Au Courant: Making the Most of Twitter for Business

Lots of high tech companies still don't use Twitter or use it well (e.g., they read tweets, but never post; they don't monitor keywords related to their business; they never initiate dialogs with strangers).

These tech-savvy but Twitter-naive companies could learn a thing or two from the world of letters. A growing number of small presses are taking advantage of the Twitter platform and 140-character tweets to share news, build communities, and offer promotions.

New Directions Press (@NewDirections) regularly posts about upcoming publications (and since they frequently involve Roberto Bolano, I update my bookstore wish list accordingly). Richard Nash of SoftSkull Press (@softskull) is another frequent Twitter user. He recently used Twitter to announce a new catalog:

Soft Skull Spring 09 catalog now available, yo. Download http://is.gd/8zrR & email for review copies. (Here's Winter 09 http://is.gd/8zE1 )

Today he retweeted a promotion from highly esteemed Graywolf Press (@GraywolfPress):

RT @GraywolfPress: REMINDER: get 25% off your entire order at www.graywolfpress.org. Use code "twitter25" in customer notes Good til Monday.

Businesses of all kinds, including software companies, could learn a thing or two about social media strategies from book people like Nash and the Twitter users at these other presses. And, of course, business people will also want to take advantage of that promotion from Graywolf—a longtime publisher of wonderful books. And then there's the new catalog from SoftSkull and ...