While this post has been a long time coming, I hope it will be well worth the time it takes to read. For some unknown reason, I had been putting off signing-up for a Twitter account for a few months now. I had heard about Twitter and some of it’s advantages before, but I guess I thought it was more important to focus on the Social Networking I was already doing on some of the other networks (i.e. Facebook, MySpace, Bebo etc.). Finally, I found myself with a little time on my hands, so I decided to look a little further into Twitter and how it could help my Social Networking. Man, am I ever sorry I waited!

Since joining, I have found that Twitter is not only a supremely valuable tool useful for acquiring information from other members posting “Tweets”, but it is also a great way to promote yourself, your business, your product, your event etc. Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? All in 140 characters or less.

Now, you’re probably asking yourself… Why should I use Twitter?

Well, if you’re reading this blog post, chance are that you are trying to find ways to make money through the use of Social Networking, right? If that’s the case, then twitter is definitely for you. By posting regular updates to Twitter, you can place links to your business, products, websites, blog posts and/or affiliate links in a place where a TON of people can see them and follow them. Better still, the more quality information that you provide to other Twitter users, the greater the chances become of you acquiring more followers.

You see, followers are other people on Twitter who have found the updates that you post to be worthwhile and so they have decided to “follow” your “Tweets”. That means that whenever you post something to your Twitter account, it also gets posted into your followers feeds so that they can see your updates without having to leave their own page. Better still, if the “Tweet” that you have sent is quality information, your followers may want to Re-Tweet it themselves, so all of their followers can see it to. Talk about getting your link spread virally!

This brings me to a quick tip: Keep your “Tweets” short. That way, there is more room for your followers to Re-Tweet them. You see, a Re-Tweet actually requires that the person Re-Tweeting the original update adds some text to your message. You don’t want to run out of room in the 140 character update limit so that you ensure your followers get a chance to Re-Tweet your update.

So, in conclusion, I have found Twitter to be an extremely valuable tool for anyone that is trying to make money online through the use of Social Networking. It’s a great way to promote yourself, your business, your product, your affiliate program, your event, etc. to a HUGE audience. If you’re not using Twitter to promote yourself, you are missing out!

Check it out for yourself! Follow GetPaidBeSocial on Twitter and see what it’s all about.

You can also follow Steve Westfall on Twitter here (that’s me!).

Let’s face it. Social networking sites provide a ton of free traffic.

So, how can this help your blog?

It can help your blog tremendously. Many social networks come equipped with some sort of service, application or gadget that lets members share links with their social friends. If you write a blog, this is a great avenue for you to put every single one of your blog posts in front of each and every one of your friends on the network that you are using. This can provide you with a steady flow of traffic from your social network to your blog for free. If you have properly set-up your blog with quality posts and ads that generate revenue, this traffic increase can also mean an increase in revenue!

It’s easy. Every time that you complete a new post, make sure to share the permalink to the post using your social network’s “share a link” service. Most of these “share a link” services (like the one on Facebook) will actually post a brief summary of your post along with the link to help entice people viewing the link at your social network to click through and continue reading your post. That is, as long as you’ve written something that will attract your friends attention and make them want to read the full story.

Some social networks (like MySpace and Yuwie) even allow you to have your own free blog. If your a blogger with your own stand alone blog, you can use this free blog provided by the social network to post a short summary of your posts that include the permalink back to your original post on your blog. More free, targeted traffic! Another bonus of using this method is that it creates more incoming links to your blog which can help increase your blog’s visibilty in the search engine results. Better visibilty in the search engine results, can also lead to an increase in traffic!

Once you get the hang of spreading your blog posts around the social networks this way, you can branch out and try to place even more links back to your blog throughout the social networks. Many social networks have discussion boards, forums, clubs, groups, etc. that are focused on a particular activity, event, place, or product. Search around your social network and find discussions, clubs, groups etc. that are related to your blog or blog post and add your post summary that includes the permalink back to your blog. Other members of your social network that regularly view that discussion board, forum, club or group will see your summary. Peak their interest and they will visit your blog to read the rest of the story. More free traffic!

Remember, more traffic to your blog means more people are viewing and/or clicking on the money making ads that you have placed on your blog. If you’re blogging about products that you’re selling through your blog or website, more traffic may also provide you with an increase in sales. Don’t expect miracles. It takes a while to develop a strong blog following. Keep writing and posting. Eventually you’re target audience will find you.