By: Nicole Pulley

Since its “hatching” in 2006, Twitter has quickly become one of the world’s most popular and widely-used social media platforms. From breaking news to industry trends to photos of the sandwiches your friend ate for lunch, Twitter users generate and share a flock of information every minute of the day, which just goes to show how everyone uses Twitter differently. That information can be beneficial to all of us, so here are five unique ways to make your 140 characters go a little further:

1. Job Hunting
The job hunt can be an intimidating process, especially if you can’t remember the last time you updated your resume. Do some searching on Twitter and ensure you’re using as many tools as you can to find that perfect job. You can filter through thousands of job postings by typing in keywords into the search bar and then following hashtags based on industry, job type and location. There are even accounts that tweet classified ads, like ‏@DcSocMediaJobs and @IdealistJobsDC which posts job alerts in the Washington, DC area. And if you’re searching for a job at a social media-savvy company, you’re already in luck.

2. Twitter Landing Page
A Twitter landing page is a page on your website that introduces your Twitter followers to your organization and its brand. It provides viewers with the basics of what your website features and encourages them to access other pages on your site. If your business is looking to convert Twitter followers to customers, creating a Twitter landing page for your company’s website could expand your customer reach and increase brand awareness. Chris Brown has created a Twitter landing page for her company’s blog which lets visitors quickly understand the purpose of the blog and navigate to other pages on the company’s website.

3. Creative Showcase
If you’re an aspiring painter, sculptor or cartoonist, Twitter is a great way to display your work to the public without the expense of owning a gallery. Upload photos of your pieces using twitpic, link to your personal website, and with the right hashtags your tweets could jumpstart your artistic debut.

4. Teaching Aid
If you’re looking for alternative ways to engage students and make learning more interactive, consider including a Twitter component to your class syllabus. Start by creating a hashtag that the students can follow throughout the semester, for example, #ProfessorSmithBiology101. Students can earn extra credit by answering questions tweeted by the teacher and posting news articles related to class discussions. It can also serve as an alternative way to participate if students are shy about raising their hands in class.

5. Customer Appreciation
Every consumer likes to know that the restaurants and stores they frequent appreciate their business. Show them you care by using Twitter to take your customer service a step further. Whether it’s tweeting a deal of the week, announcing a new product exclusively on Twitter, or offering discounts to those that retweet, customers will feel special because they know that you care. Who knows, they may just become your biggest brand advocates. Bonus points if your advocates have a lot of Twitter followers too.

This is just a short list of the endless ways Twitter can be used to increase brand awareness, jumpstart a career or earn bonus points in class. Take a moment to think of how you could take your Twitter account to the next level, and happy tweeting!