Tweet Tweet

All I have been hearing about lately is Twitter, a so-called wonder tool for PR and Marketing companies worldwide. Twitter is a microblogging tool that uses 140 characters or less with each post. I’ve been wondering exactly what twitter is and how it can be used, so I signed up for it and did a little research. It seems all of the top PR professionals are using it, including those from companies such as Dell and Southwest Airlines. Here are some ways PR companies can or do use twitter:

• Monitoring: TweetVolume is a search application for Twitter that can be used to see how often a name (person, brand, etc) is mentioned on Twitter. This would be useful to see how much your client is being discussed. A complete list of twitter apps can be found here.

• Announcing specials, deals or sales: If you are a retail company or anyone who often has special offers, you can use Twitter to announce these specials instantly to a large audience
• Creating awareness: Twitter can be used to alert people about events that a client will be making an appearance at (this is especially useful for celebrities or politicians who often change their plans last minute)
• Back-up communication: If your organization’s internal system breaks down, Twitter could be used as a back up. Messages such as ‘meeting at 2pm’ could be sent and as long as the message isn’t confidential, this could be a handy tool

I’m sure there are many more uses for twitter, I’m just not 100% sold on its uses for individuals. Most PR students I know have not heard of twitter. If twitter is such a new and upcoming tool, why are the early adopters not using it yet? Time will tell on this one.

For those individuals out there using Twitter, what do you see as its benefits?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations firm staff member, Kayleigh Nance.