Twitter is still a relatively new social networking site, and there are still thousands of marketers who are not using it to its full potential. Some are not using it at all. As with just about any other social networking site you can mention, you have to put in the work at the start to establish yourself as a credible, helpful contributor who is there to do more than just give a sales message and win customers. Using Twitter is an art form all of its own, and is totally unlike anything you will do anywhere else.

The short length of the messages you are allowed to send means that you have to approach the task in a completely different way. The underlying principle does not change, however, and if you are looking to build a long-term business presence, you will need to take a long-term view and work to build up your network of friends. These friends can see your twits on their Twitter home page, so it is well worth making the effort to cultivate as many as you can. You are allowed to put links in your twits, so you will need to restrain yourself from getting carried away and posting links too often.

As ever, it takes a bit of work and a bit of thought to use Twitter effectively. Make sure that your twits are of value and interesting. If you can keep abreast of breaking news, and the latest trends in your area of expertise, you can build up a reputation as being someone to watch out for. This will keep you on people’s friend lists, and give you the chance to broadcast an occasional message about your own website or profile which will encourage them to visit. Driving social network traffic is never quick or easy, but you can build up a reputation which will result in regular visitors to your site, who have every chance of becoming regular customers.

In a previous post I highlighted the crucial difference between market and keyword research, and at one point I wrote it’s easier for you to dominate a market by entering like you would fill a gap between 2 entities.

A lot of concepts in market identification can be learned from an audio interview Patric Chan did with Stephen Pierce. Stephen approached the general investing market with his classic “Rapid Fire Swing Trading” e-book and made millions, so he really knows what he’s talking about.

Stephen reveals the exact strategies and tactics he uses to instantly discover, enter and dominate any niche market he sets his sights on…

The entire call and text transcript are packed into a CD called “Winning Your Niche“. I strongly recommend it for some mind-boggling information on niche marketing, market gaps, and creating profitable products to win in a big way.