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Twitter Emerges as a Digital Marketing Tool
Businesses big and small are discovering tweeting in order to inform the world about their companies. By asking the question "What's happening?", Twitter allows users to tell their followers about moments in their daily lives. Based out of a South Park, San Francisco warehouse, Twitter was founded by Biz Stone and Evan Williams. It started as a podcasting company but quickly morphed into its current social networking form. People use Twitter for everything from "I'm catching some zzz's in class," to President Obama's "We just made history" on election night, to a San Francisco writer tweeting that his house was being broken into. On Facebook, users are able to communicate directly only if the users have agreed to be "friends." On Twitter, anyone can sign up to follow any public tweets available. For instance, actor Ashton Kutcher has more than 4 million followers. 
Many marketers have been quick to jump on the Twitter bandwagon, finding it to be an effective communications tool for attracting consumers. For example, Bradsdeals.com, a site that identifies online shopping deals, started posting company updates on Twitter. Bakeries are even tweeting to tell customers when fresh cookies are available. Cake decorator Hansen's Cakes in Beverly Hills posts a simple message or an update on Twitter to encourage online "friends" and "followers" to get excited about its products. Aaron Chronister saw his status update on Twitter about his barbecue club and bacon recipe get media attention on CNN and the New York Times, which resulted in a book deal with Simon & Schuster. The bottom line is that a Twitter post can tell others what you are up to in your business. These posts can then be forwarded to others to create a buzz. 
"Follow me on Twitter" signs are appearing on the doors and windows of small businesses around the globe. One survey by a mobile phone company in the UK found 17 percent of small businesses were using Twitter. According to the 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, which surveyed 1,898 small businesses, a whopping 88 percent indicated that they tweet, while 87 persent use Facebook, 78 percent use LinkedIn, and 70 percent use blogs. While some of these businesses are attracting new customer, many are saving money by cutting out other forms of promotion. Kogi BBQ in Los Angeles, which uses vans to cater Korean food, has incorporated Twitter as part of its core promotional strategy. The company has more than 50,000 followers on Twitter and uses the service to tell customers where their mobile Korean cans can be found each day. An advertising agency, Razurfish, found that 44 percent of heavy Twitter users are looking for exclusive deals that firms offer only to users. 
Another interesting way to fully utilize the value of Twitter is by using TweetDeck, a free software that enables users to search up to 10 terms simultaneously. For example, Lorien Gabel, the CEO of Pingg, an online invitation company, uses Twitter in this way to track what customers are saying about his company and his competitors. This is an invaluable way for companies to gather feedback in an unobtrusive manner, increase customer satisfaction, and stay in touch with their competitors. 
Twitter introducted advertising to generate sales from marketers eager to reach its audience. The site is carrying promoted tweets from advertisers including Best Buy and StarBucks. Eventually, social networking sites want to make money from the millions of people who interact with each other online. The promoted tweets allow Twitter to capitalize on the millions of people who go to their site. 
Of course, with the success of Twitter comes criticism as well. Some feel that many Twitter users post mundane details of their lives just to kill time. Yet these complaints have not dulled Twitter's success. With two-thirds of online users visiting Twitter, the craze is continuing at full force. 
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