Twitter has withstood so many tipping points in the last 12 months it’s amazing it hasn’t been capsized by the wave of increasing public attention. First Obama, then Oprah joined, followed by the CNN vs. Kutcher popularity contest, and the buzz on Twitter became hype machine in overdrive. Now throw in the fact that the U.S. State Department asked Twitter to delay a temporary shutdown during the recent election protests in Iran, and you have a social media channel that has more promise than “Tippecanoe and Tyler too.” Given all that, this newsletter focuses on some of the less obvious opportunities for brands on Twitter.

To be effective on Twitter, brands — like people — must have a clear point of view. Once they have this, finding content to tweet about can be very simple. Just considering a Twitter presence will force all the company stakeholders to agree on the voice of the brand. For more on how to use your brand’s voice on Twitter, click here.

A lot of big brands have been slow to embrace Twitter, and their names have been co-opted by imposters. @Coors_Light and @Captn_Morgan are two such faux Twitter sites. For a complete review of genuine spirits brands on Twitter, click here.

Think of tweets as appetizers and your blog/website as the main course. @Marvel does a marvelous job with this by tempting fans on Twitter with morsels of juicy content.

Since you never know when lightning might strike your brand, it’s a good idea to have a fire hose at the ready, and a strong Twitter following can be just that. Domino’s Pizza used Twitter among other social media channels to squelch a potentially damaging YouTube video made by now terminated employees.

@DellOutlet announced last month that it sold over $1.0mm as a result of posting frequent offers to its over 800,000 followers. It should be no surprise that Dell is leading the way in this area, as they were the first company to announce $1.0mm in monthly online sales almost 20 years ago. Of course, their online sales are in the billions now, so they’re no doubt hoping Twitter will deliver that kind of pie sometime soon (click here).

It is a practical certainty that your customers are talking about you on Twitter. If you, like Molson, are among the enlightened brands that actively monitor online buzz with tools like Radian6, then you have a distinct competitive advantage. If not, you must accept that your competitors are ready to offer themselves as an alternative the moment your customer complains. Click here for more on Molson’s Twitter activities.