Twitter is a resource that can greatly benefit any small business in any industry. Here we will explore what Twitter is and how you can take advantage of it for business purposes.

If you’re a small business owner, or even if you work for another company, chances are you’ve found yourself at one or two networking events recently. Maybe you knew people there and maybe you didn’t. But you always found yourself engaging in conversation with others talking about a wide variety of topics – the economy, specific business industries, and ultimately, your company. You go to networking events so you can learn about others and for the chance to let others learn about you.

Think of Twitter as a big, ongoing networking event that takes place on the Internet. It is social marketing at its finest. Twitter let’s you share what’s on your mind to potentially millions of people. Each time you want to share something with your group, you have 140 characters (not words) in order to share something with others. It’s the ultimate chance to reveal your “elevator pitch” about your business. But slow down, because there are rules to play this game.

You wouldn’t walk up to a group of people you’ve never met at a traditional networking event and start blabbing about your business. The others would simply walk away from you and never want to talk to you again. It’s bad tact for that situation. First, you have to ease yourself into what other people are talking about, join in their conversation, and ultimately wait until they are ready to accept what you want to say about your company. It’s exercising proper professional tact. And the same goes for using Twitter (or any blog for that matter).

The first thing you want to do is join Twitter (free and easy) and set up your profile. This takes only a matter of minutes. If you have a company URL make sure you include it in your profile. Next, use the search criteria to find others that are conversing (called Tweeting) about topics you are interested: economy, marketing, golf, wine, et al. Once you identify these people, go to their profile and start following them. You will then be able to follow what they are talking about every time they make a Tweet. If they say something that interests you, hit the reply button and send them a comment. But make sure you say something that adds value to the conversation, because you ultimately want them to then click on your profile and start following you as well.

Your ultimate goal is to repeat this process as much as possible so that you begin to get a lot of people to follow you. When this happens, whatever you say via your updates will be seen by everyone who is following you. And when you’re able to steer the conversation in the direction that your company’s value becomes relevant, then you can point them to other places on the Web (links to your Web site, or other Web articles) that promote you and your business.

But you can’t become addicted to Twitter if you don’t jump in. So set up your profile and start sharing your opinions with the world. And don’t forget to follow me @SternalPR.