I've been on a two week experiment with Twitter. I've grown over 300 followers organically and I have a Twitter Grade of 96.3. And I have some definite opinions on the use of Twitter and its ramifications.

Pleasure vs. Business

Using Twitter as a communication and promotion tool for your business is very different than using Twitter just for fun but it is a fine line, and you need to understand what your goal and purpose is in using this medium. If you're using Twitter to communicate with friends, see what other people are doing and just have a neat way to kill a little bit of time, have at it, go nuts and enjoy, and ignore the rest of this conversation. If you are using Twitter as an integrated function of a wider marketing communication plan, stop right now and think of why you are using it and what you hope to accomplish. Define a goal, create a strategy. If you are on Twitter because it is "the place to be" or "everyone else is doing it", you need to go back to square one.

Twitter is Just a Tool

Twitter is just a tool, the new shiny tool, but a tool nonetheless. You need to evaluate if that tool is the appropriate way to reach your target audience and the appropriate way to spread your message. Use the right tool for the right job. Twitter may not be the right tool for you. Your time may be spent better elsewhere. However in saying that, I do highly recommend that you keep an eye on Twitter. People could be talking about you and you don't want to miss out on that conversation.

ROI of Twitter

Twitter is a free service, but there is an investment of time and energy. What you need to evaluate is if the return on your time investment is valuable to you. Are the connections you can make and the conversations you can grow worth spending the hours necessary to organically cultivate an audience and conversation stream? If you answer yes, formulate a plan, decide what you want to talk about and where you want to drive traffic.

Twitter is a Stream

To use Twitter effectively, you need to understand how it works. Twitter is a non-treaded multi-directional conversation or a stream of flowing information. Think of Twitter as a stream. You can sit on the banks and watch the stream flow by carrying plants and animal life, debris, branches. Then you jump in and interact with the stream, talk to the fishes, admire the plants. Then you must wade out and the stream will keep flowing with out you. And that's ok. You can jump in anytime you want.

Use the Right Twitter Tool

If you are implementing Twitter as a tool in your marketing communications arsenal, the skip the website interface. Accessing your Twitter stream via the Twitter website is like managing your accounting on sticky notes. It is not the best tool for the job. Once you acquire more than say 100 followers it is virtually impossible to track those conversation streams on a flat scrolling screen. There are twitter applications out there that allow you to filter, sort and search your conversations. I am currently using TweetDeck but a quick Google search will turn up many many more.

Twitter is a Narcissists Wetdream

A web service that is based on the singular question of "what are YOU doing" is egomaniacs dream come true. You can talk endlessly about who you are and what you do. So do thousands of other people. And there is nothing necessarily wrong with that. Some of the Twitter Elite have built a cult of personality. People want to know what they are thinking, however the true elite get that Twitter is about authenticity and relationship building. People do want to know what they are doing, but they in turn want to know what others are doing. Twitter is about interaction. If you are going to post 20 times a day "Visit my blog. Visit my blog. Visit my blog. Visit my blog.", you're results will be sparse. A better strategy is to engage people, build a following of people with similar interests, swim in the stream and don't pimp yourself too hard.