Pros & Cons of Twitter for Business and Personal Use [50 Free Tools + Resources]

When it comes to Twitter people are clearly divided. Some people hate Twitter, others love it. Both of them are right for different reasons.

Actually there are many pros and cons of Twitter. Here you’ll find plenty of them plus resources to actually use it.

Unlike Facebook where you just follow friends and family you already know Twitter gets used to follow mostly strangers you are interested in.

Follow me to get the latest insights on blogging, social media and search!

Indeed I’ve been using Twitter for personal and business purposes since 2008 and it is a powerful link sharing, social networking and crowdsourcing tool for me. These are just the most obvious benefits of using Twitter.

Twitter Pros and Cons Overview

Not interested in the free tools and resources? Just want a quick overview of the Twitter pros and cons for personal and business use? Here they are:

	pros	cons
	there is a lot of traffic generation potential	traffic generation works mostly for mainstream opinions
	meeting like-minded individuals globally is easy	getting into trouble with trolls and bots is easy
	messages are short and thus not as labor-intensive	Twitter can be a time-suck despite the shortness of updates
	you can get the latest news quickly	you can get inundated with depressing bad news
	it’s easy to follow different types of people via lists	you can get overwhelmed by the sheer number of updates
	Twitter does not require real names	Fake accounts are a problem despite crackdowns
	Twitter gives your business free publicity	People rarely buy directly on or from Twitter
	No political ads are allowed on Twitter	Donald Trump and other provocateurs spread division
	Twitter is great for free speech and self-expression	You can get easily persecuted for your Twitter updates

Why Did I Use Come up with a Pros and Cons of Twitter List?

Why do I use Twitter personally? How does it work for my own business? I started using it back in 2008!

Twitter wasn’t my favorite tool in the beginning. It took me some time to get it or even to understand why I need Twitter and what the pitfalls are. Yet here I am almost 15 years later and I still use it!

I even offer Twitter content writing and management services for clients all over the world!

That’s why came up with a Twitter pros and cons list for those still undecided here are the pros, cons and Twitter tools to make the experience of tweeting much more convenient as well as productive.

Indeed Twitter is a lot like Facebook although it’s a different concept.

Both sites do not necessarily result in significant direct traffic or other benefits you can measure easily unless you are very popular.

I wanted to share my thoughts on Twitter to help you decide whether it makes sense or not.

Additionally I collected Twitter related tools and resources to enable you to answer the question: to tweet or not to tweet?

Also once you decided you actually want to use it despite the potential cons, you will find plenty of ideas how to use it below:

Reasons to Use Twitter

As you might suspect there are plenty of reasons to use Twitter. It often depends on who you are and what you do for a living. Anybody in

publishing
journalism
blogging
marketing

will probably use it all the time. Many other business users probably also will but here already there are different opinions.

Some brands consider Twitter to be secondary because other social networking tools are much larger both by sheer user numbers and actual engagement.

Yet Facebook and Instagram – both owned by controversial billionaire Mark Zuckerberg – are walled gardens that hide their content from Google. YouTube is also huge but not a social network at all.

Google search for site:Twitter.com/onreact hsoing tweets from a few years.

In contrast Twitter updates called tweets show up in Google search results since 2015 more frequently as they reached a deal to display tweets that matter. What does that mean?

Google will sometimes show your tweets on top of search results for your name or business name.

Google does not index all Twitter updates, only those that have been linked to or shared by others in most cases unless your account is very powerful in general.

Twitter is treated like any other website when it comes to indexing and ranking so that linked to pages get an additional boost on Google.

I’ve compiled links providing both actual personal stories of positive Twitter usage and some articles that cover benefits that are objectively there.

With Twitter Communities allowing you to create user groups or smaller semi-private audiences and Super Follows that let you charge for (additional) tweets or perks added in 2021 Twitter seems to be further improving.

Reasons NOT to Use Twitter

Twitter is indeed controversial to some extent even after many years of existence. That may be the reason why it never went mainstream like Facebook.

Here are some personal stories and also die hard facts that may discourage you from actually engaging on Twitter. Make sure to find out what the downsides are.

