Twitter, the popular microblogging Web 2.0 application is one of the fastest-growing (eclipsed only by Facebook) and one of the best tools for brand monitoring and customer communication.

Twitter isn’t a revenue stream in and of itself as there isn’t a direct channel for earnings from Twitter. However, if it’s used correctly, there is no better tool for reaching out to customers on an as-it-happens basis.

Now, just like everything else in the social media sphere, every cool new site isn’t for every business. Whether or not a platform is right for your store depends on the amount of time you can spend with it, the level of engagement you’re willing to accept and the depth of conversation you’re willing to have. Each community has its own standards, and if the standards aren’t compatible with your input, it’s better to focus elsewhere.

Not too long ago, a company started following me on Twitter that really stood out as an example of using the application incorrectly. Here’s what they did wrong:

1. Bad Design.

Twitter’s feed of updates (or ‘tweets’) is organized in a vertical list. This company’s page had a busy, tiled background of its logo. This didn’t make me want to keep my eyes on the page. In fact, my eyes were being pulled in many directions at once. Isolate a nice, eye-friendly color in your branding, and make a calm, monotone background with your branding in the upper left – where anybody looking at your page will see it and where it won’t interfere with other page design elements.

2. Being Spammy

The business posts links to blog posts every few hours. That’s spammy, and will lead to people unfollowing. Remember, quality trumps quantity in all social media and in Twitter especially (because space is at a premium of 140 characters).

Looking at Summize.com (the Twitter Search Engine) to see what people are saying about this company, several people have responded favorably to one article. That’s probably the one thing the person managing the account should have used and cut the others: I’ll say it again: quality trumps quantity in all social media and in Twitter especially.

3. No Conversation.

Going back to the Summize results, there have been a number of direct replies (@ messages, for the Twitter-savvy), but the account hasn’t been responding to any of them. You’re missing the point of social media if you aren’t going to be social.

In the space of a few days, the account was suspended by Twitter due to excessive complaints about its spamminess, so plenty of other people must have agreed with me.

Just like every other marketing strategy, abusing Twitter or using it poorly is not going to reap positive effects, and it’s very easy to abuse Twitter or use it ineptly. Make sure your post is going to be of value to your followers.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 at 9:57 am and is filed under eBiz Insider. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.