In my previous post, I shared a link on Twitter about what Twitter can do for individuals. Today, I’m exploring the the use of Twitter for marketing purposes.

With the wonders of Google, I simply typed “How Twitter will Change the Business World” in the search engine and it led me to this page written by Time Magazine: 10 Ways Twitter Will Change the Business World.

In one of its 10 ways listed, This one here drew more interest in me to hover my mouse over it click on it.

According to the 2009 article, Twitter is in a good position to address one of outdoor advertising’s greatest weaknesses: the sheer difficulty of quantifying its effectiveness.

Before the coming of Twitter, billboard advertisements that have caught the eyes of viewers end right there. Period. Few would log on to Facebook or email accounts just to talk about it and this one-way traffic has led to the gradual demise of traditional print advertisements.

However, under 140 characters, Twitter provides a platform for users to indicate that they have seen a print ad while reading a magazine at the salon or while passing by a billboard along the street.

Suddenly, the random billboard or ad squeezed into a random corner of a lifestyle magazine doesn’t seem so random anymore. Tweets about these ads begin finding their way on Twitter and soon enough, conversations arise. Now, we’re seeing two-way traffic. There is now a tangible way to quantify the effectiveness of print ads – tweet and retweet counts from influencers to followers.

Half a decade after this article was published in Time Magazine, we’re now living in the “future” that the author was talking about. Has Twitter really revived the dying print advertising industry?

I certainly believe so.