Welcome to the latest edition of my new weekly blog series, “Free Marketing Ideas”. Each week I will identify and explain a simple marketing idea that you can employ at low or no cost. Last week’s topic was Create a Facebook Page.

This week’s topic: Create a Twitter Account

Don’t tell me that this idea is too similar to last week’s. While it’s true that the reasons to have a Twitter account are similar to the reasons to set up a Facebook page, the audience and the potential is very different.

Having a Twitter account, and using it, allows you to reach a whole new group of online prospects. The same people you connect with on Twitter may not be on Facebook, or may not use Facebook to connect with brands they are interested in. So the conversations you have on each network are separate and can be equally meaningful.

For brands, Twitter can be a great place to answer questions, deal with service issues or complaints, or ask questions of the community as a whole. It also provides an outlet to share news, offers, and information with the public.

Just like the Facebook page, the Twitter account will come in handy as we introduce future marketing ideas in this series.

Bonus: there are software platforms out there (free and paid) that allow you to manage both Facebook and Twitter in one place. So it’s not like doing both doubles your workload.

Share your thoughts on this idea, and other free marketing ideas in the comments section below and keep the conversation going!