Don't be afraid to tweet

Digg, Facebook, del.icio.us, Zimbio....the lists goes on. Every day it seems that some new quirky way of sharing content, networking and engaging with an audience enters the brave new world of social media.

But it's hard to know whether these sort of services can benefit your business and many entrepreneurs think they haven't got the time to spend digging articles or poking people. I admit I've been guilty of that many times.

One of the new services I've recently discovered is Twitter, described as a 'social networking and microblogging service'. The site allows users to send updates, or "tweets", to update their friends, family, business partners and colleagues on what they are doing. I signed up because I felt I should but didn't really know what to write so 'Dan is twittering for the first time' was all I could think of. I haven't done anything since because I couldn't see the point. But then I discovered it does have real business benefits.

US-based Southwest Airlines is using Twitter to directly communicate with its customers. Among the conversations on its Twitter page are not only announcements about its latest services but also direct responses to complaints by customers.

In these days where the web dominates, do something wrong as a business and it'll be on the internet within minutes. And it's not just the case for big corporates, the same is true for small firms. However, by responding to complaints like Southwest Airlines and engaging directly with your customers and clients you can turn positives into negatives.

So the next time you read about a new social media site and dismiss it as a fad; think again as it could really benefit your business.

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