Small businesses are the most to profit from Web 2.0 sites. Social network sites such as Twitter bring businesses and customers closer than ever before. One of the key reasons why Twitter is great for small businesses is that they actually do care about their customers and what better way to let them know than through chirpy tweets. Twitter is a social network and micro blog that lets users post tweets in 140 characters or less. Thus, small businesses have to know what they want to say and when and how to use Twitter in effective and versatile ways to get through to their target audience.

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One of the biggest worries that small businesses have is that they don’t have time to spend on Twitter and can’t constantly tweeting. The important thing about Twitter is to understand how your Twitter account or accounts can be managed with minimum effort. Twitter tools make this task easier and simpler. Here is a list of the top five Twitter tools that small businesses should consider.

Top 5 Tools for Small Businesses

Search tools: Some tools are part of the Twitter site while others have been developed by third party developers who have recognized a need and accordingly created a service. Small businesses can simplify the task of looking for their target audience by either using http://twitter.com/search or a tool such as Twitter Hawk. The idea is that the tool locates tweets that include search terms provided by you. Thereafter you can accordingly follow up.

TweetLater: Most small business owners don’t have the time to tweet on an hourly basis and often they don’t have the time to send out notifications at the right time. Systemize your business’ tweets by using http://www.tweetlater.com a service allows you to create tweets and schedule a timeline for them. This essentially means that you can take some time in the week and create and schedule tweets and not worry about them for the next few days.

Twhirl or Tweet Deck: Opt for desktop based Twitter tools that allow you to organize your fans and followers and keep up with tweets on your own terms. Twhirl and Tweet Deck both offer Twitter users the convenience of being able to manage their Twitter account without actually being on the site.

Twitqpon: http://www.twitqpon.com is a Twitter tool that allows you to promote your business on Twitter by offering twitqpons to your followers and friends. This is also a great way to keep them interested in your business and your tweets.

My Tweeple: If you are worried about keeping a list of who you are friends with and who is following you, use http://www.mytweeple.com to keep a track of them. The tool also allows you to make changes to your list.

There are plenty of Twitter tools that can be used to make your business presence felt on Twitter. Check out the latest list of applications on http://twitdom.com. Twitter is found to be an effective mode of communication and advertising for both online and offline businesses.

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