Whether your business has been established for many years, or you’re just getting launched, you may find Twitter is a useful tool in marketing your wedding business. In this post, we’re going to highlight some insight from industry experts, social media gurus, and Twitter users to help you learn if having a brand presence on Twitter is right for you. Although Twitter was originally intended for communication among individuals, a number of large organizations began to actively participate on the platform during 2009. Many experts agree that Twitter will continue to achieve legitimacy in 2010.

“There’s no question that Twitter became mainstream in 2009. I won’t rehash all of the examples, but suffice it to say that when your local news outlets are suggesting you follow them on Twitter, it’s mainstream.” – Scott Monty (@scottmonty), head of Social Media Marketing at Ford Motor Company

According to a BIA/Kelsey’s Local Commerce Monitor study, 9% of small and medium-sized businesses use Twitter to market their businesses. And 32% of those businesses said they plan to include social media in their marketing plans in the next 12 months by using a page on a social site.

What are you trying to accomplish?

Like any marketing effort you do, start by asking yourself “What do you want to accomplish?” Keeping your business goals in the forefront of your mind should remain a central part of any marketing you do, online or otherwise. When setting goals, remember to make them SMART goals. That means they are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. If you’ve never gone through the exercise of writing out your business goals or a statement of your business objective, grab a pen and paper and do it now. Tack it up on the wall, stand back, and take it in. Now, with your goals in mind, answer the question, “How can Twitter help me accomplish this goal?”

“I feel like Twitter is a tool that all small business owners should use as part of their overall efforts to build a distributed social media footprint.” – Mark Hayward (@mark_hayward), creator of a non-profit organization who blogs about social media

Businesses are using Twitter for a variety of objectives including Customer Service, Marketing, Public Relations, Branding, Driving Traffic, Networking, and Research. Some businesses monitor Twitter for mentions of their brand, business opportunities, trends in popular culture, and company reputation.

“I use Twitter as an outpost. My blog is my homebase, my site is on my own domain which I control, and then I interact in other spaces such YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter as a way to build the homebase. It drives traffic, but also builds the brand, and it builds the community and network around my homebase. This is how I justify spending hours on someone else’s site because I now do see the benefits building my own homebase.” – Darren Rowse (@problogger), Twitter skeptic turned addict

Who is your primary audience?

When thinking about your clients and potential clients, ask yourself, “Are they on Twitter?” The average age of a bride in the United States is 25 (first marriage). Studies show that Twitter users have a median age of 31 compared to 27 for MySpace, 26 for Facebook and 40 for LinkedIn. Twitter’s largest user groups are 18-29 year olds (33%) and 35-49 year olds (22%).*

Perhaps as you explore the answer to this question, you may find another online platform or social media network is also well suited to reach your online audience. For instance, wedding videographers have a more obvious inclination to build a social media presence on YouTube where videos are the primary content, and likewise, for photographers on Flickr or Picassa. However, integrating multiple social media platforms may be a wise move. Over time, one or two may prove to be more successful for your brand or service. Stay tuned for our upcoming article “Facebook 101 and Your Wedding Business.”

“Introducing relevance and focus, we realize that we don’t have to be everywhere in order to create presence.” – Brian Solis (@briansolis), Principal of FutureWorks, a PR and New Media agency in Silicon Valley, California

Okay, so where do you start?

If you’re new to Twitter, we recommend you review Twitter 101 for Business to help you learn the lingo. Ask people you know for insight from their Twitter experience. Let someone be your tour guide to show you the basics. Before you start tweeting for your business and allowing employees to tweet on behalf of your company, take some time to educate yourself and your staff about Twitter and Twitter etiquette. Get yourself off on the right foot by reading Twitter’s own “best practices” guide.

Here’s some simple advice to start with:

“Manners in real life extend to manners in Twitter.” – Laura Fitton (@pistachio), founder of OneForty.com and co-author of Twitter for Dummies

After preparation, the first action step is to register your Twitter account. Identify key players on Twitter within your niche market or industry, especially locally. Listen and observe before you begin tweeting anything. Review your outline of objectives, purpose, and audience. Leverage your audience on other forums, sites, and printed items to include links and mentions of your Twitter account.

Begin tweeting, being active on Twitter at peak times based on your audience. If your Twitter audience is wedding planners, then you should be aware that they’re likely working a events on weekends and their peak activity time is more likely weekdays (especially, Tuesday – Thursday) during business hours. Similarly, if your desired audience is a bride, then keep in mind that her age and lifestyle will influence when she’s most active on Twitter.

Decide now how much time you want to spend on Twitter. Consider it an investment, but stick to your limitations. We teach in our Roots Training Program workshops how essential boundaries and guidelines are to any small business owner, so that you use your time wisely and maintain a healthy work/life balance. Using Twitter is no different. Scheduling your Twitter time is a safe way to avoid getting lost in the Twitterverse (translation: Twitter universe).

“Twitter marketing is not direct, it’s not always that you can just plug in the formula of the amount of time you spend on Twitter divided by the generated sales. You can’t measure the immediate impact of your brand’s Twitter presence. Trying to plug Twitter into a formula won’t work unless the formula results include brand awareness, exposure and word-of-mouth.” – Anna (@LucidAnna), jewelry designer, entrepreneur of Lucid New York

Happy tweeting! Or, twittering (whichever you prefer). Oh, and if you’re not already, start following Dallas Wedding Planner (@BigDweddings) on Twitter and let us know how you’re using Twitter to promote your wedding business. Tell us about any successes or mistakes you’ve discovered in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you. After all, we’re in this together.

Stay tuned for our upcoming article next week “7 Benefits of Using Twitter for Business.”

*Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project Survey conducted from Aug 18 – Sep 14, 2009.