Apprentice Cunning of a True Twitter Twenius
It's amazing to see celebrities, government officials and well known people from @SnoopDogg to @DavidLynch to @GeneSimmons to @SethMacFarlane and others, are racing to position themselves as part of the Twitter crowd.

However Twitter is much more incredible than that. What a lot of people do not realize is that Twitter is a local social tool too. More likely than not, your town municipal government is using Twitter, your local TV and radio news, your local Fire Department, your favorite bookstore, your local college, even the gal that cleaned your carpets last week. If they are not on Twitter now, they'll likely be on soon.

But there's another force making its claims on Twitter. It's an amazing transition of a more serious nature where business owners (both large and small) including entrepreneurs and home-based businesses are now tapping the grand potential of Twitter. When we see established companies such as: @RedCross, @intuit or @travelchannel piling on to the Twitter bandwagon, it's definitely time to take notice.

It is likely that this "craze" boils down to the enduring fact that a lot of business actually occurs in social gatherings, at cocktail parties, on the golf course, and at other social events. Now, through Twitter it's become possible, if not down right easy, to benefit from an online version of a non-stop 24 hour, 7 day a week cocktail party of monumental proportions.

It's impossible to overlook some of these statistics and stories:

"International sales specialist, Cindy King, saw a huge boost in business inquires by implementing a strategic Twitter plan. In fact, she reports an 800% increase." ~Copyblogger
"MyTwitter Toolbar brought in over $2,000 in the first 30 days with a 100% free download marketed ONLY via Twitter."
"88% of marketers surveyed are interested in using social media to market their businesses, BUT 72% have only been doing so for a few months or less. A significant 64% of marketers are using social media for 5 hours or more each week and 39% for 10 or more hours weekly."
"One in three marketers indicated identifying the best practices, measuring results and knowing where to begin as their top questions when marketing with social media."
How should I interpret all this? It means that if you are an entrepreneur or own a business, make your plans soon to get over to Twitter and set up a free Twitter account.

Simple enough?

Well, not quite. Once you have your account opened, that's when the fog rolls in. It's a very very rudimentary concept, but like playing chess, unless you have a clear strategy, you're going to soon be scratching your head.

The good news is there's help. Internet strategist and social media marketing expert, Dan Hollings has spent the past year researching and testing Twitter strategies for business. Along the way, Dan wrote 100 extremely helpful Twitter tips for business. Next he created a browser toolbar for Mac or PC that puts over 235 Twitter tools, tips and apps easily within reach. Recently, he released his remarkable Twitter training program called, "Twitter Twenius" (that's Twitter-talk for genius).

Here is a basic Twitter tip, to from the hundreds Dan has originated:

When Twitter is used in marketing, it's a soft close. In other words, people can get to know you without giving you a name and email straight away. It's far easier to move a Twitter follower along your path (or funnel) to more engagement later, than to go from cold contact to full close in one fell swoop.
Without doubt, there's a lot more to learn, however if you're looking for the money in Twitter or a way to accelerate the Twitter rocket boosters within all your promotional campaigns from local to international, I recommend Twitter Twenius.

http://www.twittertwenius.com/pingfaninsg