Pull off the horned rim glasses and slide on those sunshades. Let’s look at the site no one has heard of but is quickly becoming the “cool” site used by everyone. The site in question? Twitter.

Type the word in Google and here are a few of the listings that show up.

Aug 12, 2008 … The Gray Lady Is All A-Twitter. The New York Times has been on a Twitter tear lately.

SoCal earthquake has everyone a-Twitter | Technology | Los Angeles …SoCal earthquake has everyone a-Twitter. 1:12 PM, July 29, 2008 … and Wilshire) is fine, no damage to building, and we’re all safe…

Everyone’s all a Twitter - Social Technology Innovation by Alex Vorbau Mar 20, 2007 … The age-defying John Edwards has a Twitter page…

The Toad Stool by Alan Wolk: Mad Men All A-Twitter Aug 25, 2008 … Mad Men All A-Twitter. So the entire cast of Mad Men is on Twitter … with references that play across the board…

So you have the Ole’ Gray Lady - The New York Times, to perfectly coiffed Presidential drop-out John Edwards, to the cast of the wildly popular new hit series Mad Men all banging out 140 characters a time in Twitter. Apparently even when people couldnt get through on their cells in the SoCal earthquake, who did people turned to to get info out quickly? The mighty little Twitter.

Just What is Twitter?
Well according to the Twitter’s own FAQ, “Twitter is for staying in touch and keeping up with friends no matter where you are or what you’re doing.”

Hop over to Wikipedia and it says, “Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.”

Basically Twitter asks the question, “What are you doing?” and allows you to send a short update (your tweets are limited to 140 characters) to your followers whether they are family or friends, colleagues, customers, and/or potential customers.

Twitter allows you to send and receive updates (also called tweets) via your  web browser, email, instant messaging clients and SMS (using your cell phone). Regardless of where you are, you can always tweet.

Remember, when you first join Twitter, it can feel like a lonely place. When you aren’t following anyone and no one is following you, you may find yourself asking “what is the point?” I’ve heard so many people say they just don’t get it. In fact, many come that same conclusion.

The key is to find the Tweets you want to follow so you can keep your finger on the pulse of your niche. The next key is to start building your followers. More on that in a minute.

Can Twitter Help Your Small Business?
Business goes where it’s invited. That business normally would be invited using advertising or publicity of some type. The more contact you have with your potential customer, the more likely you’ll get their current and future business. With Twitter you can stay in their “top of mind” awareness. You lety them know what’s new in your industry, in your company via quick news flashes which is what Twitter can be for your business.

Here are just some of the power of Twitter:
- It reminds people that you’re still here
- It shows people you still have something to say
- It shows them that you’re real (human that it)
- It announces new offers, sales and breaking news immediately
- It’s realtionship marketing at it’s best - develop more casual relationships
- You can use Twitter to promote your other social bookmarking submissions or latest web post on your site
- You can ask for referrals, suggestions, feedback and help, and surprise surprise…people will respond.

How Do You Start Finding Followers?
Start by reaching out to your friends, family, or business mailing list etc. It’d be smart to add your Twitter link to your email signature line. Add your Twitter (and other social media marketing links)  to your website and Blog sidebar or footer. Do you still have a newsletter? Then mention your Twitter account in your newsletter.

One rule of thumb is cardinal rule if you use Twitter purely as a sales tool, you will lose followers quickly. As with all forms of social media, it is about creating a conversation with the community versus shoving your sales message down their throats.

Presently you can not incorporate HTML into Twitter with the exception of hyperlinks, but Twitter automatically uses the TinyURL service to shorten links so a super long URL doesn’t take up all your alloted characters.

How Often Do You Tweet?
Depends…don’t tweet too much, or too little. There is no magic number and it varies according to your target audience. Some people say don’t update more than once per hour, whereas others say not more than once or twice a day. For me it’s once, or or maybe even twice a day. If there is breaking news and some days you just have to update more often then it’s OK. If your tweets are valuable information people will be more tolerant of frequent updates. Face it, if they’re interested in your site and your message, then anything you say will be appreciated or tolerated.

On the other hand if you are too quiet and don’t post to Twitter too often, then people have nothing to follow. Business goes where it’s invited, remember? So make sure you find that balance and tweet just enough to keep people informed but not annoying.

Don’t forget that your profile shows a history of all your tweets, so if a new person comes along and sees that you don’t have many tweets they may decide you aren’t worthy of following. Also if your past tweets aren’t informative or interesting, you’re not worth their time to follow.

Trust and Twitter Are Worthy Goals
With so much hype in marketing, people are really looking for a company that can trust. We all like to do business with people we feel we know, we like, and we trust.

You can build some of that trust with prospects by allowing them to get to know you, and by providing them with information using a tool like Twitter.

Let me suggest that you go look at your own Tweet history and ask yourself, ” is the information presented here valuable, does it build trust? Would I want to follow this Twitterer?” (A person who uses Twitter)

The answer may be very revealing. Change starts here and you’ll find your success using Twitter is feedback you can learn to trust yourself.

G. Wayne Clayton is the Chief Visionary Officer of SocialMarketingExpert.org. You can follow his Tweets at http://Twitter.com/SocialMtgExpert