Twitter can be useful but overwhelming. Image: Flickr / eldh / CC-BY-SA

Twitter is, to put things mildly, a firehose of information. Curating that information can be a huge challenge, especially for marketers. Many new services, such as Reach.ly, are popping up to help turn the complete overload of information into useful chunks of actionable information.

The efforts of Reach.ly

Reach.ly is a small company that just completed its first round of startup funding. The company mines Twitter data to look for particular chunks of information and then passes that information along to clients. Reach.ly is starting its service by targeting hotels, helping them directly connect with individuals who are planning on traveling. The point is to connect with individuals in real time as they are making a buying decision.

The trouble with Twitter

For marketers and business owners, pulling the information they can use out of Twitter is, at best, incredibly difficult. This is the same problem that faces all social networks; the stream of information can be overwhelming. Some businesses approach this problem by hiring full-time social media managers that manage the information as best as possible. For smaller businesses that cannot afford or do not have the resources to hire a full-time social media manager, there are opportunities for connection that will be missed.

Managing the torrent of information

If you are managing social media, managing the torrent of information is the first thing that you need to do. The first step is signing up for social networks that you are familiar with and have a plan for. Second, you should take a very close look at what your goals for social media are. Losing focus on your goals means your posts and communication will have a lack of focus, which means you will lose followers.