How Tweet It Is

Effective ways to project your brand identity on Twitter

Many small and emerging businesses looking to boost their brand identity online are now turning to Twitter, the social networking site that experienced a 1,382% year-over-year growth rate in February, 2009. With more than 160 million Twitter users, it's easier than ever to find an audience to market to and connect with. For example, a new restaurant in Virginia, after tweeting about their grand opening, welcomed 150 diners that night. Use these proven tips to maximize your company's impact on Twitter:

1. Build an impression. Each of your tweets (140 characters or less) should serve as a building block in your brand-building efforts, not as an opportunity to sell, sell, sell. In fact, if you use Twitter as a sales medium, you're not likely to attract many followers. Twitter is especially powerful for spurring conversations with your customers. If you own a wine and cheese shop, for example, tweet about a new wine or a cool fact about cheese. That will help position you as an expert and will reflect in a positive way on your brand.
2. Get Google's attention. Search engines, including Google, now rank Twitter profiles. When you write your bio, include the name of your brand and a few strong keywords to boost brand recognition and optimize your presence on the search engines. If you own a yoga studio, for example, include keywords such as "yoga studio" and "yoga classes," as well as the city you are located in to attract local traffic from the search engines.
3. Get to know your audience. There are many applications that can help you keep track of your most active followers and find Twitter users that interest you. The best ones include "Twitterholic" and "Tweepz." The latter indexes more than 2 million Twitter users by geography, biography, and name.