Among the many things that make Twitter so popular is the fact that it can be quickly updated and followers will see new content immediately. There is an obvious advantage to using Twitter for updates over your own website, as your website will not be visited nearly as often as Twitter will by your users. For a wide variety of businesses and services, this makes Twitter a valuable tool.
Schools and Organizations
If you are in an administrative position for a school or other community organization, consider using Twitter as a fast an easy way to stay in touch with people. For example, a school could easily use a Twitter account to update parents on the status of school delays in case of bad weather. Rather than fielding hundreds of phone calls, the school could simply post updates as to the status every few minutes and keep everyone in the loop. Parents would love getting the info faster, and the school itself will save time and resources by consolidating the communications.
Other applications for schools could be to update followers on the scores games that the school's sports teams are involved in, or times and dates for schools plays and concerts. Much easier than updating a website, Twitter will add a lot to the experience of parents and others that are interested in the goings on of a school or organization.
Event Businesses
For businesses that are based on things like sporting events or fairs that happen in real time, Twitter is a great way to add customer service to the overall experience. For example, if there is parking trouble around the event of a traffic issue that people should be aware of, Twitter is a great way to blast out a quick message to all of the followers. People check their Twitter feeds often and are more likely to see something posted there than if an email were to be sent out to a mailing list. Having such a quick way to contact a majority of the attendees of an event is a great way to provide a more complete experience.
Another option for Twitter is doing live updates during an event for promotions and special offers. For instance, a business could Tweet out a sale price on souvenirs if the customer uses a special code at the register that they are given on Twitter. These kinds of promotions can be decided on in real time in response to the actual activity at the event. If a certain product isn't selling as expected and there is excess inventory, a quick Tweet with a sale price could move some merchandise and balance out the concession stand.
Social media isn't limited to long term marketing efforts. By using Twitter as a live update technology that can contact your followers at a moment's notice, you can improve your service level and make things easier on yourself at the same time.