Taking a quick scan of the twitter landscape for any new user and one’s head may begin to spin by application option number 20. I find this especially difficult for many of my clients trying to involve their business in the twitter community. I blame this mostly on the lack of time businesses owners have to understand properly to make a significant effect. This is not another 100+ list of twitter applications for anything from 30+ ways to tweet from a computer, 40+ ways to tweet with mobile devices, or other various was to just goof off on this new and exciting way to communicate. Twitter can be all about business, but with saying that comes a warning, no one will listen to you if you are not also fun or compelling. Below is a list of what I see as the most relevant application tools for businesses in twitter. All services are free to users unless otherwise indicated.
If anyone has any other compelling additions (that is not a rework of something already existing) please comment and I will make adjustments accordingly. I will also try to republish this as new applications are developed.

Desktop Applications

Desktop applications allow users to aggregate messages and information much more effectively than just using the online www.twitter.com interface. Unless there is no other way for you to use Twitter, I recommend not using www.twitter.com for communicating. There are new good tools like Power Twitter, but I suggest only using it for searching for users, customizing your profile and learning about other users.

Tweetdeck: There are several desktop applications for aggregating messages, but none works better than Tweetdeck. Tweetdeck allows you to not only tweet messages straight to your twitter account, but also search key words, monitor @ messages (messages posted for everyone to see, but directed at you), monitor direct messages, group tweeple (twitter people) by categories, and shorten URLs to save characters. The application can update you without being open on your desktop and my favorite newest feature: spell check. I honestly would not see the value of twitter as much as I do without Tweetdeck, so before you get too involved, download it before you quit on twitter. Also Ken Burbary wrote a fantastic how-to blog on Tweetdeck’s many capabilities.

Power Twitter: Fresh from the press (had to update this blog today before publishing) Power Twitter is an add-on for Firefox. According to Tech Crunch’s Article: Power Twitter moves Twitter Search , inconveniently located on a different subdomain, right into the Twitter site itself. You can also just search a single user’s updates from that user’s Twitter page. Twitter should have long ago integrated a search box directly onto the logged-in Twitter home page. They haven’t, but Power Twitter fixes this.
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This is a must for anyone using Twitter, not only businesses.

Mobile Applications

There are several to pick from in the mobile tweeting realm, but I am going to list my favorites for the 5 main PDAs available today. You can turn on SMS updates through your Twitter account, but if you want to save money on your text plan and a little sanity by not being updated constantly, pick one from the list that works for you and have fun. Make sure you download the applications directly from your mobile device. Many of the websites have a system the will SMS you the link to make it easier.

Twitterberry: I personally have a blackberry after learning the hard way that I cannot get phone calls in my condo with the iphone. The iphone has several good applications, but for the blackberry I only know of one that is worth it’s weight. Twitterberry works a little slow, but users have very similar capabilities as Tweetdeck from a mobile device. Free to down load and easy to use. A win, win for Blackberry users.

iPhone: Twitter for iphone is the only one I have found to work with the least amount of crashes (common on most iphone applications). Because of the popularity of the iphone (now the #1 selling phone in the world) I can see several other useful applications being released very soon. If anyone has any other suggestions, please comment and I will add it.

G1: Twidroid seems to be the winner for the G1, but because of the relative platform infancy, I can see much better alternatives in the future. I throw it out to anyone else out there that could suggest a good G1 Twitter app. Thanks.

Windows Mobile: ceTwit is the only application in my mind for Windows Mobile phones. I can’t see any new apps for Windows Mobile being released in the near future due to the gigantic love affair developers have for the iphone and Windows being well, Windows.

Automation

Automation tools have a goal to reduce wasted time on twitter while maintaining maximum efficacy. Your next step in the Twitter community should be to automate some maintenance tasks of Twitter. These tools are mostly based online, so no downloading is required.

Tweetlater: Now I know what a lot of my counterparts and social media marketers say about automated tweeting. Many regard this as impersonal and flies in the face of the intimate communication of Twitter, but for a business, especially a small or medium sized one, there is never enough time to execute communication every time someone tries to connect. Tweetlater has many functions, but first and foremost it automates tweets and responses to direct messages/new followers. Many use it to thank a new follower for taking notice and then follow-up later with a compelling engagement. I see this as the most effective implementation of this tool. Tweetlater also allows you to automatically follow a new follower, which is a courteous way to build strong relationships.

Twitter Feed: Twitter Feed automates sending a tweet using your account every time you post a new blog post. Automating messaging is key for businesses and this is just one more free and easy tool to reduce wasted time.