You need to know these things before you actually plunge in and take a deep dive on Twitter.

I don’t want you to waste your time and money in case you aren’t really convinced. Why exactly?

In short Twitter has lots of issues. Some of them worse than others and none of them has been devastating yet but they add up. There is a lot of

fear
anger
hate

spreading on the platform. Bots and automated accounts are creating a lot of

noise
spam
fakes

Censorship is an ongoing issue that even made billionaire Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX critize the site and buy enough Twitter shares to make him the largest shareholder and de facto owner.

A related issue over the years has been the involvement of Saudi Arabia both legal and illegal – an absolute monarchy keen on subduing democratic opposition both online and offline.

You can even get banned immediately for a petty offense like a joke despite having more than 150k followers.

Personally I had to limit my engagement on Twitter in recent years because the sheer onslaught of negativity, outrage, bad news and propaganda exhausted me.

Below are some of the issues and examples covered in detail on third party sites:

Twitter Clients

Twitter clients are tools that allow you to access Twitter by other means than the Twitter.com website itself.

Here are some of the most popular Twitter tools that could be used as “clients”. Some of them are broader platforms allowing you to access multiple social media sites.

I’ve used most of them myself and still use one of them – TweetDeck – regularly.

Twitter.com is a bit hard to use as you get easily overwhelmed with updates. The new Twitter layout is also quite controversial.

The first three clients are ideal for business use and marketing campaigns. Make sure not to over-automate though!

Hootsuite and Buffer also work with many other social media sites, not just Twitter.

Free Twitter Scanners

One of the great things about Twitter almost from day one was the plethora of third party tools enhancing the user experience of the service.

Many tools have disappeared over the years. Twitter has made it hard for tool makers to stay afloat. Yet some of them remain stable and useful.

The tools you find in this list have been around for many years and have a working business model behind them.

They allow you to scan your tweets for manifold reasons.

You can scan your content or your followers to find out more about yourself and others you interact with.

It’s highly recommended. Otherwise Twitter might be a bit overwhelming.

The Tweeted Times: A newspaper-like Twitter interface that collects links from your Twitter friends – Take a look at mine
ManageFlitter – An advanced Twitter account management tool, allows you to mute selfish people etc. Sadly ManageFlitter no longer offers a free option by 2021.
TweetReach by Union Metrics shows the actual impact on Twitter by displaying statistics for a given hashtag, account or keyword.
TwitterAudit is a simple yet very useful tool that determines whether the Twitter followers of a given account are real or fake. This also helps to find out whether it is a bot or not itself.

Twitter Howto’s, Tutorials and Resources

Twitter demographics according to Sprout Social

When you finally decide to use Twitter for business and get serious about it you’ll notice that it is harder that it might appear at first.

It’s not just about sharing links or short updates and forgetting about them. You won’t have an audience just by tweeting, especially when you solely broadcast instead of engaging.

You need to treat Twitter like a blog and build an audience first.

When you use Twitter for business you will also realize that you can’t simply sell to your followers or that automation of updates won’t suffice.

Make sure to invest some time and effort into your Twitter account. Don’t just get frustrated after a few days or weeks. It might take a while before it works for you.

Twitter use for business is actually pretty hard. That’s why I also offer social media management services for Twitter where I

engage
curate
build an audience.

on behalf of clients. It’s not unlike ghost writing but I don’t hide the fact that I’m a social media professional and usually add my name (e.g. “Tad”) to updates so they aren’t just bot-like anonymous messages.

How Do You Use Twitter?

Now of course the main reason why I use Twitter is to inform you of my eating habits!

No, just kidding, rather to indoctrinate you with my SEO 2.0 propaganda. It does only make sense when I have enough people to preach to.

OK, follow me now in case you are really serious about the SEO 2.0 cult!

How do you use Twitter?
Do you use a client?
If yes, which one?
What are you using Twitter for?
What do you tweet about actually?
What are you doing?
What is your user name?

In case it makes sense I’ll

follow you
@reply to you
retweet you!

