Amid the vast range of online marketing tools available today, Twitter is a bit unique. That’s because unlike Facebook, it doesn’t give you the option of outright advertising; neither is it restricted solely to business contacts, like LinkedIn, nor does it allow for the depth of expression that a personal or company blog would. It’s simply a place to go and share your deepest – or maybe quickest – thoughts and impressions with the world. But can you really help sell anything in 140 characters or less?

As it turns out, yes you can.

Lots of companies are turning Twitter into a valuable part of their overall Internet promotional strategy. The key to making their campaigns work is to treat the site like the unique forum it is, rather than trying to use the same tactics you would on different platforms.

Here are three tips to help you get the most out of Twitter marketing:

Be fun. The quick-hit nature of tweets means that your potential customers are going to have the attention spans of small insects; for that reason, your tweets are going to have to be at least a little bit informative or entertaining to attract readers.

Start conversations, not pitches. Twitter, like all social media sites, is a bad place to speak at people. Engage potential customers in questions and conversations – at least a few of which that weren’t started by you – rather than going straight into your marketing message.

Think stealth. When you do tweet an offer you want potential customers to follow up on, wrap it in a softer message, like a note about industry trends or link to an informative article. Otherwise, all the trust and goodwill you’ve built up to be lost in an instant.

Regards - David A. West

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