TWITTER for Business — Is it just a passing Fad?

What started off as a new way to socialise online using just 140 characters has become irreplaceable in the lives of many people. The success of TWITTER as a Social Media Platform until recently had businesses thinking. Could this be used as a medium for sharing information and as an open source of communication with Prospects, Clients, Suppliers and other Interest Groups? First it was the multinationals who hopped onto the Twitter bandwagon. The medium-to-small businesses waited to see if their larger counterparts could gain traction from the medium. They did not have to wait for long. As TWITTER continued to surge ahead in popularity, businesses large and small realised that in a world where “hard sell” is passé and sharing of information is the new mantra, ignoring TWITTER was not really an option. The question that was being asked was whether TWITTER was just a passing fad that would fade away in a few years or whether it’s here to stay, and should be integrated into the long term Marketing Strategy of a business. How should a business interpret TWITTER in a way that makes it more meaningful?