Did I miss some valuable links? Add them in the comments, this list will be updated in future. Want more? Try 101 tweets on how to use Twitter.

Originally published: April 30th, 2008.
Last updated: April 25th, 2022.

Still not convinced you can use Twitter for business purposes but you’d like to? Stuck with a personal account and struggling to keep it alive?

I can take care of your Twitter account for you! I’m a professional social media manager and have been using Twitter successfully since 2008.

* (CC BY-ND 2.0) Golden-hooded Tanager by Andy Morffew

Sovrn

Last updated: September 13, 2022 · Definitions, Empowerment, Productivity, SEO 2.0, Social Media, Twitter

65 Responses

Ann Smarty April 30, 2008 at 14:35 ·

1. Daily but I don’t spend too much time there.
2. Yes
3. TwitterFox (though it’s a bit slow and I plan to switch to something else) + Gtalk
4. For communicating with friends mainly. Sometimes for asking for help with some sphinn submission. That’s also a great news source.
5. SE and social media news mainly.
6. Answering your questions actually :)
7. SEOSmarty
Anne Zieger April 30, 2008 at 16:27 ·

Hi there: Just wanted to say that this was a great Twitter wrap-up, perhaps the best I’ve seen anywhere. (You’re a pro, so I’ll assume you’ve posted it on Sphinn and Gooruze.) It’s a very useful blog generally, actually.

Also, thanks for linking to my blog in the wrap up. Much appreciate the shout out.

Cheers,

Anne Zieger
onreact April 30, 2008 at 16:42 ·

Thanks Ann! Any particular reasons for choosing (or not anymore) TwitterFox?

Thank you Anne: Yeah, I’m a pro in some areas but as a true blue SEO 2.0 I let others do the dirty work of submitting most of the time ;-)
Makakman April 30, 2008 at 16:54 ·

1. Daily
2. Yes
3. Twitteriffic
4. Making new contacts, keeping in touch with friends, sharing latest blog posts and sharing useful links.
5. SEO, SMM and monkey business
6. Building a site
7. makakman
onreact April 30, 2008 at 17:11 ·

Thanks spostareduro: Had to approve you first in WP. So you’re more into humor ;-) ?

Adrienne: So you’re a “connector” in social media terms.

Makakman: Never heard of Twitteriffic. Any reasons for using it?
Paula Hawk April 30, 2008 at 17:11 ·

Brilliant post for Twitter lovers & newbies everywhere!

1 daily
2 yes
3 Twhirl
4 Networking mainly, also to learn from some of the greats in the tech world
5 anything and just about everything
6 thinking I should do some work today :)
7 hawksdomain
spostareduro April 30, 2008 at 16:24 ·

I respect Maki (Dosh Dosh) but had to delete him from my friend list in Pownce. I already view his Tweets. ALL of them..sheesh.

Following Annies lead:
1. 23.9 hrs per day. 22.hrs observation time. 1.9 hrs interaction. (give or take a minute or two)
2. Yup
3. I use Twhirl for recieving my updates. Real time. (unless Twitter’s down, which occasionally happens. you’ll get a tweet 5 hrs after its sent. bummer)
4.mostly observe others and follow links, etc. to get a feel for the people I hang with. and chime in with my own URLS and comments to allow them to get a feel for who they hang with.
5. I Tweet anything that rolls off the top of my little blond head. for example: “Do you poke yourself in Facebook?” (I do), “Does spaghetti come out of your nose if you laugh while chewing it?” “Hey! Check out Tads new post! lmao”…that sort of thing.. ;-)
6. Trying to answer your questions with a full bladder. I guess it will have to wait, since you are impatient and all.
7. SpostareDuro
Adrienne Doss April 30, 2008 at 16:34 ·

1. I mostly lurk and read. Did you mean “how often?” If so, pretty much all day M-F.
2. Yes 3. Twhirl
4. News and hopefully building friendships. I enjoy helping people with their social submissions.
5. I tend to tweet silly things, but I occasionally ask for help.
6. Checking my e-mail and feeds mostly.
7. https://twitter.com/seowoman
Lid April 30, 2008 at 17:52 ·

What a brilliant post! This must have taken forever to write – gonna have to tweet you now and ask :)

1 How do you use Twitter?

I love that I find out stuff there really quickly about people I like – looks like it might take over my RSS because most people let me know when they update a post – YAY!!!

