Twitter is playing an ever-increasing role in online marketing. The concept is simple: You type messages and people who are "follow"ing you see them. That's pretty much it. Figuring out how well your business can monetize a presence on twitter can be important in growing your web presence and marketing yourself on the web. I've come up three important rules to help get your business started on twitter.
You need to figure out what you're going to tweet. For some businesses this is very obvious, but for others it can be an interesting question. If you are running an online store your twitter should be dedicated to tweeting about new product lines and offerings - as well as coupons and deals. A realtor would most likely want to tweet new real estate listings. Focus on what is important and don't bother tweeting every miniscule thing that happens to your business. If you can't fit your business into a small category of tweets like mentioned above, consider doing "news and updates" tweets and treat twitter as a microblog.
Credibility is very important on twitter. You want your followers to feel you are serious about who you are and what you offer. Design a good looking background for your twitter account that identifies with your businesses brand. Keep the style consistent. Make sure your links and text colors match your background. It sounds petty, but a stylish twitter profile is going to net you many more followers and much more business than the default look.
Follow your competition. Anything you put out on twitter is no secret to them anyways, so be a good sport. Tweeting to your comptetition shows how important and secure your business feels about itself and how serious it is about it's industry. Take part in discussions with rival businesses and do what you can to improve your relationships. Always remember to be respectful and business-minded. Your professional image is important to uphold.
