Twitter's Role in the Success of Social Media Marketing

The popularity of Twitter has skyrocketed over the last several years, but despite its undeniable success, many companies have still failed to capitalize on the platform.  Quite simply, some brands don't fully understand what Twitter has to offer.  What exactly does Twitter offer that makes it unique and useful to businesses?  Instant gratification.

Twitter provides its users with the capability to update in real-time.  For almost any business, that instant feedback is a valuable asset.  Not only can the site be used to promote products and services via tweets and even assist SEO efforts through social backlinks, but users can provide their input on those tweets on virtually any device from anywhere in the world.  Furthermore, companies can utilize hashtagged terms as a form of "social keywords" in order to make that term a trending topic that will subsequently receive Twitter-wide recognition.

Recently, more companies have been including Twitter in their social media campaigns.  The platform has been proven to be viable in terms of enhancing brand awareness and visibility.  Businesses that desire frequent interaction with their consumers have the most to benefit from a Twitter account, but any company with a social media presence should strongly consider establishing their brand on Twitter.

Although microblogging doesn't allow for an extensive breakdown of products, services or other brand offerings, it is particularly valuable to businesses looking to target mobile users and consumers.  As a majority of Twitter's user base accesses the site via smartphones or tablet PCs, mobile retailers can potentially see significant gains by marketing their brand through the network.

To date, the site has already shown great potential to increase online visibility and with more and more people signing up, logging in and tweeting each day; Twitter is likely to play a major role in social media marketing campaigns going forward.