2 Do you use a client?

Yes and no

3 If yes, which one?

Twhirl to read – Web to write

4 What are you using Twitter for?

A ton of stuff but mainly in the hope of getting rid of my feed reader

5 What do you tweet about actually?

Stuff I do, stuff I notice and to get stuff quick!

6 What are you doing?

Going through my feeds [groan]

7 What is your user name?

MadLid :)
onreact April 30, 2008 at 18:09 ·

Thanks Paula! Just followed you :-)

Thank you Lid! in fact it was easier than expected to write this and took I think something like 3 to 4h.

Next post: How to write huge resource posts in 5 minutes ;-)
Melanie April 30, 2008 at 20:01 ·

#1 On my laptop? Maybe I don’t understand the question.
#2 Sometimes.
#3 Twhirl.
#4 I use it for interaction with my SEO peers, sharing information or just to make everyone laugh.
#5 Breaking news, sharing cool links, talking SEO. I tweet about whatever is on my mind.
#6 Burping.
#7 status_girl
Ann Smarty April 30, 2008 at 21:05 ·

RE: TwitterFox – just been using it for a long time (the first client I learned about) but now I know there are quite a few faster ones… like the one Kim cited…
Tibi Puiu April 30, 2008 at 22:27 ·

Good to see your funky sombrero on twitter too. Welcome on board, mate!
» blogging about twittering and twittering about blogging SEO and Findability blog: LJ Banks — findability expert April 30, 2008 at 23:59 ·

[…] blogging about twittering and twittering about blogging Published in April 30th, 2008 Posted by LJ Banks in blogging, web 2.0 Great list of pro and con articles and tools for twittering at SEO 2.0 blog: Twitter Dilemma: To Tweet or Not to Tweet? Pros, Cons, 50+ Links & Tools. […]
Paul April 30, 2008 at 23:12 ·

1 In between the hard work – I like it as a distraction

2 Nope!

3 —

4 Fun, quick link scanning, occasional job interviews including speedos and thongs – don’t ask!

5 SEO / Search / YouTube Video finds

6 Erm … Late night trawling.

7 NorthSouthMedia
Internet Marketing Joy May 1, 2008 at 00:36 ·

Others are claiming that Twitter is not good way of promoting their sites..but for me, I believe that Twitter has a lot of potentials..even though others are saying that it’s not worth it at all..

Anyways thanks for sharing these articles about Twitter and also the different tools you can use for this platform..^^
Kimota May 1, 2008 at 07:42 ·

1. Just started, getting into a daily routine of seeing what other people are reading and networking.
2. Not yet, but I want to install Twhirl tonight
3.See above
4. Networking and promoting my blog as well as keeping up with people.
5. My day, my blog, interesting reads I find…
6. Avoiding writing a particularly boring article on hand care…
7. Kimota
andymurd May 1, 2008 at 12:31 ·

1. I lurk all day and most of the night asking and answering questions.
2. Yes.
3. TwitterFox works well for my style of twitter use.
4. Joining in the conversation, germinating ideas.
5. Random (sometimes cool) geeky things.
6. Trying not to get mad at a stupid javascript error I’ve got fix this morning.
7. andymurd
James Duthie May 1, 2008 at 13:54 ·

I have vehemently defied the Twitter craze up until now. But I’m also reconsidering my stance given the hype, and to be honest I’m wondering if not being on there is actually hurting me…

Sigh…
How To Use Social Media And Social Networking To Popularize Your Blog.... May 1, 2008 at 13:33 ·

[…] Twitter Dilemma: To Tweet or Not to Tweet? Pros, Cons, 50+ Links & Tools. […]
onreact May 1, 2008 at 15:58 ·

Tibi: Now I realzed! I forgot to add your Twitter guide! I will add it along with a dozen more articles soon.

