Twitter has become the new thing.  Before that, Facebook, and even before that, Myspace. And those 3 along with many other social media websites are still going strong and being used more and more as places to network and build brand awareness.

All of these social media spaces have two things in common:

1. They are being used to leverage awareness of a brand or product.
2. They are most often being used in the wrong way.

The Wrong Way To Use Social Media

With the overwhelming growth of social media, major corporations like McDonald’s, BestBuy, and Dell are creating accounts to interface with potential and already existing customers.

The sad part is that most companies using social media just don’t get it.  They are promoting their products but not taking the time to engage in conversation with their customers.

Social Media is a place to build and foster relationships for so much more than forcing your product on everyone with whom you come in contact.

The real reason companies are getting it wrong is because they are bundling social media with their marketing department.

Social Media is so much more than marketing, and the two should never be paired together as one group in a company.

If companies want to be successful with social media, their best bet is to create a social media position or even team, and hire those of us with experience in creating and maintaining those relationships.

Look at Crocs.  They are a company that understands social media enough to know that they didn’t understand social media.  And hired someone for the sole purpose of running the social media side of the house.

The Right Way To Use Social Media

If you really want to use social media correctly, hire an expert and let them run the show.  But if you can’t afford and expert, here are some simple guidelines to follow that will help you tremendously, at least until you figure it out.

1. Never forget that social media is about person-to-person connections. You are not speaking as “the company”, but as an individual within that company. Many companies don’t know how to do this, and it takes a lot of practice to find that voice and feel comfortable with it.
2. Be a good listener. All companies say they listen to their customers, but do they really LISTEN and let people know that they are listening by responding?
3. Be patient. This takes a long time because you are going to be transforming your company, one person at a time.
4. Be opportunistic. Start small with the people who are most passionate about building relationships with customers.
5. Be flexible. You never know what’s going to happen so you have to constantly adjust your thinking and learn.
6. Be collaborative. You need people from up and down the management chain to buy-in.
7. Be humble. Remember that you are not as influential as your community. If you forget this, they will let you know.

Are You Social Networking or Social Notworking?

If you aren’t sure which it is you’re doing, it’s as simple as asking your community.  People are very opinionated and they will not hold back in telling you whether you’re doing it right or wrong.

This goes back to the step on listening.  If you can keep your mouth closed for a moment and truly listen, you’ll hear things you’ve never heard before.

Twitter, while not new anymore, is a very powerful tool for individuals as well as businesses, and we are all still learning the capabilites of Twitter on an almost daily basis.

The majority of regular Twitter users seem to be bloggers who have started using it because other bloggers have as well, but there is a growing usage of Twitter from businesses trying to reach their target market to create more sales and a better customer relationship.

This is very important, especially with our economy the way it is.  So as a business, whether your blog is your business, or you have a more traditional business, here are very important ways in which Twitter can help further your efforts, and fatten your wallet.

Customer Relations

Recently I made a comment on Twitter about how Crocs were the ugliest shoe ever made, but within a matter of minutes, @georgeGSmithJr, the social media representative for Crocs, reached out to me and offered a view of different styles of Croc shoes that I had never seen before.

My view of the shoe as well as the company changed dramatically.  They actually do have some decent looking shoes. (I even own a pair of the flip flops for men, now.)

The fact that the company had a representative reach out to me gave me a view of them as real people and not some giant machine that sucks everyone in.

I’ve even met George at a couple of blog and social media conferences since that time and have realized he is a really cool guy.

Had Crocs not been on Twitter and not reached out to me, they would have one less customer, or even less depending on how many other individuals they’ve reached out to in the same way.

Your company will be talked about, whether you’re using social media or not.  Your best bet is to jump in and help direct the conversation in a way you want it to go.

Increased Sales

I have Tweetdeck to help manage my Twitter efforts, and recently I added some search columns looking for any conversations involving web design and other variations of the topic.

My intentions were to monitor who on Twitter was looking for a website designer and to offer my services.  I was hoping to get one or two new web design projects using this method, but what I wasn’t expecting was to get so much business from it that anything else I’ve been working on would get neglected (such as this blog).

But I’m finding that it doesn’t bother me, because all of this new work is putting money in my pocket to better take care of my family and build my business.

