Twitter has continually been one of the most mysterious and misunderstood marketing channels for many businesses. The speed of the information, the suitable content to share, the millions of users, the terminology: what does it all mean?

Although with that said, I’ve seen many companies drastically change their opinion of Twitter in recent years. They have begun to understand that taking it for face-value can be unwise and can actually hurt the competitive nature of their business online.

A better approach to Twitter marketing is to look at the huge opportunities that Twitter holds. Not only are there millions of users, but the members of your target market (not to mention your competitors) are there interacting, discussing and setting appointments.

How do I know this? Managing and executing countless Twitter campaigns over the years, my clients were able to get more hits to their website, set media appointments, get full penetration during live events/exhibitions, set sales calls, qualify leads and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

To drive this point home, I want to talk about the wonderful RT.

I think one of the most interesting and misunderstood aspects of Twitter is the ReTweet (otherwise known and further referred to in this as RT). The power of this alone should make a Twitter naysayer listen a little closer.

Imagine if you had a market on Twitter of 50 followers (which are similar to LIKES on Facebook, but MUCH more powerful). You wrote an update sharing your latest blog. Someone searching Twitter for information about the topic of your blog comes across your “Tweet”. They like the content and decide to share it with their audience and RT it.

They have 100,000 followers.

You just got the potential number of eyes that would see your Tweet from 50 to 100,000. Also, the person who RTs it was an opinion leader in your field or maybe even a prominent media outlet. Imagine the credibility this will give your Tweet.

I’ll stop there. If Twitter is a marketing channel that you have been avoiding, just think about the power of this ONE aspect of the whole experience. This alone could help you reach more people than a typical print advertisement or television advertisement. Not to mention the endorsement that you would receive from a trusted source.

My advice? If you are not using Twitter, it may be time to reconsider.