His experiment was fairly simple: He created three different coupon codes that would give users free shipping on their orders. His billboard coupon resulted in 300 new customers and cost him $7,500. The direct mail brought in a very minimal 200 customers compared to the $15,000 it set him back. But his tweet generated 1,800 new customers at the low, low cost of $0. It doesn’t take a genius to do the math here, the results overwhelming speak for themselves.

The reason for the disparity is also simple. With a billboard, you’ll catch eyes but that doesn’t mean the people actually care about the board’s message. It’s a crap shoot. With mail or even e-mail marketing, people get annoyed when their mailboxes/inboxes are essentially spammed. Twitter is unique in that its users can broadcast a message to followers who have an interest in what they have to say or the products they have to offer. Once you build a group of followers, your stream is essentially permission-based marketing targeted to a large group of people in a very efficient manner, especially when you include links that drive users to your site.

Social media “experts” have been touting Twitter’s marketing power, but here it is for you in numbers thanks to Gary V. And if you don’t believe him, you can have a look at Dell’s $3 million in sales thanks solely to Twitter.

Some highlights/lessons from the article:

Go where your customers are. The Scion Group, which owns and manages college housing, took its blogs to Facebook so they could reach their potential customers where they already play. Find out where your potential clients reside online by asking existing customers what types of social media they use (connecting off and online presences) and seeing where competitors and similar businesses in your field have successful online presences.

Don’t do it halfway! Posting events on social networks, blogging, having a Facebook profile won’t get you a lot of traction unless you have an integrated strategy for what you want to achieve, and actively work toward it every day. For example, PrepMe.com has a targeted, integrated social media presence to reach online clients: words of the day on Twitter, a Facebook crossword game, and Facebook group pages associated with high schools that use its services.

Be transparent. What does that mean? Being open, honest and responsive to online criticism. If someone complains about any aspect of your businesses, being online gives you the opportunity to acknowledge your shortcoming and make it right. Take advantage of that.