Twitter has featured heavily in the news of late, from twitterers breaking news stories ahead of the news wires, to the power of the user community making and hurting brands.

Marketing professionals instinctively know they need to be in this space, but how; in what capacity; with what investment and what are the returns going to be? These are all valid questions and all deserve attention.

So, let’s take a step back and look at how Twitter is currently making an impact and some things to consider when deciding when to tweet.

The Golden Rules:

1. Don’t Sell

First and foremost, Twitter, like any other social media channel is about community. The individuals that are there are not there to be sold to. So, rule number one is: Don’t push sales through this channel. First and foremost, this place is about communication and community.

2. Get Involved

Although following users might provide companies insights into what the Twitter community is talking about, the point is to give information as well as receive it. Posting useful news about your brand or sector might end with your company gathering a host of followers that could very well become, depending on what you have to say, your brand advocates.

3. Add Value

The point of using Twitter is to offer information. If your friends are following you, you might feel comfortable talking about your morning walk into work. If a brand does that, users might find it a bit odd. So if you’re going to post information, which by all means you should, make it useful and relevant to your business, whether it’s about your company specifically or something relating to your industry. Twitterers tend to follow people that “tweet” about things they’re interested in, so keep information up to date and relevant.

4. Respond

Like most things, there are rules of etiquette that should be followed. When people follow you it’s because they’re interested in what you have to say. When they “re-tweet” what you’ve said it’s because they’ve found it valuable enough to share. When someone takes the trouble to comment on what you’ve tweeted, it’s only polite to respond, even if you don’t necessarily like what they have to say.

This is where the real opportunity for user engagement lies. You can set up alerts that go straight to your in-box letting you know when people are talking about your brand. Whether the conversation is negative or positive, you can use this as a tool to reach people on a real personal level. But whatever you do, do not try to stifle the conversation. Allowing people to have their say is what Twitter is based on.

5. Watch your mouth (or be ready for the consequences)

Last month an ad agency representative was flying into FexEx Global Headquarters in Memphis to present on digital media on behalf of their agency, Ketchum. Upon his arrival, he sent out the following tweet:

“True confession but I’m in one of those towns where I scratch my head and say ‘I would die if I had to live here.’”

The tweet was picked up by a FedEx employee who promptly emailed it to all Directors and management within FedEx. The result was an angry letter to the offending twitterer regarding the amount of money spent with his agency and how offended FedEx was at the tweet.

The moral of this story is be careful about what you tweet and be prepared to react to any negative response.

6. Be patient, be persistent

Engaging in social media takes time and commitment and the effects are not always immediate. However, through adding value to the community, you can start to see the audience grow. What you mustn’t do is neglect this channel once you get started, otherwise, your followers will get bored and “unfollow” you. So, being consistent is important. Over time, you may see more and more individuals following what you have to say, responding to you and giving you insights into what is happening in your marketplace. So, direct financial ROI might not be apparent, but by being a long term contributor to Twitter, you can be doing your brand a world of good. (As long as you pay attention to rules one to five)

Other Elements to Consider:

Measurability

One of the statements I’ve heard a lot is, “It sounds good in theory, but I don’t think we’ll get anything out of it. If I can’t get a direct ROI, I can’t justify the investment.” 

I marvel at this attitude given that the volume of budget that is spent on traditional marketing where accountability is difficult (and in some cases) impossible to measure. With Twitter, you can monitor how many people are following you and set up alerts to tell you when your brand is mentioned.

You can add news pieces and blog posts to your tweets that can be tracked back to your site. Also, in some cases, people re-tweeting what you have to say can add to your overall link popularity if they include the URL. In addition, because Twitter is based on people following you because they are interested in what you have to say, it is permission based. Just don’t abuse this by trying to sell.

Being part of the Twitter community is about communication, engagement, value and trust. As long as you remember this when stepping into this channel, you can soon start to see the benefits of the rapidly growing network.

Pull off the horned rim glasses and slide on those sunshades. Let’s look at the site no one has heard of but is quickly becoming the “cool” site used by everyone. The site in question? Twitter.

Type the word in Google and here are a few of the listings that show up.

Aug 12, 2008 … The Gray Lady Is All A-Twitter. The New York Times has been on a Twitter tear lately.