@all: Thanks for the feedack!
NaturalWoman May 1, 2008 at 16:16 ·

I use Twitter to keep up with friends and industry chatter and to connect informally during the workday
As far as a client, I was using twhirl but have issues with it recently. Your post and several comments convinced me to try twitterfox. So far, so good.
Marc May 1, 2008 at 17:07 ·

1 How do you use Twitter?
mainly listening to industry experts and getting the jump on news stories

2 Do you use a client?
yes

3 If yes, which one?
twitterfox

4 What are you using Twitter for?
industry news, social networking, fun with friends

5 What do you tweet about actually?
marketing news, cool stuff, whatever nonsense i might be doing at the moment

6 What are you doing?
catching up on the latest tech and marketing news

7 What is your user name?
nyseo
Ann Rusnak ~ The Time Diva May 1, 2008 at 17:27 ·

Great list tnx for @jlturn for posting this in Facebook

1. Almost every day. I do take days off. So twitter doesn’t drain my time, I turn it off and off during the day.

2.Yes.

3.Twhirl allows me to manage my twitter time.

4. Build relationships, talk to friends and colleagues, get help, find great resources.

5. What do you tweet about actually?
articles, resources, what I’m doing, promotions, connecting other tweets

6. commenting on this article.

7. thetimediva
Weekend Reading: Kickass Blogging and Design Articles May 3, 2008 at 11:03 ·

[…] To Tweet or Not to Tweet? 50+ Links & Tools by Tad […]
Mohsin May 3, 2008 at 12:53 ·

7. MohsinN ;)
.neteffect | BlogWell May 4, 2008 at 20:07 ·

[…] Twitter Dilemma […]
Susan Reynolds May 7, 2008 at 20:04 ·

I’m with the “it must have taken forever” – oh and the birdies really gave me the impetus to go from one part of the list to the next. Yummy photos.

So of course I’ll play along

1. How do you use Twitter?
I keep a sidebar open most of the time and glance at it, answer my @ msgs all at once every so often. Don’t go to the site at all

2. Do you use a client?
Yes

3. If yes, which one?
Tried many as they – and I – evolved and settled on twhirl. It’s interesting to look at the graph generated by tweetstats and see how my use of a client changed over time & has added up. http://www.tweetstats.com/graphs/susanreynolds Apparently I used snitter quite a bit until twhilr. Twitbin was my pre-twhild fave. Now I sometimes tweet from alertthingy which I use to look at friendfeed but I don’t read tweets there.

4. What are you using Twitter for?
As a networking, communication, interaction tool and for the watercooler effect. people working on their own need some interaction during the day – or night. I began tweeting around the same time I began to use Second Life for business.

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in Dec 07 I tweeted it and the community rallied around me. I feel a connection to tweeters just because they are tweeters

5. What do you tweet about actually?
Daily happenings – personal and blog – and my general community / communication web 2.0 interests. Anything I’d blog about – and stuff too random to rate a blog entry.

6. What are you doing?
Branching out and reaching out. Interacting, thinking, conserving energy, wondering whether boobsonice.com should roll into the other blog.

7. What is your user name?
I’m the same me everywhere. @susanreynolds
13 Odd Ways to Use Twitter | Social Media Trader May 9, 2008 at 12:31 ·

[…] more conventional ways to use Twitter, check out this excellent Twitter resource. Here are a couple of other unique uses for Twitter. What else have we missed? Are there any other […]
subcorpus May 10, 2008 at 00:20 ·

i kinda like twitter …
i dont post stuff much … may be one a day …
but i like getting updates from others and i like to be in the know what my friends are upto …
i use twhirl on my mac and twinnkle and hahlo on my iPhone …
i just saw a new one mentioned … tweet-r …
gonna check it out now …
good article … thanks …
SEO 2.0 | 10 Most Obvious SEO 2.0 Benefits of Twitter May 20, 2008 at 15:14 ·

