The biggest problem encountered by small online businesses is not money - it's time. You don't always have that ample time to do things that would help in marketing your business, and moving into Twitter marketing does not only consumes time, it's also complicated as well due to many information that are readily available online.

But that's exactly why you should use Twitter - it's simple, intuitive and it doesn't take much time! With Twitter, you can:

1. Get new visitors - You can now find tweets in searches, people do follow links on Twitter to see where they lead, and the hash tag makes it simple for anyone interested in your product to find and follow you.

2. Connect with your existing visitors - Almost techy person has a Twitter account today, so if you're marketing online, Twitter is one more way you can stay on the radar of your visitors' feeds and create brand awareness and stronger relationships.

3. Provide customer service - Twitter can be used to answer questions from visitors and buyers, and increase all your readers' awareness about your product and your commitment to service.

But before you head out to enroll a new Twitter account, bear in mind that there are some things Twitter is not good for.

Best practices on Twitter include avoiding all of the
following:

1. Noise. Don't send meaningless messages and don't spam your followers' feeds! They'll unfollow you in a heartbeat and you won't attract new visitors.

2. Too much informal messaging. As a business owner, you should always be careful about how often you tweet and what you write; be professional and don't say anything that you wouldn't want to be connected with your company and product. But don't be really strict and business-like at all times!

3. Selling. Twitter is great for interaction and for sending direct messages to your followers and other people through the creative use of hash tags. But Twitter is where people like to have fun and connect with each other on small or big things; so don't try to sell there. That's what your web site is for, right?

Twitter works best as a complement to your existing site and as an additional but important medium through which you can reach out to and connect with your market. By having the right expectations and following best practices you can avoid both disappointment and backlash, and also have fun!

Pilar Torres - Take a look at our Free Jargon Free Web Marketing Strategy videos aimed at beginners. Check out our Professional Website Hosting Services website at http://www.pickaweb.co.uk/ . We also offer Reseller Hosting and other services such as Online Website Builder, Dedicated Servers, Domain Names, Data Backup, Web Design, Web Design Templates, Email Marketing, 0800 Numbers and VPS Hosting.