Brian Solis from PR 2.0 has published a comprehensive list of Twitter tools for community managers and communications professionals. Businesses implementing a social media strategy will find a wealth of value from this list of tools, and by using them in a way that creates transparency and authenticity.

One reason I haven’t spent a lot of time on this blog writing about social media tools is because the old habits of marketing die hard with regard to using tools. SEO/SEM seems to have lulled marketers into laziness with all of the automated tools that merely require setup and monitoring. Twitter — and all social media, to be sure — requires actual engagement with the users of the media. That requires authenticty, transparency, and not hiding behind an organizational brand. In the past, I’ve found the most effective way of helping businesses understand how Social Media is different was to train them on the culture of Social Media and to incorporate that culture into their organizational communications. Now that many businesses are starting to understand this concept of transparency and open communication, more and more businesses are intelligently using the tools available for social media to improve their customer communications. So, I list these tools with the caveat that effective use of them by organizations require a real understanding of the Twitter culture of openness.

How to best use this list of Twitter tools:

• Develop a Twitter strategy with the help of a Social Media consultant
• Tie your Twitter strategy into a larger Social Media strategy
• Choose the tools which uniquely fit into your communications strategy
• Always keep a spirit of transparency and 2-way communication foremost, as some of the tools can create broadcast type messages which annoy and alienate many social media users

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