Tweeting for business: tips from 140 Characters Conference

This might be the week that people not in the know stopped proclaiming they don't use Twitter because they have no interest in hearing what other people ate for breakfast.

As Iranian discontent broke out last weekend, mainstream media coverage was somewhat lacking, and what they're calling the "could-be" revolution was broadcast to the world via Twitter. This point was driven home by the audience at the 140 Characters Conference, a Twitter conference created by Jeff Pulver in New York this past week.

I gained a lot of Twitter insight at the conference, and hopefully offered some as well during the session I presented on Twitter and small business. There was a lot of good advice for entrepreneurs and small-business owners.

The first I heard came from Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com, the large Internet retailer, who is a prolific Tweeter. Hsieh, who has more than 780,000 followers on Twitter, told the crowd that using Twitter helps them find customers before the customer can find them. He also said if a business owner listens to the conversations on Twitter, you can find out what consumers want.

Hsieh says many business owners don't use Twitter the right way. They treat it like it's a traditional marketing method and do nothing but push their brand messages. Instead Hsieh advises, "Listen first and then listen and talk."

As an active Tweeter , I know first-hand that if you don't have a social media plan, keeping up can suck up a lot of your time. At Zappos (where much of the staff uses Twitter), they look for the ROI — return on involvement.

The point of Twitter is not to collect followers. It is to have a conversation. Twitter is your way to market your business to people you don't know for virtually no cost other than time. For Twitter to be an effective tool for your business, you need to be engaged and collaborative. It's also a great way to keep track of the news, trends, and even your competitors.

Someone (sorry, I can't remember who) at the conference said, "Twitter is like a telephone; every business needs one."