AdAge and others covered the story of how Land Rover is planning to use Twitter.

Two things make this one unique.

First, Land Rover is including #hashtags ( #LRNY ) in their online and offline twitter marketing promotions. I guess you could say that #skittles was first to really do this as a brand marketing effort, but it sounds like Land Rover will take it further in terms of promoting the tags. While Land Rover is ‘pushing’ users to their tag, Skittles ‘pulled’ users with their Twiter search results page for their tag. My guess is that the Skittles strategy will be more effective but their brand is also better suited for that approach.

The second unique aspect (for a major brand) of Land Rover’s marketing on Twitter is that they are using Twittad as part of the campaign. Twittad is putting a twist on things by ‘partnering’ with existing Twitter users to leverage their followers. It sounds like they take over the users’ Twitter profile pages for a period of time and may send tweets to their followers and then the users are paid. It’s not immediately clear how the users are selected – for example, based on relevance to the topic or to maximize reach / minimize duplication, etc.

Land Rover is not likely to remain the only national marketer doing this for long, said James Eliason, CEO of Twittad, the Des Moines-based “social-media affinity network” Wunderman tapped to boost Land Rover’s launch.

Twittad may sound good at first, but it’ll be interesting to see how users respond. The model will almost certainly need to evolve in order to provide true, quantifiable value to their clients. Just because it’s inexpensive doesn’t mean it’s a good deal.

The blog, Online Marketing for Restaurants has started to build out a list of restaurants using Twitter. Some use it to promote deals. Others for customers service. Bottom line is that if you’re in the restaurant business you should be following each and every one of these guys. Doesn’t matter if you have your own small pizza joint and want to do some Twitter marketing or you manage marketing for a billion-dollar franchise, Twitter helps to even the playing field, gets you closer to your customers, helps you build relationships and can ultimately help drive business.

Maybe he was writing it to intentionally get a rise out of people – to artificially inflate the comments or get the blogosphere and Twittersphere in an uproar. I sure hope so, because this article on Duct Tape Marketing couldn’t be more misleading.

The author does give in a little if you read into the article and his response to some of the comments. Sounds like he’s saying that Twitter can be a part of your marketing mix but that it shouldn’t be the first priority – especially for businesses that haven’t nailed down the basics of their positioning, messaging, etc.

Any legitimate business (and probably some illegal businesses – but we won’t go there) can benefit from Twitter. Unlike most demand generation activities, it doesn’t require any money only a little creativity and time.

While the odd restaurant or coffee shop may be grabbing some headlines because of their tweeting strategy, most small businesses have far greater pressing foundational needs when it comes to the limited time and resources they can allocate to marketing.

This is a dangerous statement. What follows is even worse. The author outlines a list of 8 items he claims you must have before you “bother with Twitter or Facebook”. While the list does cite some of the more popular tools to use, it’s far from comprehensive. The list could easily be 4-5 times as long. We’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to creative social media promotions.

No one should question that a solid marketing strategy is the appropriate starting point. However, businesses of any size that underestimate the potential short and long-term impact that Twitter will have in the marketing mix are shooting themselves in the foot, or maybe the leg.

Is your Realtor using Twitter to promote your house? This seller took matters into his own hands, but isn’t ‘find a buyer’ the main reason to hire a real estate agent? Agents, you’re forgiven if you don’t offer Twitter promotion as a standard part of your offering today, but that probably won’t be the case for long.

Once you better understand Twitter and its potential applications, you’ll find that it’s not only promote your listings but also a great way to attract new clients – buyers and sellers. We’re developing a report specifically for Realtors. In the meantime, be sure to download our “12 Essential Marketing Rules for Twitter” (available at the top right of this page).

This pizzeria has more than 1,000 followers on Twitter and sends them instant messages about different meal deals and other incentives to come in.

This article from InternetNews.com perked up a lot of ears. “Dell sold $1M worth of product using Twitter?” While many people still question the business model for Twitter, mainstream companies are signing up right and left. Now that Twitter’s funding situation is pretty solid, it seems that there is confidence that Twitter is here to stay.

Twitter is becoming indispensable not just for navel gazers but for companies looking to sell a product and keep in touch with customers.

As reported by InformationWeek, last month, Dell is continuing to leverage Twitter by offering about 12,000 @DellOutlet followers a 30% discount on an XPS M1210 laptop. There was an exclusive link that took people to coupon code to use when ordering online.