Quick Twitter monitoring for busy businesses
No business wants to waste time (and therefore money) on activities that don’t deliver a good return, and it’s true that some people 
still consider Twitter a social tool rather than a commercial one, but there are plenty of reasons to get involved with it. Twitter can be used to establish yourself as a knowledgeable expert in your field, or it can be used to find new clients directly.
In terms of the raw number of searches performed each month, Twitter sees more than Bing and Yahoo together. The figure is a little misleading (the percentage of automated searches is much higher on Twitter) but it does demonstrate the massive power and influence of social media. Twitter is now being used as a source of news as well as entertainment.
Social searching is also growing fast. 20 years ago, you might have picked up the telephone directory when to find a local plumber. 10 years ago, searching through Google would have been just as likely. Now, rather than relying on a search engine’s rankings to find the best plumber in your area, you may well put out a call on Facebook or Tweet something like ‘Anyone know a good plumber in Philadelphia?’
People who use Twitter in this way are looking for trusted recommendations from real people, but smart businesses who monitor Twitter for terms like “plumber” + “Philadelphia” can also reply, and if they appear helpful they’ve got a good chance of picking up a new client.
Twitter monitoring isn’t difficult and it doesn’t have to take up time. Tools like Monitter (monitter.com) trawl through Twitter traffic in real time, collecting relevant posts within a set geographical area. Others, like Tweetbeep can send email updates whenever your chosen set of search terms comes up. If you use Google Alerts to monitor new websites, Tweetbeep can extend your watch to include Twitter traffic. Twazzup searches through recent news items and Tweets for the terms of your choice. There are also numerous mobile apps for sending, reading, and monitorring tweets.
If you’re serious about Twitter monitoring Monitter can be left running in the background as you work. Once set up, Tweetbeep won’t bother you unless something relevant comes up, and whenever you happen to have a spare five minutes, you can check Twazzup or a mobile app like Echofon. Twitter monitoring doesn’t have to take long and it doesn’t have to be complex. Anyone can do it, and enjoy the benefits.