It is hard not to use Twitter for one-way communication. The way the stream flies past so fast conversations and interactions take work. Plus, you usually have to follow a trail of breadcrumbs to see what the initial tweet was about.

However, because that’s how the majority of users are handling their time on Twitter, it becomes useful in ways you may not have thought of.

Catch Folks On Their Mobile Phone

Mobile messaging is one of the most effective ways to connect with customers. You do not always have access to their mobile phone. yet most people with smart phones, receive Twitter updates on the phone. This makes Twitter a useful way to get a quick 140 character message out into the local marketplace. It has a similar impact as a text message without the expense and learning curve of a mobile management app.

Media

Since you can search Twitter using local geographical data, you can locate local journalists and see what they’re talking about. Tools like Muckrack and Cision’s Journalist Tweets, you can locate your local media folks – producers, editors and writers – and see, not only how active they are, but what are their usual hot buttons. If one guy is often publishing articles about consumer scams you know he is the go-to guy for your problem with a Big Brand whose customer service people are giving you the run-around. You can also determine which media outlets would be a good fit to share the story of your product or service on a wider basis.

Laser-Targeted Search

When you use the advanced search function on Twitter – search.Twitter.com – you can put in keywords that tweeters are using regularly when looking for your product or service. Turn it around, as if you are looking for you, yourself. Rather than entering a word like “handiman” search for “looking for handiman” and you will find all the times that phrase has come up in search within whatever geographic boundaries you have set up. This helps you set up a local list of prospects, which can be quite useful for engaging with potential prospects.

As you can see, here are just 3 of the ways that Twitter has evolved to provide more value in the social media marketing landscape. You can find local journalists, connect with local prospects interested in using your product or service and you can access folks on their mobile phone.