[…] fit in there? In the last two weeks I tried to use Twitter in a SEO 2.0 manner that means both to the advantage of the community/ medium I use and also for my own goals in contrast to just workin….So I present to you the 10 most obvious SEO 2.0 benefits of Twitter:1. Getting people to vote for […]
Playing with Twitter Gadgets, Services and Plugins : Crazeegeekchick.com August 14, 2008 at 12:13 ·

[…] Have a look at 50 + tools and links for twitter here: […]
Use Twitter To Make Money Online | The Golden Hat August 15, 2008 at 07:47 ·

[…] For E-commerce SitesTopic: E-Commerce| I’ve read a lot of conflicting views regarding the usefulness of Twitter. As much as I thought the chatter would die down and users would quickly gravitate in a communal […]
AaronZ April 14, 2009 at 05:59 ·

1) Listen / discovery / research / news
2) Yes, but mostly use Twitter.com on PC.
3) Twitterific on iPhone, plus Tweetdeck and Twirl
4) best way to keep a finger on the pulse of just about any topic
5) news, tools, articles
6) technology marketing, start-ups, product marketing
7) @tweamr

Jack Dorsy, Twitter’s co-founder was on TV this past weekend (Press:Here, a weekly technology show run on the Bay Area’s NBC affiliate). If you haven’t seen it you should check it out. Jack talks about the future of Twitter and makes a subtle but key positioning distinction between Twitter and Google. When asked about ‘search’ being the killer app, he clarified and said it’s really ‘discovery’. That unique angle is huge – both in value for Twitter but also for users who harness it.
Constantine Kipnis August 5, 2009 at 21:05 ·

Just a thought. Almost none of the above profundities would have fit into a tweet. And every time I structure microprose in a tweet I have to wonder why this mainframe-era string length throwback should force me to cut my comments to the bare bone. #250-CHARS #FAILFAILFAIL
Henry Gilbert June 28, 2010 at 07:22 ·

I am very late adopter. I was skeptical, but reason for me joining is to help 2 clients whom i believe will benefit from the twittering.

I have to admit I am having a bit of fun. Being a conservative SEO’er .. I resist as much as I can any fad. But if it can become a turn to increase profits for my clients; then why not?

I do find it strange though people following me. How do they know i exist – I just barely joined!! People turning up from nowhere.

And unlike say Myspace; you can’t deny them.

Myspace:: I joined again for client-reasons. I mean anything I do is client-oriented. Promoting other people = cool. Promoting myself = nah, I have to be ‘nice’ and stuff, think before I type or say .. deffy not me :)
Adrian Grossett October 1, 2010 at 10:19 ·

Great post real informative used well Twitter is one of the best social media platforms out there.

Thanks
Niko October 4, 2010 at 19:24 ·

WOW, holy god that’s a lot of content. Great job on the long post. I’ve been working on my Twitter a lot lately and this is an amazing resource. Thank you!!!

For your info:

1. How do you use Twitter?
From my iPhone mostly and sometimes via the web if I’m on the PC

2. Do you use a client?
Yes

3. If yes, which one?
I bounce back between TweetDeck and the Twitter app for the iPhone

4. What are you using Twitter for?
Pretty much everything. I use it to give out advice, network with other people, meet interesting personalities, introduce people to our site

5. What do you tweet about actually?
General suggestions and advice, inspirational quotes, life lessons, blog posts, whatevers on my mind

6. What are you doing?
Trying to reach as many people and make as many new connections as possible

7. What is your user name?
@nsscoaching
Average Joe October 6, 2010 at 17:02 ·

You write about twitter, yet this is actually the only place I have found a link to your twitter profile?

Wanted to tweet and your blog and mention you but couldn’t find your twitter handle….

