There’s been a lot of chatter about Twitter, the microblogging service much beloved by luminaries such as the actor Stephen Fry and US chat show host Oprah Winfrey.

With it, users can post a brief message (140 characters) which is sent immediately to whoever is following the Twitterer.

Despite the hype, though, research by Monster.co.uk reveals that just 13% of workers use it during the working day, with just 8% using it daily.

Yet a growing number of recruiters and recruitment firms are using Twitter to increase their presence and even finalise deals. Alex Strang, partner at HB RIDA, told Recruiter: “Twitter is a great way for recruiters to target candidates for free. Through the Twitter search facility, you can ‘eavesdrop’ on candidates’ twitters who may be looking for certain roles or work in a highlyspecialised job.

“It’s good for networking and finding people you don’t know about. Through Twitter, HB RIDA managed to put two recruiters together for a new venture.”

Of course, there has been scepticism surrounding the adoption of Twitter for business uses. Tim Latham, founder of property talent network Prefio, told Recruiter: “I signed up for a Twitter account in autumn 2007 and then just dipped into it. It irritated me that I just couldn’t see the point of it, even though an increasing number of people were reportedly making good use of it as a business tool. I just couldn’t ‘get it’.

“However, by April this year I was becoming a convert. I don’t use Twitter to access candidates but it has been really useful for me to hear about new business tools and find out what other people in the sector are talking about.”

Callum Saunders, web master and digital marketing co-ordinator for marketing and HR recruiter The SG Group, said: “We have been using Twitter for a few months now. We started using it as an extension of our social media/Web 2.0 marketing strategy. More and more people are accessing information in different ways and that’s no different for jobseekers or the recruitment industry.

“We tweet jobs, so that candidates following us can receive information on a new role the minute we get it. We also include a link to our website, so that they can apply straight away.”

Strang agrees that the immediacy is a compelling factor regarding Twitter’s use. “It’s an excellent medium for receiving updates on the go, on your mobile. You can even send free texts via Twitter,” he said.

Mary Pratt, director at Norwichbased recruiter Cocoabean, said: “I believe it helps you reach people in a sociable way, allowing people to have a snippet of your day-to-day life as opposed to just as a recruiter.

“I always push the fact that the consultants need to be individuals and reach out to people using different mediums.”

Strang agreed that Twitter can “put a human face” on consultants and attract people to your company on a social basis. He said managers “need to relinquish a bit of control” if allowing consultants to twitter is a policy.

“Decide what you want out of Twitter. Don’t forget,” he warned, “it’s searchable — a detrimental comment from you or a consultant can easily damage a business’s reputation.”