Tweeting . . . Follow Me! 

Twitter is a microblogging platform which allows you to publish short messages up to 140 characters in length through different mediums like IM, cell phones, and the Web.

It has a social element, as it allows users to befriend and monitor each other's messages or updates. So what you have is a publishing tool that can be either public or private, social or business.
 
Twitter gives you a window to a multitude of opinions, events, news, ideas, and feedback. You can easily follow thousands of users and listen in and enter into conversations (tweets) conducted among multiple users at any point.  Apart from its use as an information resource and publicity tool, Twitter is also a communication platform for individuals and their personal social networks.
 
On the other hand, Twitter can be actively used as a tool to push out messages that capitalize on the attention you're receiving from other users. Yes, I'm talking about self-promotion and marketing. This involves active user engagement to inform potential customers.

Twitter and Marketing: A General Overview

There have been a many articles on how Twitter can be used for marketing purposes and I think most of them can be condensed to the simple aim of tracking and directing attention. Twitter allows you to monitor how influencers think or feel and you can also get into their attention zone via active networking.

For businesses, Twitter is another channel which connects current and potential customers with your product or brand. It allows deep infiltration into the lifestyles of interested participants, which helps to build brand loyalty.
 
In its most obvious form, Twitter can be seen as a traffic generation tool. The placement of links within profiles and conversations can direct visitors to specific websites and is especially powerful if you pitch to early adopters and influencers.

As there isn't an option to advertise within Twitter, Twitter marketing is a task that involves two-way audience engagement; on the part of the marketer or business owner and the target group. This is a good thing because messaging keeps things active and encourages the business owner to maintain a fresh website.  

 

Join me on Twitter and start messaging (tweeting) today to promote your company and find resources to help your business grow.  More. . .

Having spent most of my working life in an information technology environment, it's hard to imagine using paper forms today.  I recently worked on a project where survey forms were mailed to individuals to be filled out and returned.   Getting the forms back from all the necessary parties was like pulling teeth. 
 
Often getting information forms back in a timely manner is next to impossible.  When you do get them back, you have to re-enter the results into an electronic spreadsheet or database, if you can read the information.
 
With most individuals having access to the Internet, there is no reason why an online form should not replace mailing out paper forms.  Online forms make it easier to change formats and keep forms current and make it simpler for the recipient to fill out the form. Online forms can be automatically loaded into a spreadsheet or database saving time and effort and improving accuracy. Mailing out forms is largely a waste of postage and trees.
 
I'm starting another project with the same company that sent out the survey forms.  Step one on the project will be to design an online form with the survey questions.  We are taking the opportunity to change some of the "fill in the blank" fields into multiple choice checklists to make the forms easier to complete.  These forms will be automatically entered into an Excel spreadsheet when the participant presses the submit button.  The information can be sorted by different departments and other categories.  We estimate using the online form will save about a month of manual entry.
 
We can create custom online forms to collect information and help your customers tell you what they need.  You will probably save enough on paper and postage to cover the cost and save time in the process.   
 
Jim Kincaid, Lease A Website