This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of executive mba programs . Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson1@gmail.com

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They are one in a million too now, even though they may be the CEOs of some of the richest and most successful companies in the world – Richard Branson of the Virgin Group, Kevin Rose of Digg.Com, Jonathan Schwartz of Sun Microsystems and John Lilly of Mozilla.Com are just a few of the top honchos who have taken to Twitter to let the world know more about their companies and themselves. It’s a micro blogging site that lets you put forth your opinion in 140 letters, and it has taken the world by storm, so much so that even some of the most powerful people in the world are now hooked to it.

So why and how do CEOs use Twitter? Well, the reasons may vary, but the benefits they reap remain the same across the board. In general, CEOs could use Twitter to:

• Take their company to the common man: When you feel that the CEO of a company is speaking personally to you, you tend to feel more favorable towards that particular company. So you prefer to use their products and services as opposed to a competitor’s, because it feels like you’re doing a friend a favor. People are more likely to get people interested in the company when the head honcho itself is communicating to them directly, even if it is together with hundreds of thousands of other followers.
• Provide quick updates: Twitter is a great tool to let people have a sneak preview of what’s new in their enterprise and what the future could hold. They no longer seem to have the time or the inclination to read long-winded press releases or informal blog posts. Short is sweet, and Twitter helps them accomplish this effortlessly.
• Monitor what people are saying: The Internet is a relatively safe place for people to get away with saying what they want and not being sued for slander. This allows people to be as free as they want and to give vent to their feelings on Twitter. The worst part of this is that news travels fast, especially when it’s negative and directed towards some of the topmost enterprises in the world. When CEOs use Twitter, they can monitor what people are saying about their companies, good or bad, and take appropriate action.
• Boost traffic to their websites: Behind every successful company is a successful website, and one way to boost your website is to provide Twitter updates that will drive your followers to it. When traffic increases, you know you’ve made more than just a hit in the online world.
• Follow people who matter: It’s no secret that CEOs are very busy people who do not have the time to follow too many people on Twitter. To use their time on this application effectively, they could choose to follow a select set of people who they admire as salespersons or financial whizzes and other CEOs who they admire and who are relevant to their industry.

Twitter is just one tool in the arsenal of CEOs that could be used to propagate their companies’ popularity, and when used well, it pays off rich dividends.