Twitter® For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

Chapter 11. Twitter for Business

In This Chapter

• Putting your business on Twitter

• Using Twitter to make your business look good

• Creating a network on Twitter and communicating with it

• Getting and giving useful information on Twitter

So, you want to find out more about what Twitter can do for your business. In this chapter, we cover some of the essentials, explain what some other businesses have tried, and point you in the right direction to get started yourself.

The Business of Twitter

People often ask Laura, "What's the business use of Twitter?" Laura frequently answers with a different question, "What's the business use of e-mail?" It's not that the technologies are similar or play the same role; it's that Twitter has the potential to filter into every possible aspect of business as a versatile communications platform and problem-solving tool. Both technologies are extremely open communication platforms that have uses way beyond the marketing and customer-engagement layer. Twitter can impact pretty much everything, from the way enterprise software works to how project status is shared. It can fundamentally change communication and problem-solving, as well as match resources, accommodate HR challenges, and lower expenses. Most of the potential business applications of Twitter are just starting to become understood.

Twitter can have powerful effects on personal and professional networks. Sales professionals can use it to generate leads, journalists to locate sources, publishers to discover ...