Yes, Twitter is a Social Networking site, and is a place where people go to connect and build relationships. And… it is also a place that can boost the traffic to your site and reach more prospective clients and customers.

So… just to give you a perspective on how this can work, we've come up with 7 reasons how Twitter can help you in your business:

Reason 1 – It's Social – One of the rules in a Social Network (SN) is to be 80% social and 20% informative. Twitter is one SN where your current customers and potential customers can learn to “know, like and trust” you. When you are being helpful with your posts and articles you are also being social, and as you are being social you are also marketing and informing.

Reason 2 – Extends Your Reach – Extending your reach means to get your marketing message and influence in front of as many eyes and warm bodies as possible. When you tweet your posts and articles on Twitter, you are not only reaching those who are following you, you are also reaching everyone that follows each person who follows you. We call that Compounding Social Networking and that can happen when someone Re-Tweets (RT) your information to their SN group.

Reason 3 – It’s Present Marketing – In many ways Twitter is like Instant Marketing Messaging – you get an instant response from many people who are using Twitter at that point in time. Many internet marketers are beginning to notice that their Twitter list is many times more responsive than their email list.

Reason 4 – Gives You Expert Status – Mentioning your posts and articles and using them to answer questions increases your expert status in the eyes of the tweeting public. And with some of the latest tracking services you can find out what people are responding to. Because this is a new frontier, there is still time for the majority of you to get in and establish your expert status in your niche.

Reason 5 – Spread The Word – If you send out more than one email message a day to your list, people will unsubscribe in droves. With Twitter you can send out multiple 140-character tweets (which contain marketing and informational tips) in one day. In fact, we encourage you to, because your followers are on at different times throughout the day. And don’t forget they are also on different time zones as well. People can choose not to follow you, but we have found those numbers to be quite low. Of course, there is a happy medium… and there is such a thing as too much… just remember the social side.

Reason 6 – Be Helpful – "People don't care how much you know–until they know how much you care." ~ John Maxwell. So when you are having conversations in Twitter and you see a question where one of your posts or articles could help, you are being very helpful to someone when you refer them to your information. How's that for increasing your "know, like and trust" factor?

Reason 7 – It's Automatic – You can set up your blog to automatically tweet your blog post titles to Twitter. If you have an EzineArticles.com account, you can also automatically repurpose your brand new articles onto Twitter as well. So when your blog post and/or article is published, it will automatically show up on Twitter without you having to lift a finger. That is magic!

So get to know people on Twitter, have them get to know you… the social side is a blast. And remember, help them out with your expertise and point them to your valuable information or services. After all… that's what business is about… helping others to succeed.

About the Authors

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Pat and Lorna Shanks deliver the "COOL" Goods and connections to "COOL" People. They provide tips, tools, education and informative sessions with knowledgeable people that enable entrepreneurs, independent professionals and small business owners to attract more clients and make more money. For more "COOL" tips, tools, knowledge and people, go to www.TheCoolestCouple.com or follow us on Twitter.

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