Twitter is a social network, micro-blogging and instant messaging service that lets users post 140 character “tweets” that are followed by other “Tweeters.” A user’s profile page prompts them with, “What’s happening?” but tweets have become much more than simple descriptions of everyday life. Users now hold entire conversations and post videos, music, photos, real-time news updates and links to interesting web content. This ongoing dialogue turns Twitter into an profitable social media marketing tool.

Companies who wish to use Twitter as part of their social media marketing campaign can’t post one-off announcements and coupons and leave it at that. Twitter users send out more than 50 million tweets a day, so if your business can’t stay involved, their tweets will fall under the radar and stay there. Staying afloat requires finding your target audience, so use Twitter’s search function to find people who are regularly talking about your business’s keywords. If you a regularly post content that contains searchable terms, users will also be able to find you. Once you gather an audience, stay engaged. Listen to what users are saying and regularly post valuable information that shows your insider expertise. After all, the key part of social media marketing is staying social.

The more interesting and relevant your post is, the more likely it is to be retweeted. Retweeting is crucial to social media marketing campaigns because it allows your tweet to reach an untapped base of followers. If someone in this new exposure zone retweets it again, your post has the chance of becoming viral. So make sure your tweets are more than just text– post links to interesting blogs, little known news, articles and relevant videos so you`ll reach a broader audience.

Tweetups, in-person meetings of Twitter users, are an excellent way to boost your social media marketing plan. You’ll strengthen your relationships with existing customers, meet new ones and network with people who are passionate about your industry. After the event, you’ll gain industry insight through the participants’ followup tweets. Tweetups give your business a name and a face by bringing your business up to the next level of engagement.

Twitter is extremely useful resource for social media marketing, but it shouldn’t be the only part of it. When properly used and paired with other social media platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube and Flikr, Twitter will result a well-rounded, far-reaching social media marketing plan.

Prior to starting a social media marketing campaign, be sure to read this useful article about Twitter’s place in social media marketing.