On purpose or bad visibility?
onreact October 6, 2010 at 17:29 ·

Niko: Sounds like the perfect mix. I followed you and added you to my self improvement list:
https://twitter.com/onreact/lists/self-improvement

AJ: Part on purpose, part accidentally. I had Twitter integrated with my blog via Twitter Tools by Alex King but then I got hacked and removed all my plugins. I haven’t brought back all of them yet. Twitter is the highest priority though.
Average Joe October 7, 2010 at 13:25 ·

I am not a big fan of automated tweets, I feel it destroys twitter imo…
onreact October 7, 2010 at 15:40 ·

AJ: I don’t automate, I just feed my relevant tweets into the homepage sidebar. Also I can tweet from within WordPress now. Added Twitter Tools yesterday. I consider adding a badge as well though.
WGM October 25, 2010 at 13:20 ·

Twitter has become even more important since search engines like Google have started indexing the tweets that too at a very fast rate.
Eric Cantona October 31, 2010 at 04:34 ·

# How do you use Twitter? – Web or thru my phone
# Do you use a client? – Just the web and Snaptu for my Phone
# If yes, which one? – Snaptu
# What are you using Twitter for? – Saying things in my mind
# What do you tweet about actually? – Some nonesense things about my life, how I feel, and what I think.
# What are you doing? – ???
# What is your user name? – EricCantona
Mike Glover November 2, 2010 at 19:07 ·

1. How do you use Twitter? For business and pleasure (networking)
2. Do you use a client? Yes
3. If yes, which one? Tweetdeck
4. What are you using Twitter for? Business and networking
5. What do you tweet about actually? SEO updates, SE updates, my BLOG, world events and news
6. What are you doing? Right now…typing this response
7. What is your user name? click_finders

GREAT article. Loved reading every minute of it. Also totally dig the resource links.
Buchi Palem November 11, 2010 at 15:15 ·

* Friends list — updated messages from other people who also use the site
* Import friends from your email address book
* Private messages between users
* Post by phone
* Surf by phone — the site is optimized for mobile phones
* VERY simple to use
* 3rd party utilities — there are a million and one applications you can use to access Twitter other than the official web site.
* 3rd party import RSS feeds — through TwitterFeed.com

Twitter – Cons

* Short length — only allows for 140 character length messages, about two sentences.
* Design is ugly and inconsistent
* No embedded video or photo support
* Shared links are usually hidden by a URL shortener, and that makes it hard for people to know what you’re linking to ahead of time
* Not very many customization options
* No custom domain name support — you don’t own your URLlore
David November 24, 2010 at 06:56 ·

I’m not so sure Facebook is just about following friends and family. I have engaged with Facebook groups and fan pages in areas of common interest and relevance (e.g. SEO, Internet Marketing). I have established some good networking relationships (albeit early on). The exposure brings visitors at the same time provides useful information for me to digest for SEO and Internet marketing application to my website.
David December 18, 2010 at 22:15 ·

Exceptional photos BTW. I am early days in Twitter, I have many followers who find me as a potential customer for the things they are trying to sell/promote. I can’t blame them as I am trying to do likewise with people I follow. I also follow people who appear to provide good tweets. Sometimes I try it and then unfollow if I find it unsuitable (e.g. one person tweeted so much that it drowned out everyone else I was following). I somehow followed three people representing the same sales outfit and I get three-tweets on each single topic. Now they followed me back so I am hesitant to unfollow because I value having them on my follow list (if they are even interested in my website). There is no doubt that celebrities and well-known people make it to the top with many followers. I just don’t see how any individual can get much traction in Twitter. I’m learning and discovering what works or not … It is a learning experience.
Jeff Booher December 27, 2010 at 08:57 ·

Awesome lists. Thank you!

Would love to read your thoughts on Twitter clients.
Pete Lavelle February 14, 2011 at 18:52 ·

Hi,

Phew. I must admit I’d love for someone to appear from the blue and tell me: ‘You should use Twitter. Use Twitter this way and it’ll generate followers and business.’ Alas I have no choice but to pursue a string of strategies in pursuit of something that works. : (

Thanks!

