Twitter is hot. In 2009 they received more then 20 million new visitors to their website. You can use Twitter for several purposes in your company, internal and external. It is an ideal tool for connecting with your customers all around the world and learn about the things they like or dislike about you.

I will give you a couple of useful ideas about how you too can use Twitter for your own business. But don’t make the fault of starting immediately promoting your product when you like to build a large crowd of followers. It will not happen.

Be smart, offer help first and the money will follow later.

People decide to follow you on Twitter, because they want to find out what you have to say. As soon as they have experienced that you are sincere about helping them with their problems and challenges, you will get noticed and they recommend you to others. Don’t make the mistake to start immediately talking about what great products you have on offer. Very soon you will find yourself shouting in cyberspace without an audience. You have the skills and knowledge to help people, never hesitate to do just that. It builds your respect and trust level, others will recommend you, which gives you a greater number of followers. Sooner or later they want to know more about what your company has to offer.

The relationship goes first.

People buy from people they like, know and trust. Join a topic group and learn more about what your customers really want. They will share their problems and you may able to offer a product that is the solution they want. You can use Twitter Search to find users of your product or those from your competitors. Over time you can build the identity of being knowledgeable and approachable. This helps you to secure you a bigger spot in the marketplace.

Share your knowledge as an expert.

Announce free workshops, seminars or of course webinars. Inform your followers about how they can join, when it will take place and any other requirements and join in by tweeting about it. Or send them a link to your presentations and video’s so they watch when they like. In these presentations you can deal with problems that customer service regularly has to deal with or share tips about the usage of your product. Share efficiently and broadcast links and headlines that can drive traffic to your website.

Let also your own people know.

Use Twitter to save time and money by limiting the number of emails and phone calls. Everyone will be disciplined by the rules of Twitter. Long stories are history now. And colleagues can learn what you exactly do in the company.

Promotion and marketing.

Twitter enables you to create more interest for your company, the products and also drive more traffic to your website. You can send Tweets around about special deals, discounts, samples and free coupons. It will be accepted by people after you have build up a relationship with them.

Brand loyalty.

Twitter is an excellent tool to stay in direct contact with your audience. A part of your followers are potential customers. This enables you to familiarize them with everything the company could do for them. Also you can retrieve interesting information about the latest developments in your marketplace. When you can act fast it may enable you get ahead of the competition.

Handling customer complaints.

When you are confident enough to accept customer complaints in the open, others can learn how your business takes care of them. Twitter gives you the possibility to reply quickly and deal with the received complaint. You can communicate effectively with each of your clients and ask for their honest opinion. Make your goals public to compel you to reach them.

Follow your competitors.

By reading the tweets of your competitors you know what happens at their workplace and if you like, you can keep in touch with them. You get earlier informed about new projects, products, marketing plans and latest mistakes. By learning more about their mistakes you can help yourself to not make them too.

By using Twitter for business you are able to turn conversations into actions. By being fresh and interesting you will attract a great number of followers. And sharing information that is helpful for potential customers or employers will get you recognized in the business.