Roll out has begun of Twitter’s much-anticipated Business Centre, a service aimed at brands on the micro-blogging site. Apparently three years in development the service hopes to emulate and then overtake Facebook as a brand-friendly social network, and use Twitter to make some money too.

So far roll-out is slow. Only a handful of sites have been offered the service but it is hoped that soon all major brands will be using it. But surely many brands are already using Twitter to speak with their customers? What makes the Business Service different?

Well, speaking practically business Twitter accounts will soon be able to receive direct messages from people they don’t follow, allowing easier feedback and engagement. This also allows private exchanges to take place rather than on the site, in the open. While many brands already use Twitter as a forum for customer feedback and questions, surely this feature will encourage more of this.

Another useful feature is that now multiple users can regulate the site at once, signed in from their own accounts like the admin rights on Facebook fan pages. As any social media manager will tell you this will be extremely useful for larger brands that require more than one person signed in. You can do this using various Twitter platforms, but this will now be available on the web version.

Twitter hasn’t discussed payment schemes, but surely it’s the next logical step. Questions have also been asked whether Twitter Business will allow further customisation of a brandpage.

One thing that this service will bring that will surely have social media managers jumping for joy is that this adds a layer of respectability for brands who were otherwise uncertain or worried about having a presence on Twitter. Companies and brands not using a Twitter feed are missing out on a potentially large audience in a space where that audience is relaxed and open to new ideas.

It is also important as more people search Twitter for brand information and discover brands through real time Twitter information in Google searches. However it still remains to be seen whether this will revolutionise brands already on Twitter, but this may encourage some new ones.