter:

• Connect with potential customers
• Stay connected with existing customers.

Connect with potential customers

- Feedback. Want to know why people aren't buying your product? Ask them!

- News. Get the word out about that new and improved product that they will buy. Tell people about the new store you just opened in their neighborhood.

- Trends. Following potential customers (or even competitors) can provide valuable insight.

- Your Product or Service. By carefully selecting the people you follow, you can focus directly on those who need what you're offering.

Stay connected with existing customers

- Feedback. Got a burning question you'd love to get answered right now? Who better to answer than your existing customers?

- Loyalty. Strengthen your bond with customers by providing a virtual "face" to talk to, confide in, get advice from.

- News. When you have news to share you want to spread it far and wide. Twitter friends not only get the news from you immediately, they also love to share with their friends.

- Trends. Your current customers can show you what's hot - and what's not — immediately.

- Your Product or Service. Customers know what they want and, if you're willing to listen, they will happily tell you.

And The Answer Is....

These are just a few ideas to get your thinking started. All of them can be done better/faster/cheaper via Twitter than via traditional channels — and we all know that better/faster/cheaper translates to more efficient, especially when you're talking about social media marketing strategy.

Goal achieved. Problem solved. Burning question answered.

P.S. Our strategic marketing consulting is designed to show you the strategies that help keep the customers you have while generating more and better leads. Consider us your Social Media Expert, so contact us now. We love to talk shop!