Want to know how to market your business for free?

It is nothing new but it is surprising how many businesses are not taking advantage of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Twitter has just announced it one billionth 'tweet' and expects it twenty billionth tweet by July, that growth is really quite incredible and also it is interesting to note that London has the most active 'tweeters' so for all those of you that think it is an 'American thing' you are very wrong and quite possibly missing out on some extra business!

I am going to concentrate to Twitter today as although both social networking sites they are slightly different. Firstly you should open a Twitter account which is again completely free, your user name will depend on your business, for example if you are trying to promote a brand then it would be a good idea to have that as your username however if you are offering a service i.e. accountant or consultant then it is your name (and the reputation behind your name) that you want to build and it is strongly suggested that you use a real photo rather than your logo as this will allow people to identify with you, putting a name to a face and all that.

You then want to look at some of the big players and see who is following them, this again will depend on your business but as an example your could try the start to follow the BBC and see who is following them and then start to follow them, most people will reciprocate and hey presto you have taken the first steps to building your online profile.

Your tweets' will now appear to all those who follow you, if you want people to follow a link then you need to make it interesting otherwise it will simply blend into the landscape and have very little effect.

There are a number of ways to set up your 'tweets' for example:

Logging in online or through various applications, there are too many to mention and start tweeting!

Setting up an RSS feed from your website – so that every time you add a news story of even a new product it will automatically display on Twitter.

Using a widget on your website - sharethis is a popular one, this allows users to post a product, service or news story on their own account which links back to your website.

'Tweet' your newsletter, want to expand your circulation? Mailchimp for example will give you the option to 'tweet' your newsletter so that not only do your subscribed users get to see your newsletter but also all of your fellow tweeters!!

Of course although this is a free service it does take time and can be frustrating at the beginning but it is well worth taking the time to look into further.

Good Luck

James