Offering Solutions is the Key to Twitter for Business

Yes, there are definitely people on Twitter wasting their (and your) time. But there are also people looking for help and guidance. Chances are good that some of those people are just waiting to be your customer. You have the potential to offer these people solutions – to step up and provide them with real help. With any luck, you could even end up with a new customer. Or at the very least, someone who knows you are and will tell others about you.

As you use Twitter and begin following more and more people, it gets increasingly more difficult to actually know what's going on with them. Here are a few strategies for getting better control of the situation and putting yourself in position to provide real help and value to others.

To begin with, search for and follow people who have something to do with your industry. For example, let's assume that you run a plumbing service and supply business in New York City. You could use Twitter to search for anyone in your geographic market who might have need for your services; this could include contractors, building maintenance workers, or office managers. Over time, you will get a feel for which ones might actually be good contacts and which ones either don't actively tweet or are just babblers. You want to end up with a group of people who can truly help you, and who you can truly help.

It is highly likely you will lose many followers during this process. Chances are good that a high percentage of the people you follow will follow you in return. It works the other way, too. When you unfollow, often the person will unfollow in return. But it's better to focus your time on users who are relevant and helpful.

Your account needs to be updated even if you are not at your computer, whether this is done with software or mobilly. One way to make this easier is to use some kind automation to keep your account updated. Use a program like Tweet Later to schedule posts in advance. Log into your Twitter account to look for such applications. So our imaginary plumbing executive above might pre-program a batch of tweets related to plumbing, and schedule them to post to your account over time on a recurring basis. His new followers will see him constantly updating his account, even though is all set up in advance.

If you see an opportunity to offer good advice to someone you follow, address that person directly in a tweet. There is nothing wrong with inserting yourself into a conversation. Avoid outright selling. You don't want to come off sounding like you are only looking to get something in return for your help.

It is difficult to say what your return will be on the time invested in Twitter. Every person is different; every scenario is unique. Using the right tools to manage Twitter efficiently will help tilt things in Twitter's favor.