Using Twitter for business

As I gather interviews and information for an article on using social media for small business, I came across an article written by one of my favorite bloggers, Chris Brogan, "50 ideas on using Twitter for business."

Some of my favorite ideas from the blog (complete link is above if you'd like to read the whole thing) are:

• What to Tweet: answer the question, "What is on your mind right now" instead of tweeting about what you're doing.
• Reply to tweets publicly if you have something to add to the conversation or a link to add. Use the Direct Message feature if your conversation is more personal and the broader Twitter community won't find it helpful.
• Twitter doesn't have to take a lot of your time. It should be about the quality of what you are saying. I have heard that tweeting 2-3 times per day for a few minutes is more than sufficient. Again, it is about saying something worth reading.
• Follow interesting people on Twitter. For instance, I am following the major PR firms in the Twin Cities as well as interesting social media mavens around the country (Chris Brogan, Lee Aase, and SteJules).
• Commenting on tweets and re-tweeting (RT) is a great way to build a community.
• Twitter can break news faster than other sources.

I hope these tips have been helpful. Read Chris' entire blog for all 50 tips. Look for my article in the June/July issue of Upsize Minnesota magazine as well as more insights from my interviews published here.