Targeting

What’s the use of broadcasting messages if you can’t find the people you are trying to get to listen? Search and aggregation of tweeple and messaging is one of the most exciting areas of development for Twitter. It seems as though there is something new releasing daily. As of today the listed applications are the best in my mind. Once you have found your target market, I would suggest tweeting something compelling that would interest them before following. This way when they check you out, they will have a reason to follow you back. Don’t be modest and realize you will probably get a 40% return rate return followers.

Twellow: One of my favorite ways to find compelling members of the Twitter community is through Twellow. Twellow is essentially a Yellowpages for Twitter, but categorizes and ranks users by number of followers and industry. There other services summarized in this blog that ranks users by how important the followers they have and quantity, but finding industry specific tweeple I can’t think of a better service. Twellow is dynamic, so if you do not see your profile, it is very easy to add and personalize.
Their newest application that is still in beta, but very good, is a geographical location system. This feature allows users to find tweeple by zip code and industry. Very cool feature.

Tweetlater: Tweetlater can also be used for effective targeting. The third and in my mind most important feature of Tweetlater is its alert system. Tweetlater will search keywords and alert you via email, daily, weekly, or as they happen. Alerts are critical for brand management for businesses on Twitter. I usually build three keyword alerts for clients. First I build a vanity alert for filter any tweet regarding their business. Secondly I build an industry alert so they can stay in tune to what others in the industry are up to. Lastly I build an idea alert for them to be notified of buzz for some company ambitions or changes so they will know if they are heading the correct direction.

Twitority: Many people have been calling for a hierarchical search function for finding relevant conversations. As of last week, this function did not exist. Well the big brains heard the calls and developed Twitority. In my mind this does defy a little innocence Twitter was based on, but for learning who to listen to and follow, I can see why this was needed. This helps businesses by searching for keywords and targeting influencers effectively, thus saving time courting “lesser (used loosely)” tweeple. The other alternative is Twithority. Because both are so new, either in my mind will work the same.

HubSpot Twitter Grader: Twitter Grader is a great way to learn the authority of an individual member of the community. Use this valuable tool to evaluate the influencers and find great targets.

Broadcasting/Marketweeting

Now that you have started using more efficient tweeting tools and found your target market, you might find it useful to utilize unique tools for marketing. The following applications are great for broadcasting messages, media (photos, videos, events), and blogs. Some are automated for efficiency.

Twitpic: Twitpic is a very simple and neat tool for anyone marketing an exciting product that would benefit from instant visual advertising. Twitpic allows users to upload mobile pictures and then tweets a link using the user’s twitter account. I have used this several times for non-business reasons, but I can see heavy implementation for consumer orientated products such as Coke, American Idol, or M&M’s.

Twittercal: For those active businesses that are involved in product promotion and utilize Google Calendar, this service allows you to update events via twitter from a Google Calendar. Simple, but great for experiential products.

StrawPoll: Feedback, Feedback, Feedback. StrawPoll allows you to poll your followers with questions about your business, topics, and ideas or just for fun. People love an easy way to be opinionated and what better way than a twitter poll. There are several lessons to be learned from your customers, so start listening and have fun. Just one word of advice, no softball, boring questions that don’t incite any emotion.

Measurement

Twitter was not primarily developed for marketing, but it is quickly becoming part of many marketing plans. Measurement is difficult, but if keyword buzz and follower headcount could suffice until further measurement is created, below are a few tools to help gauge success.

TweetVolume: Very similar to Alexa (the most used website traffic rater on the web), TweetVolume allows seeing how many times a particular term has been used on Twitter. Users can add multiple terms and produce bar graphs to compare terms. TweetVolume is a critical tool for market research. Although at this point, many twitter users are early adaptors and tech savvy, soon this won’t be true and businesses can cut serious costs using this tool.

TweetStats: Think of it this way; your twitter account is a radio antenna for messaging. Radio and TV measure success by how many people tune in. you should do the same. The more the merrier, just be fun and interesting and people will find you. Once you have them, don’t exploit their friendship. Helping, sharing, informing, entertaining and connecting will build lasting relationships with your customers through Twitter.

Conclusion

If not twitter, some other form of micro blogging (messaging with 140 characters or less) is the future of communication. Your business should learn the effective ways to communicate with these tools while they are new, so when adaption rate reaches its hockey stick moment, you will be ready. I see this list as incomplete because the rapidly changing development environment and will continue to update this post as new tools are created.