How can a small business use microblog and social tools like Twitter, FriendFeed, Plurk, and others to pump up your company marketing efforts? Read on to find out.
Companies in virtually every industry now have Twitter accounts.
Is it time for you to make one, too? Even if you're the owner of a delivery service, pizza shop, pharmacy, or a large multinational corporation, these tools can help.
Businesses of all types who embrace 21st century marketing techniques have the ability to grow and be profitable.
There have never before been more low-cost ways to reach out to potential customers.
It used to be a small fortune to go on television, on the radio, or be featured in print advertisements.
But today, thanks to the Internet and the way people embrace it, any entrepreneur can use it to help them be successful and save money with their company marketing efforts.
Not only can you save money but you can carefully analyse your efforts so that you can maximise your spend and your time on effective online company marketing techniques.
Tips for Using Microblogging So, how do you turn a 140-character status update into a sale? It's not always as easy as that.
Sure, some people will see a link on a Twitter update, click it and then buy the thing that's being featured but the vast majority of consumers want more than that.
It may take more in order to get them to buy from you.
If you're a major corporation, a tweet might help you make instant sales.
Large companies use microblogging to update customers on massive sales every minute.
But if you're a smaller company, it might take a longer sales cycle.
That's ok, though.
You don't have to market one to one and spin your wheels.
Everything you do on these sites could cumulatively impact your sales in a positive way.
Here are some ways to use micro-blogging to your advantage:

• Link to press releases that talk about interesting things going on in your company
• Link to your blog when you've written a great article
• Data mine the social marketing site to see if people are asking questions related to your niche that you can answer.
  By helping someone out, you could get into their online circle of friends and your future updates could be heard and acted upon by those people you've helped.
  
• Data mine to find out what people are saying about your company's brand.
  Then, you can address issues or send out a "thank you" when someone says something positive.
  
• Share info about contests and promotions

Small businesses don't have to spend hours a day on social media tools to positively impact their business.
A little bit of social marketing could go a long way in helping you with your company marketing efforts.