SoCal earthquake has everyone a-Twitter | Technology | Los Angeles …SoCal earthquake has everyone a-Twitter. 1:12 PM, July 29, 2008 … and Wilshire) is fine, no damage to building, and we’re all safe…

Everyone’s all a Twitter – Social Technology Innovation by Alex Vorbau Mar 20, 2007 … The age-defying John Edwards has a Twitter page…

The Toad Stool by Alan Wolk: Mad Men All A-Twitter Aug 25, 2008 … Mad Men All A-Twitter. So the entire cast of Mad Men is on Twitter … with references that play across the board…

So you have the Ole’ Gray Lady – The New York Times, to perfectly coiffed Presidential drop-out John Edwards, to the cast of the wildly popular new hit series Mad Men all banging out 140 characters a time in Twitter. Apparently even when people couldnt get through on their cells in the SoCal earthquake, who did people turned to to get info out quickly? The mighty little Twitter.

Just What is Twitter?
Well according to the Twitter’s own FAQ, “Twitter is for staying in touch and keeping up with friends no matter where you are or what you’re doing.”

Hop over to Wikipedia and it says, “Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.”

Basically Twitter asks the question, “What are you doing?” and allows you to send a short update (your tweets are limited to 140 characters) to your followers whether they are family or friends, colleagues, customers, and/or potential customers.

Twitter allows you to send and receive updates (also called tweets) via your  web browser, email, instant messaging clients and SMS (using your cell phone). Regardless of where you are, you can always tweet.

Remember, when you first join Twitter, it can feel like a lonely place. When you aren’t following anyone and no one is following you, you may find yourself asking “what is the point?” I’ve heard so many people say they just don’t get it. In fact, many come that same conclusion.

The key is to find the Tweets you want to follow so you can keep your finger on the pulse of your niche. The next key is to start building your followers. More on that in a minute.

Can Twitter Help Your Small Business?
Business goes where it’s invited. That business normally would be invited using advertising or publicity of some type. The more contact you have with your potential customer, the more likely you’ll get their current and future business. With Twitter you can stay in their “top of mind” awareness. You lety them know what’s new in your industry, in your company via quick news flashes which is what Twitter can be for your business.

Here are just some of the power of Twitter:
- It reminds people that you’re still here
- It shows people you still have something to say
- It shows them that you’re real (human that it)
- It announces new offers, sales and breaking news immediately
- It’s realtionship marketing at it’s best – develop more casual relationships
- You can use Twitter to promote your other social bookmarking submissions or latest web post on your site
- You can ask for referrals, suggestions, feedback and help, and surprise surprise…people will respond.

How Do You Start Finding Followers?
Start by reaching out to your friends, family, or business mailing list etc. It’d be smart to add your Twitter link to your email signature line. Add your Twitter (and other social media marketing links)  to your website and Blog sidebar or footer. Do you still have a newsletter? Then mention your Twitter account in your newsletter.

One rule of thumb is cardinal rule if you use Twitter purely as a sales tool, you will lose followers quickly. As with all forms of social media, it is about creating a conversation with the community versus shoving your sales message down their throats.

Presently you can not incorporate HTML into Twitter with the exception of hyperlinks, but Twitter automatically uses the TinyURL service to shorten links so a super long URL doesn’t take up all your alloted characters.

How Often Do You Tweet?
Depends…don’t tweet too much, or too little. There is no magic number and it varies according to your target audience. Some people say don’t update more than once per hour, whereas others say not more than once or twice a day. For me it’s once, or or maybe even twice a day. If there is breaking news and some days you just have to update more often then it’s OK. If your tweets are valuable information people will be more tolerant of frequent updates. Face it, if they’re interested in your site and your message, then anything you say will be appreciated or tolerated.

On the other hand if you are too quiet and don’t post to Twitter too often, then people have nothing to follow. Business goes where it’s invited, remember? So make sure you find that balance and tweet just enough to keep people informed but not annoying.

Don’t forget that your profile shows a history of all your tweets, so if a new person comes along and sees that you don’t have many tweets they may decide you aren’t worthy of following. Also if your past tweets aren’t informative or interesting, you’re not worth their time to follow.

Trust and Twitter Are Worthy Goals
With so much hype in marketing, people are really looking for a company that can trust. We all like to do business with people we feel we know, we like, and we trust.

You can build some of that trust with prospects by allowing them to get to know you, and by providing them with information using a tool like Twitter.

Let me suggest that you go look at your own Tweet history and ask yourself, ” is the information presented here valuable, does it build trust? Would I want to follow this Twitterer?” (A person who uses Twitter)

The answer may be very revealing. Change starts here and you’ll find your success using Twitter is feedback you can learn to trust yourself.

G. Wayne Clayton is the Chief Visionary Officer of SocialMarketingExpert.org. You can follow his Tweets at http://Twitter.com/SocialMtgExpert