Are you wondering what all the fuss is about Twitter? If so, you're hardly alone. Even though Twitter is the hottest thing to come along in social media yet, the business community on the whole remains altogether baffled about how to use it. Word I hear regularly to describe Twitter are frivolous, useless, irrelevant, and silly.

Originally a skeptic myself, I've been using Twitter actively for business purposes for more than a year. It's helped me in many ways, and I've seen how it has helped other firms. Here's what I've seen - it's certainly not a complete list, but I think you'll agree it's neither frivolous nor useless.

Get to know your customers as people. It may seem impossible to do in 140 characters, but Twitter is a great small talk facilitator. Small talk leads to more serious conversations, which eventually leads to knowing a good bit about the people you're conversing with. Is it valuable to know your customers as people? Sure. When there's a problem, customers will be more likely to talk to you about it. When they are in the market for what you sell, there's a far greater chance the customer will think of you first.

Announce promotions and sales. To my mind there's nothing wrong with using Twitter to inform customers of special buying opportunities. You don't want to hit people over the head with it, but I think people want to know when they can get a deal. Dell uses Twitter this way quite successfully. If you offer a genuine value, Twitter can spread the word faster and to more people than any other Web medium I'm aware of.

Gather information. If you want to know how people feel about a particular product, sending out a simple Tweet can elicit many helpful responses. Of course the more you are known to your network as a person, the more likely others will be to respond and "retweet" your request. I've gotten quite a bit of useful information about my brand and about areas in my niche that are under served.

Inform others. If you see a great blog post or Web page that would be helpful to people in your network, Tweet it with a link. More and more, Twitter is replacing blog subscriptions as a way for people to zero in on pertinent information. If you come to be seen as a source of valuable information, your network will expand and your authority within your niche will rise. And by the way - if you Tweet your own blog posts or Web pages from time to time, you may find, as I do, that Twitter becomes a major source of traffic to your site. 

Track conversations about your products, services, and industry. Twitter desktop clients such as TweetDeck allow you to track conversations across the entire Twitter network for any keywords you select. By monitoring conversations in your niche, you can identify and reach out to people who need what you sell, as well as stay increcibly current on the latest industry news. In my niche, thought leaders Tweet quite openly about what they're reading and what they're thinking. Following their Tweets allows me to keep my finger on the pulse with, frankly, a minimum of effort. Used properly, Twitter is a time saver, not a time waster.

Give referrals. Business is about give and take. Twitter is an excellent forum for giving referrals, since people use Twitter extensively to find service and product providers. Networking is networking and Twitter is no different - doing a good deed will come back to you tenfold.

Announce special events. If you have something going on in your area - a networking event or seminar - let the world know on Twitter. Remember - people are using those keyword searches to scour for business opportunities where they live.

Like I said, this is far from an exhaustive list. But these are important benefits, and I never would have found out about them if had I not jumped in and started using Twitter. Bottom line - Use Twitter. Give it a serious test and find out for yourself what all the buzz is about.