Some businesses have ignored being consistent on Twitter because they don't understand it or think there is no way to stand out with millions of tweets streaming every hour. Yet, as Convince & Convert points out in their blog. "Why Media Must Remember that Twitter is Still Relevant," Twitter is extremely important when it comes to real-time reactions to news and events for not just the media but brands, too.

The post takes a look at four recent events:

• Virgin America's announcement of Netflix on flights
• Edward Snowden joining Twitter
• Water discovered on Mars
• Boehner Resigning

With all of these events, Twitter exploded with conversation immediately after the announcements. For businesses, this information shows that it's important to be aware of trending topics and jumping into these conversations when applicable to your brand. It can also be powerful to "live tweet" events, TV shows, conferences, and more that are relevant to your business because you'll get in front of like-minded people and possibly gain new followers.

Another powerful use for Twitter? Customer service. As Twitter shared on their blog last month, "More than 80% of customer service requests on social are happening on Twitter. And during the past two years, we've seen a 2.5X increase in the number of Tweets to brands and their customer service usernames."

Paying attention to incoming tweets becomes increasingly important for businesses, as a recent McKinsey study reveals: "Within one hour. That's the amount of time by which 53% of people who Tweet your brand expect an answer. If it's a complaint, it goes up to 72%."

Even if you only use Twitter as a customer service response tool and chime in during events or trending topics, you can make great strides with your target audiences.