How to use Twitter for Business (The Official Twitter Guide)

Have you been hearing about Twitter just about everywhere you go?  The microblogging service has been getting a lot of press lately and as an entrepreneur or small business owner you might be asking yourself – “What is this social networking service all about and how can I use it to connect with others and increase my business?”

I jumped on the Twitter bandwagon a few months back and I am loving it.  I find it a great way to find and connect with like minded individuals. I’ve me some great entrepreneurs and others that are passionate about working from anywhere – digital nomads and others interested in workshifting and being location independent.

To be honest, when I first heard about Twitter I thought “What a waste of time . . . why do I want to know that someone has just taken the trash out or just had a delicious ice cream sundae?” But after some time I saw the light and started to understand how Twitter can be used for business networking and as a way to meet some wonderful people.

Twitter must have realized many people were asking the same questions I was because they just launched their Twitter 101 Guide for Business – which is a great overview of the business uses for Twitter.  It covers topics such as:

• What does Twitter do for businesses and how does it work
• Learning the lingo
• Best practices
• Case Studies
• Links to other resources

If you are an entrepreneur, small business owner, solo professional or freelancer – you need to know about Twitter! If you have been wondering what all the Twitter buzz is about and how you might use this service to grow your business I suggest you check out the Twitter for Business guide as well as these resources:

• Tweeting for Companies 101
• 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business
• 10 Useful Twitter Presentations
• Tweeting for Your Business
• The Ultimate Video Guide to Twitter for Business
• Twitter Jumpstart Guide for Non-Profits

As you start to follow more people you will probably find that you need more than the Twitter website to keep up with the Twitter stream and manage your followers and friends.  I recommend two programs to do this – Tweetdeck or my favorite Seesmic Desktop.

If you join the Twitter community, and I hope you will, please follow me @philmontero and say hello.  I’d love to connect with you and find ways we can help each other grow our businesses and share common interests!

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-27

• Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads out there! Wishing you all a wonderful and relaxing day. #
• My little boy Spencer woke me up this morning with a home made card, we made corn muffins for breakfast and will be playing and then BBQ … #
• Raising a glass to our fathers for teaching us through their actions and their words! #
• RT @safetelework: “Why do you care if he walks his dog” if performance objectives are being met, do the details matter? http://bit.ly/puZd3 #
• RT @ManagementTip: Take Responsibility for Your Own Professional Development http://bit.ly/Yx86C << Have you learned anything new lately? #
• Build team-manship, even with a virtual team – by featuring one teammate a week in your team call. (via @DaveChurchville) << Great advice! # Read more

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-20

• RT @ashleyacker: 5 Barriers to Workplace Flexibility: http://short.to/fsg7 [Too bad the same old fears get in the way of all the benefits] #
• RT @KammieK: Awesome list of Virtual Office Tools for all you REMOTE peeps: http://tinyurl.com/n8e8zb [Web tools to run/promote a business] #
• @KammieK Just found you on twitter. Really love your MorningMojo tweets – very inspirational – thanks! in reply to KammieK #
• Moving my websites and blog to a new webhost. Working out the kinks . . . in the words of Captain Kirk – it pays to know how things work! #
• @ashleyacker My pleasure Ashley – Ashame to see the same stumbling blocks still exist. June is going well – already hot here in Florida. in reply to ashleyacker #
• @viralogy really enjoying the great video interviews on your site http://bit.ly/sXH3v How do you record the video for both sides of the chat #
• Fellow entrepreneurs, good video interview with Loic Le Meur – Founder of Seesmic | @Viralogy Blog http://bit.ly/3heiy #
• RT @ashleyacker: 51% of GenX workers say they’d leave their current employer for a chance 2 telework. What r you doing to retain this group? #
• RT @projectshrink: Shared: What Kind of Rock Band is Your Team? http://tinyurl.com/ksxdfu [I love the analogies here – well written!] # Read more

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-15

• @leanneclc being you have been reliving old tv shows check out http://www.retrojunk.com – u can watch old commercials and show promos – fun! in reply to leanneclc #
• RT @ashleyacker: Quiz: Which Person is Working? Can you tell? http://bit.ly/KxJXs – excellent points Ashley makes in this post! #
• @Loriannmac3 My thoughts for finding that type of work would be to search for people conducting teleseminars and contact them. in reply to Loriannmac3 #
• No Such Thing as Failure; Only Feedback http://bit.ly/10tFWc I love the attitude @evelynlim brings to this topic! A gentle reminder. #
• Why telework is tough for small companies http://bit.ly/114OY8. I don’t agree. Sounds like they lacked strategy and proper tools. Thoughts? #
• RT @mrcruce: Virtual teaming / telework WORKS. It just takes work. [There is a shift involved but it improves your team and communication] #
• Can anyone recommend a reliable webhost (especially for wordpress blogs)? 1&1 has been dropping the ball for me lately. Thanks for the help! #
• Great article – how the founder of WordPress works http://bit.ly/qjxm3 Manages employees from home using chat programs they work home too. # Read more

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-07

• RT @motivation: “Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.” – Jimi Hendrix http://tqpage.com/32041
• The Greenist Office? None at all “In a typical work week, occupancy rates of traditional offices are only 30%” http://tinyurl.com/cy45ra
• RT @BalancingProf fed agency says telecommuters should work 3 extra weeks to make up time not sitting in traffic- http://tr.im/m1dr – What??
• Installed Vista SP2 last night – worked without a hitch – whew. Made sure to image my laptop before just in case.
• @tomchartrand Ahhh yes I must say after being a Windows zealot for some time I’m ready to switch myself. My next computer will be a Mac.
• RT @ChrisFerdinandi: get out of the way and let your people be amazing: http://bit.ly/pQPRU – Amen to that Chris!
• @ChrisFerdinandi I only just discovered you on Twitter – Was in Boston last week and we could have met up. What instruments do you play?
• @ChrisFerdinandi Next time in Boston I’ll give you a shout. I play keyboards but these days mostly harmonica and percussion – learning uke!
• Battling It Out During Tough Times: MBAs vs. Entrepreneurs http://bit.ly/A0zh8 Which are you? Interesting perspective – I’m an entrepreneur
• @rtfelton We have sample telework agreements and documents available on our site – http://bit.ly/ARWzb #telework #telecommute
• The Last Days of Cubicle Life http://bit.ly/11ZepI – An interesting look at the future of work and the workplace by Seth Godin.
• RT @ashleyacker: How to combat wasted time at work: http://bit.ly/19wXi8 [Great post about ROWE. Make work about results rather than time!] Read more

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