Twitter is another one of those “Web 2.0” phenomena that is re-shaping how people use the Internet to communicate and build relationships. With more than 105 million users and growing by about 10 million users per month, it’s not to be ignored, even if you don’t completely understand how it works or how people use it.

Twitter started out in 2006 as a kind of ‘texting on steroids’ capability. People can quickly (and succinctly – Twitter only allows messages of 140 characters) shoot messages to their friends, colleagues and anyone else who agrees to ‘follow’ them (think Friend in Facebook terminology), using a computer of an internet-enabled mobile device. Less robust than Facebook or YouTube in terms of its ability to send graphics (although there are ways around that), Twitter’s appeal is in its simplicity and timeliness. It simply asks you what you are doing now and you type in a short message, often with embedded links to another web site or internet location. It has famously become the tool of choice for communicating real time news such as natural disasters, political uprisings or other events where citizen reporters can beam messages to the world form their cell phones.

I have to admit that for a long time I have been uncertain about the effectiveness of Twitter as a business tool. Proponents of Twitter will tell you what a great communication platform it is to help businesses stay connected to their customers. True, you can use it to quickly share information with people interested in your company, gather real-time market intelligence and feedback, and build relationships with customers, partners and other people who care about your company. But it often strikes me as information overload, especially once you start following a critical mass of active Twitterers – who has time sort through that much information, even 140 characters at a time?

Supporters also point to the ‘real time’ nature of Twitter. And it is true that it can be a quick and easy way to send updates to groups of people. But in the tourism business in the Turks & Caicos, how much real time information do we need to communicate? Perhaps the occasional weather report, promotional sale, or information on a new attraction? I will admit it’s good for viral marketing if you can get your happy customers Tweeting about what a great product or service you have. But remember, it’s a classic un-moderated, user-generated content medium, so you have to be prepared to take the good with the bad, and negative publicity seems to travel twice as fast as good news on the Internet (actor Kevin Smith nearly brought Southwest Airlines to its virtual knees a few months ago with a Twitter tirade on the bad service he received from the low cost airline).

Twitter does offer an informal, conversational style of marketing that lets people throughout your organization build relationships with customers. It gives customers direct access to employees and a way to bring your company closer in a more personalized way to your customers. That can be a great benefit for building repeat business and for making people feel like they have a real connection to your hotel or tourism business.

By itself Twitter is not going to help move a lot of inventory or book a lot of reservations. But in concert with your other digital marketing programs, it can be a nice enhancement. Make sure you feature your Twitter link prominently in all your marketing material, and wherever you come in contact with customers (your email signature, your invoices, your welcome cards, etc.). Like Facebook, it can become an important adjunct to your web site.

Search engines: the best argument for using Twitter

What finally sold me on Twitter, though, was nothing Twitter itself did or can do: On the same day last October, both Google and Microsoft announced they would be indexing Twitter posts with their search engines. This kicked the door to ‘real time search’ wide open and made Twitter much more than just a cute way to look for friends who might want sushi tonight for dinner. With the battle for search engine rankings a complex and ever changing one, Twitter immediately had new found prominence among the SEO experts. It is an important tool in how people find your web site, even if they don’t ever use Twitter.

What to do on Twitter

• Plan how you use it. As much as it appears to be a spontaneous real-time channel, smart businesses will plan what and when to post. With search engines playing a major role now, too, think in terms of keywords that you think your customers will find you through.
• Spend some time on your Twitter design. Again, Twitter is a very simple medium but take the time and effort to present a professional appearance. Don’t use the default settings for your image, for example!
• Use your company name in your twitter url: www. Twitter.com/westbayclub
• Tweet judiciously. Experts say between 3-5 posts a day is plenty (and never more than 3 in an hour), and only if you have something meaningful to say
• Mix it up from a time of day standpoint. Try alternating between morning, afternoons and evening. Think times zones, too.
• Pay attention to what your competitors and partners are doing – follow them
• Find ‘good’ followers. More is not always better. Find people who influence travel – travel agents, writers, bloggers, etc and follow them (chances are they will reciprocate)
• Make every Tweet count – don’t be shouter or broadcaster – post interesting, informative and relevant information that your followers will find useful. To do otherwise will be a turn-off.
• Connect all your on-line channels – your web site, Facebook, Linked-in, Twitter, YouTube. There are lots of new technologies that can make linking them all together very easy and efficient.
• Brush up on Twitter etiquette (simply Google that term and it will take you to a number of sites that can explain best practices and proper etiquette.)

I am still on the fence about the long term viability of Twitter as a business marketing tool but for now, the low time and cost required to use it, compared to the surging popularity it is enjoying, make it something I suggest you spend a little bit of time experimenting with.