When Twitter started in 2006 it was a platform for technology savvy people to communicate with each other in a quick and easy method.

Six years later that has all changed.

First lets learn some quick facts about twitter:

• A third of monthly Twitter users are 25- 34 years old—the next generation to buy your products
• U.S. Twitter users have higher incomes than the general population
• More than half of active Twitter users follow companies, brands or products on social networks

With more than 200 million users and 1.6 billion searches per day Twitter has become one of the largest and most successful social networks in the world.

However, there in lies the question. How can my retail store use Twitter to capture more customers?

The answer is much more varied than you would expect. Twitter is a social media tool that has extensive business opportunities. Lets take a look at
four unique ways you can use Twitter’s community for your business.

1. Customer Service – Call centers and online chats can be good for customer service questions, but what about the quick questions that customers don’t want to have to sit on hold in order to get answered? Enter Twitter.

2. Lead Generation – Twitter can be a great source for lead generation. Share blog posts, run twitter contests and promotions with your Twitter community. Make sure you are using your website to collect emails from customers so they can get a special coupon or offer.

3. Search Engine Optimization – Social media will only get more and more important in search engine optimization. Bing for example has a deal with Twitter to display data in its search engine and also uses Twitter data in its ranking algorithm.

4. Growing Other Social Media Communities – Make sure to cross promote your Facebook and Pinterest pages on your Twitter account. Provide opportunities for fans of your business to engage with your business on their preferred network.

This is by no means ALL of the ways you can use Twitter for business, but it is a solid start.

Keep in mind…social media alone won’t drive traffic into your store. The key to being truly successful is digging beyond the typical ad speak and spotlight your strong points and what makes you unique in a world of strong competition.