Still trying to figure out Twitter? Join the club. It seems everyone is on Twitter nowadays. The evening newscasters, Shaq, Oprah, movie stars, and a ton of others are actively requesting that you “follow” them on Twitter.
Although the company does not release numbers, it is estimated (complete. com blog) that Twitter.com is visited by more than 33 million users each month. All just to read “tweets,” about people and what they are doing.
Since its inception in 2006, volumes have been written about the free socialnetworking and “micro-blogging” service. Do a search on Twitter, and you’ll find millions of offers to make money using Twitter, promote your business using Twitter, and generally improve your life through Twitter.
So what’s real and what’s not real? What’s real is that a lot of people are using Twitter. What’s not real is a plethora of the information delivered in tweets. Simply said, it’s the Wild West out there in Twitterville and you need to be careful who you follow and who is following you.
Don’t get me wrong. There is a lot of opportunity on Twitter to communicate and promote your products or services. The key, according to many Twitter experts, is to develop an “inbound” marketing strategy that encourages people to want to know more about what you do. Links to interesting videos or unique landing pages on your Web site can drive customers to your products and services.
In my humble opinion ( that’s IMHO in Web-speak), Twitter is not particularly easy to use. You have to learn how to respond to people using hash-marks (#) and at signs (@), and there’s a whole “re-tweet” thing that gets your tweet out to other networks of followers. It all adds up to time.
It takes time to learn the basics. It takes time to build a network of followers. It takes time to build credibility with your posts. And most importantly, it takes time to develop a strategy to make Twitter work for you.
There are many resources out there to help, and there’s even a Twitter For Dummies book (see Amazon.com). There is also a new cottage industry of consultants ready to help.
In this new age of marketing, where branding is so important, Twitter can definitely be an asset for some businesses. But there are a lot of distractions as well. Where will it all go? I certainly don’t know, but I do believe in the basics of providing good products and services and reaching as many potential customers as possible. With the right strategy and messaging, Twitter can help.

Herb Torrens is the principal of Herb Torrens Media Communications, providing small- to medium-size businesses with Web and multimedia services. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Profile available at Linkedin.com, or “follow” him at @zmediaman.