Pete @ Pure FX
Imtiaz Hami April 17, 2011 at 07:08 ·

I am reminded of the essays we would write in school. You have described the Twitter phenomenon threadbare. That is as instructive an essay as is possible.
Jan Mugot May 3, 2011 at 12:36 ·

Well, the best secret I’ve observed from a friend on twitter is to make friends with those who follow you and they’ll be checking your site sooner or later and eventually you’ll get links from them voluntarily. Yes, it do take some time but it’s all worth it if you really want to have links and links everywhere.
Mark Sim June 14, 2011 at 05:32 ·

I think that Twitter may not be for everyone. Sure there are people who love it and others who hate it but that goes for pretty much everything. Twitter is a great tool, you can use it for promoting businesses or just tweet about all kinds of things you do every day.
subh September 10, 2011 at 04:57 ·

Twitter is a great tool to communicate and express your view and Ideas.
David October 26, 2011 at 17:03 ·

Sometimes I think everyone is tweeting but no one is reading. There is too much in my Twitter feed and I follow under 100 people. Because of the rolling nature of the Twitter feed, people often tweet repeatedly about the same thing to ensure they are heard. This only adds to the Twitter storm. Vicious cycle.
Gabriella Sannino June 3, 2015 at 15:22 ·

Great post Tad,

We did a series of Twitter apps a while back. Interestingly enough I’d say about 70% of them are either gone or have been bought by another company. I tried keeping up with the posts with updates. But then it became overwhelming.

How do you use Twitter? As a big cocktail party
Do you use a client? Yes
If yes, which one? Hootsuite,inbound.li, Twitterfeed
What are you using Twitter for? Business, Personal
What do you tweet about actually? Business, Personal
What are you doing? My morning routine of reading and commenting
What is your user name? SEOcopy
Tadeusz Szewczyk June 4, 2015 at 13:58 ·

Hey Gab!

Yeah, many Twitter apps were killed off in a sweep a while ago when Twitter deprecated the API. Thus I added here only tools that have been around for very long and have survived the recent changes.

I didn’t even know inbound.li

Thank you for the feedback!

On a side note, you seem to use two separate personal Twitter accounts. How do choose which things to share where?
How to Earn Links and Engagement with Link Magnets without Investing Countless ⏳Hours - Raven Blog July 10, 2018 at 16:08 ·

[…] I didn’t know the answers myself yet I complied a list of resources listing all kinds of positive and negative aspects of the service. I update the list regularly ever […]
Shaurya Jain September 9, 2020 at 13:19 ·

Great post Tad! Thanks for sharing such informative stuff about Twitter. Actually I have read so many blogs but did not so detailed information on Twitter. Thanks a lot.
Social Media/Networking/Messaging | GCD 218: Web & Mobile October 7, 2020 at 12:49 ·

[…] (Unknown). Pros and cons of twitter for business and personal use. Available at: http://seo2.onreact.com/twitter-resources (Accessed: 5th October […]
Podcasting and Social media units 5 and 7 – Licci Blogs April 21, 2021 at 15:27 ·

[…] https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/knowledge-base/which-social-media-platform-is-best-for-marketing-a-business/ https://hunterandscribe.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-cross-posting-between-facebook-and-instagram/ http://seo2.onreact.com/twitter-resources […]
Borham July 27, 2022 at 18:58 ·

twitter posts get indexed faster more than facebook .. right?
Tadeusz Szewczyk August 1, 2022 at 16:24 ·

Yes Borham!

Additionally most Facebook posts are still “private”.

That means Google won’t see them. Just 500 “friends”.

Tad
Caitlyn Davis August 3, 2022 at 13:44 ·

Hey Tad, this is a great and very helpful blog on Twitter tools.
No doubt all the tools mentioned above are great! However, you can also add the tool FollowerAudit (https://www.followeraudit.com/).
This tool can provide you stats on fake followers, inactive followers, followers growth, unfollowers and competitors stats too.
You can checkout the tool first if liked it do give us a mention.

Thankyou
Tadeusz Szewczyk August 10, 2022 at 14:59 ·

Hey Caitlyn!

Thank you for reaching out!

It’s just what I’ve been looking for.

I had to remove a follower clean up tool just recently.

So you are more than welcome!

I’d like to share a feature request as well:
can you check for inactive/overactive followees? That is people you follow?

Nobody likes dead accounts and flooding!

Sadly I can only view basic stats in the free version.

The free account has no actual use for managing your followers.

Sincerely, Tad