It took me awhile to embrace Twitter and my use of it is still rather sporadic, but, I think I finally "get it". First, to all the skeptics out there, there are LOTS of people using Twitter who are educated, over the age of 25, and with decent incomes. It is not just for kids. So, how can you use Twitter to promote your brand? Here are just a few ideas:

1. Update your websites. I installed a "Tweet" feed on my website. It is a sort of mini "What's New" or micro-blog. Because you can Twitter from your phone, computer or mobile device; it is very easy to quickly post an update. This makes your website look current and fresh. Twitter about an interesting meeting or project, post a link to a finished project or photo, let people know your phone lines are down or your new holiday hours.
Example: My website - lower right corner www.15minutesmedia.com/

2. Update your social networks. There are several applications available (Digsby and HelloTxt to name a couple) that link your Twitter, Instant Messaging, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc. so that you can update all your networks with one post from your desktop or phone. How is this useful? You can tweet that you've just posted a review or article called "Widgets vs Whatsits" on your blog. You tweet something along the lines of "Widgets vs Whatsits - see who wins at www.myblog.com". This is posted to your Facebook status and your LinkedIn Status. Now all your friends and collegues go to your read your article. Some of them post the link to it on their profiles, others leave a comment, and soon, friends of friends now know about your fantastic article. It is exactly what is meant by "going viral". Your simple tweet got the message to potentially thousands new prospects.

3. Branding. Create your online personae. Whether you tweet as your company mascot, yourself, or even the office pet, you can create an engaging personality that people want to follow. Make yourself a trusted authority. Make sure you do more than "promote" yourself or company. Offer insider information, tips or gossip.
Tip: Be careful when choosing your personality. If you are writing from the viewpoint of the office cat, make sure you can really "stay in character". Is the personae going to limit you? Is it going to be too much stress to be so creative? If so, it may be better to just be yourself.

4. Get referrals. Need to hire a new salesperson? Looking for a referral to a great PR agency? Send out a tweet asking for referrals.

5. Inter-office communication. With a team like ours, we are spread out all across the country. You can use twitter to let your team know where you are and what you are doing. I might tweet that I am heading back to the office from a meeting, my designer might tweet that she is at lunch, and my programmer tweets that he is working hard - Do not disturb! It gives us a real-time status update for everyone and keeps us all on the same page.

6. Notify customers. This is a biggee. A rock band may notify fans of show times and dates, special ticket prices, "twitter exclusive" mp3 downloads, radio/tv appearances and so on. A retail company could announce new product releases, special discounts, sales, etc. You can make your followers feel like they are part of an exclusive community. Give them a heads up on discounts or events before it is available to the general public.

7. Polls and feedback. Use Twitter as your own personal focus group. Want to know which color your consumers prefer? Whether they are more concerned with a low price or an environmentally safe product? Just ask.

8. Be a spy. Do a search for your product or brand name. See who is talking about you. Has someone made a negative comment about their experience? Respond. Offer to make it right - it will improve your customer relations and others will see the efforts you made. Convert that complainer into someone who posts praise about how you resolved the issue.
Real example: Here is a guy that tweeted about having trouble using a coupon at Quiznos: http://twitter.com/paulsegreto/statuses/1265903120
If Quiznos was monitoring their brand, they could respond to him. Perhaps they could post an special coupon code.
Tip: you can subscribe to the RSS feed for your query. This way you don't have to remember to search everyday.
Must Read: http://www.getelastic.com/twitter-monitorin/

A word of warning: Be careful about how you are marketing yourself via social networks. Remember, these are social networks and your contacts are called "friends". You probably know most of them personally. I encourage you to let them know what you are doing professionally, but don't overdo the marketing speak. Be a real person and make sure you are offering something of value.
Must Read: Twitter Etiquette and Twitter Do's and Don'ts

Follow 15minutesmedia on Twitter (be sure to say hi)

TOOLS & TIPS:

• Snitter - A desktop application for Twitter.

• TwiTip - More resource than tip, this is a great site chock full of useful articles on how you can get the most out of Twitter.
• TinyURL - When you have only 140 characters, every one counts. If you want to post a link, use tiny url to convert this to this http://blog.15minutesmedia.com/marketingseo/using-twitter-to-promote-your-business to this http://tinyurl.com/c8vpmx.
• TwitterLocal - Filter tweets by location.

We'd love to hear how you are using Twitter. Post a comment with a link to your Twitter profile.