By doing the same thing, you can use Twitter to build your business, while spending virtually no money in marketing.  Which brings me to our next benefit of using Twitter for your business.

Free Marketing

While you don’t want to simply blast your marketing campaigns on Twitter (I explain why in a recent post that shows how Twitter is A Sports Bar), it is still a great platform for marketing your business.

Traditional methods of marketing often cost thousands of dollars and offer very little chance that you’ll actually get any return on investment from it.  You may be marketing your business to a huge audience, but what percentage of that audience is even in your target market?

With Twitter, you can market your business for free, and can even target your product or services to an audience that is interested in what you offer.

Social media websites like Twitter are putting many traditional companies with non-internet limitations out of business because they offer your company increased profit by decreasing your overhead.

How do you use Twitter to build your business?

I’m sitting here in the middle of the room in Orlando’s Sea World Ports of Call conference room listening to all the great speakers of IzeaFest.

If you couldn’t make it, don’t worry, you can join in on the conference too.  Here’s the live stream from IzeaFest:

Free Webcam Chat at Ustream

This live stream is only available between October 2, 2009 and October 3, 2009.

I talk to a lot of people, both individuals and companies who still don’t really understand Twitter and how it’s supposed to be used.  And simply telling them that it’s for conversation rather than blasting your stuff out to everybody who can read doesn’t seem to ever work in getting my point across.

So I’ve come up with a real world analogy to better understand how Twitter can only work if used correctly… through real conversation.

3 Major Uses Of Twitter

There are 3 ways you can use twitter.  Each producing a much different outcome than the other.  But only one of these 3 uses of twitter will produce the outcome you desire, unless you’re some kind of psycho stalker.

Here’s the scenario:

“You just got off work and you’re on your way to the local sports bar for a drink and to check out the local hotties.  As you’re enjoying your beer at the bar, you spot the most amazing girl you’ve ever seen.  You’ve got 3 things you can do…”

1. Observe & Leave Alone

You prop yourself up against the bar and whisper quietly to yourself, “Damn, she is fine!” Then you continue to watch her all night, never making a move to go speak to her.  Eventually she leaves with another guy, and you go home to spend more time with no one but yourself.

In this scenario, you are observing.  The relation to twitter is simply watching others have a conversation.  You don’t choose to follow anyone, or participate in a real conversation, you scan others profiles and read about what they have to say to each other.

2. Make A Feeble Attempt At Being Social

You prop yourself up against the bar, whisper quietly to yourself, “Damn, she is fine,” and take a shot of whiskey.  Then you scribble your number down on a scrap piece of paper, non-chalantly make your way over to her, and without a single word, slip your number into her back pocket.  She doesn’t even notice, and again, you go home to spend time with yourself.

In this scenario, you make an attempt at being social, but in the wrong way. The relation to twitter is following others, never saying a word to those you follow, and blasting out your latest product or offering every chance you get.

3. Engage In Real Conversation

You prop yourself up against the bar, whisper quietly to yourself, “Damn she is fine,” take a shot of whiskey, and walk boldy up to her.  As she makes eye contact you say, “Your eyes are as blue as window cleaner.”  It’s probably not the best thing you could have said, but you’re trying, and she giggles.

You spend the rest of the night talking about both of your likes, dislikes, your careers, and anything else that comes to mind.  You being a relationship and she’ll remember you the rest of her life.

In this scenario, your akward attempt at making a real attempt at connecting work.  And this time it may have been akward, but as you do it more and more, it will become second nature, and you’ll find yourself becoming more and more successful each time.

The relation to twitter is following others, but making an attempt at engaging in conversation with each and every person you follow.

When you truly care about what others have to say and join in the conversation, you’ll notice that others will come from all over because they want to be a part of that conversation.

Being real, causes others to realize that there is more behind a company, product, or service than the cold corporate exterior.  They soon will realize that you are just as real as they are.  You laugh, hurt, sing, and cry just like they do.

Twitter is exactly like a sports bar.  What you make of it, will determine what it makes of you! Rather than asking others to follow us on Twitter, shouldn’t we be asking them to join us in conversation?

So how do you use Twitter?  Are you engaging in conversation and listening to what others have to say, or using it as another tool to talk about yourself?