Research coming out of Penn State reports that 20% of tweets—those wee messages published on Twitter—are brand-oriented. And not the way you'd naturally expect. While researchers originally thought they'd find lots of brand engagement in the form of product reviews or referrals, what they discovered was this (hold on to your hat):

• The vast majority of tweeters who talk labels are trying to connect with brands—and the companies behind them.

Double wow! This is one of the reasons Twitter is so darned good for CRM: people want to meet you halfway! (The other reason is that Twitter makes it so easy for folks to air their every whim that you find out what they're really thinking, not just what they want you to hear.) (You eavesdropper, you.)

And there's more good news: Now there are handy tools to help keep a leash on these winds of preference-change. HootSuite and TweetDeck, for example, help you keep track of multiple Twitter accounts. You can also create special groups for search terms. Say, for example, you're Nike. Open up a search group for "Nike," and you'll receive instant updates in that box every time somebody on Twitter mentions you. (Prepare to be deluged!)

Suffering from stage fright? Don't, love.

"A lot of the brand comments were positive," observes Jim Jansen, associate professor of information science and tech at Penn State, after his group tracked over a half-million brand-related tweets. "There are some good products out there, or at least products that people are happy with." High five!

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