Did you know that in 2007 Twitter had 20,000 users and averaged 60,000 tweets/day? 

Did you know that today there are over 340 million tweets/day? 

That's a big jump! It proves just how much Twitter is growing and gaining popularity. Kind of makes you want to get involved doesn't it? It's a great way to get your name out there and start building a reputation for yourself, especially for small businesses. But you have to treat Twitter with caution. One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is they think of Twitter as a source to push information, not recieve it. However, you must think of it in regards to ways you can interact with those sharing similar interests. How do you do that?
- LISTEN, SPEAK, RESPOND
- use the 10/4/1 rule
      - 10 messages that are tips, tricks, etc related to your field of interest but not directly about your business
      - 4 comments or retweets about blogs, news articles or topics of interest
      - 1 tweet can be related to sales directly for your business
- be PUNCTUAL and POLITE - people value quick over accurate
      - even if you cannot accurately answer their question right away, a good rule of thumb is to get back to their tweet within a 15 minute to 1 hour time span. This lets them know you are looking into the answer for them and will get back to them as soon as you have the appropriate response.

Social Media is customer centric, realtime, chaotic, neurotic and fun. Remember, everyone can use Twitter. You can use it for Public Relations, support lines, as well as sales. Twitter has been proven to be one of the greatest forms of customer support and feedback. So if nothing else, create a presence on Twitter so your audience can access you and provide feedback.