It may seem confusing to use Twitter for business, but these 5 Twitter business ideas will ensure you will really cut through all the noise and get Twitter marketing information that works.

1. Special Offer Drip
This is the biggest factor why Dell is so successful. Distribute Twitter-only coupons, and your most loyal customers will flock to you. Not only do you identify your hottest buyers from the rest, you also got a brand new marketing channel to reach out to prospects you otherwise are not able to reach.

2. Local List Builder
Local marketing is the new rage. It’s a little know fact Twitter is a really potent local marketing tool. You can search for a particular locale using the Twitter search engine, and follow tons of people who are in your area. Develop a relationship, get easy consultation gigs–that’s a lucrative Twitter business strategy right there.

3. Authority SEO
If your Twitter account is a mavenship maker where you can become an authority in your niche, how much more will that effect be quadrupled when you pair it up with SEO success. Even thought your tweets may not have link juice, but because of its high PageRank–you’re able to rank in the front page of Google with a few measly backlinks.

4. JV Attractor
Any marketer worth their salt is looking to network with other marketers. That’s why marketing experts are saying conferences are the best ways to form strategic alliances that will lead to cash in the pocket. Twitter makes that easy by cutting away the distance and time issues and makes connections easy. Twitter is the Country Club of the Internet.

5. Sales Scoop Exploder
One key factor in a Twitter marketing campaign’s success is relevancy. The more in tune you are with your prospect’s needs, the more sales you will make. Plain and simple. The best way is to again go to Twitter trending topics, see what people are talking about and tailor your marketing messages around them. You’ll see response rates go up.

These 5 Twitter business secrets will really make a difference in your Twitter marketing success. Once you use Twitter for business, you’ll be surprised by the tremendous results!

And now I would like to invite you to claim your fly-on-the-wall insider step-by-step examples on the patented ways the Puppet Master uses Twitter for business at http://twitmindcontrol.com

From Kenneth Yu – The Puppet Master and Twitter Mind Control.

HOW DOES IT WORK

After registering your business with us you will automatically be taken to your administration panel.  In the navigation bar you will find a link called “Communicate”.

The Communicate page contains 3 sub pages:

• Send Message.  You can type your message on this page and send it off to contact groups using SMS, Email or both methods.
• Manage Groups.  All contacts must be saved into groups.  The default group for all contacts is called “Newsletter”.  You can add your own groups from this page (eg. clients, VIPs, partners, staff, etc).
• Manage Contacts.  Manually create and save contacts to groups.  This page lets you create or edit contacts (firstname, lastname, email address and cellphone number).

METHODS OF OBTAINING CONTACTS

You may enter contact information manually and store them to groups you created.  Business Finder will also attempt to obtain contact information for you.  Every listing contains a “Sign up for Newsletter” form which interested users can use to register for your newsletters.  These contacts will automatically be stored in your “Newsletter” group.

COSTS

The Mass Communicator facility is free to each and every listing on Business Finder.  Sending email messages are also free of charge.

SMS credits can be bought in our online store at R0.38 per SMS.  Larger bundles automatically qualify for discount.  You can access the shop from your administration panel by clicking on the “shop” link.

EXAMPLES

1. Every Wednesday evening a restaurant provides live entertainment to its customers.  The restaurant owners would like to inform his loyal customers beforehand of the band that will be performing as well as the time of the performance.  He collects the customer information on the evening of the shows and registers their information on the Business Finder Bulk Communicator system.  Every Wednesday morning he types up a short message with the required information and sends it off to the entire contact group using the SMS method.
2. John uses Business Finder to find accommodation all over South Africa.  While searching for a B&B in Hermanus he stumbles upon a listing that appeals to him.  He would like to be updated whenever the B&B launches any specials, so he completes the newsletter sign up form on the listing.  His details are automatically registered in the specific B&B’s “newsletter” group.
3. A small business owner would like to send monthly reminders to his clients reminding them to pay their accounts.  He already created a group called “Accounts” and registered all the clients with accounts in this group.  All he has to do is write a short reminder, select the “Accounts” group and click send.  All the clients in this group will receive SMS and Email reminders.

The Easy Solutions Are Usually The Wrong Solutions

Tough economic times causes companies to panic and cut their overall costs.

Laying off employees, cutting marketing costs and lowering inventory levels cause low staff morale, lower sales and poor customer service.  This actually increases your costs in the long run.

Find New Ways to Sell.

Poor economies provide new opportunities.  Pay attention to what your customers have to say – especially those who complain.

The information customers provide is extremely valuable.  It might give you insight as to what they don’t like about your business operation and what your competition is doing better – if so, take the time to fix the issues or add the new product[s] that they are looking for.

In general, customers are the key to your success.  They will tell you exactly what you need to do to make a success of your business.

Focus on the fundamentals

The basics are important during tough economic times.

- Negotiate each deal with each and every one of your suppliers to make sure your get the lowest cost possible.

- In your key cost areas obtain regular bids from suppliers.

- Make sure you understand all your costs.

- Take the time to measure and watch all the key aspects of your business, like employee performance, sales in all areas and productivity of advertising, etc.  Anything that is measured and watched closely will improve.

Survive 1 Day At A Time

Make it a rule that each day, by end of day, you would have made your business better in some small way.  This system is extremely powerful and it ensures that your business is at it’s very best right now -  when it counts.

Tough Times Separate The Winners From Losers

Realize that your number one goal is to survice the touch times.   Those who survive are those who continue to work hard, despite tremendous adversity and simply refuse to give.

Setting up a website to promote products and services online are all part of modern day business marketing.  Unfortunately not everyone can fork out large sums of cash to build professional looking websites with highly complex dynamic content, content management and eCommerce capabilities like shopping carts and online payment facilities.

In fact, most small to medium sized businesses require nothing more than a simple and affordable website to gain some sort of online presence – but they have no idea as to where to begin their website journey.

If you own a starter up business or you find yourself in the dilemma mentioned above then my advice to you is to get in touch with a local website design & development company.  Unfortunately not all designers are honest about the options available and will probably try to pitch the most expensive package to you.

How to Get a Free Website

Here is a list of website options that you can implement yourself at very little or no cost.

-          Business Directory Listings

There are hundreds of business directories online and most of them offer free listing registration.  Although this is not an actual website, it does create a small online presence for your business as well as marketing for your brand.

Business Finder (www.businessfinder.co.za) provides each listing with a free one page website which can be populated with all the content of a normal website, including logos, contact details and more.

-          Social Media Sharing Website

Social media websites like Facebook (www.facebook.com), MySpace (www.myspace.com), Squidoo (www.squidoo.com) and Twitter (www.twitter.com) are excellent tools to promote your brand.  You can use these websites to set up a “one page website” containing all your company information, images and updates – like specials, products, etc.

-          Blogs

Setting up a blog is extremely easy and in most cases free.  Blogsites like Wordpress (www.wordpress.com) and Blogger (www.blogger.com) can be used to quickly set up and customize your own business blog.  Blogs can contain multiple pages, images, articles and everything else that you would want on a professionally built website.  The difference here is that a novice can set it up and it won’t cost you a penny.

-          Free Website Generation Tools

Google offers a tool (pages.google.com) that allows you to build your very own website with ease.  The interface is extremely simple to use, and you can build as many pages as you want.  The system offers a content management system which allows you to update your website at any time.

Domains

You can set up your own domain names and have them redirect to the blogs, facebook pages, etc.  Domain names are affordable and will cost you about $10 per year if you register them through websites like GoDaddy (www.godaddy.com).

Summary

If you have the time and resources available to you then you are definitely able to build and maintain your very own website at no real cost to you.