4 Tips: Twitter Marketing
By Sharon Goldman, executive editor, DMNews

Twitter is everywhere and chock-full of consumers – so more and more marketers want to get on the Tweeting bandwagon. But how can you be sure you're making the most of your microblogging efforts? Four experts share their top tips.

Get started
Twitter is just one of the tools that you need to have in your social media toolbox along with things like a Facebook page, a LinkedIn profile, a blog, and an RSS feed on your website. We are living in an age of instant communication and a river of information flowing through our social networks, mobile phones, and email inboxes. Twitter is just the latest and most streamlined method for obtaining that information. So sign up and create an account, then find a few people you'd like to follow such as a celebrity or guru in your field, and follow them. Watch what they “tweet.” Some have lots to say and some have very little. Some “re-tweet” what others have said and some add links to photos, videos, or news stories. This will help you understand how you should communicate. As you follow others, you will find people following you. You don't have to do a ton of marketing for your Twitter account. Just get started.
--Larry Weintraub, CEO, Fanscape

Don't just talk about yourself
Twitter is about tapping into trends and dialogue. It's conversational and informational all at the same time, which provides a unique opportunity for marketers to build trust. If you only talk about yourself, your products, or your service, people will ultimately tune out (unless, of course, you're a brand like Apple and your products are the trend). As you get involved with the community, you should help solve problems, address concerns, provide real information, and create value for your followers. Tell them things that they didn't know. Make them laugh. Give them a reason to keep following you. And more importantly, give them a reason to like you and talk about you.
--Avi Savar, founder & CEO, Big Fuel Communications

Don't spam your audience
Don't set up an automated Twitter feed. Listening to a robot is fun for about 10 seconds. This is not what Twitter is about. Be original and engage with your followers. Additionally, don't use Twitter as an online press room to post your company's press releases, news updates, or new hires. Sure, it's fine to include a couple links to a new company initiative or event…but it must be done sparingly and must be relevant to your followers. So remember to tweet wisely!
--Ian Spalter, creative director, mobile and emerging platforms, R/GA

Tweet predictably
Know ahead of time how often you plan to tweet. How often will your followers want to hear from you? Once per day? Twenty times? Make up your mind beforehand, then be predictable and stick with a consistent frequency. Don't try to tweet “on the hour,” (you're not a radio station), just avoid a “feast or famine” schedule. It helps to have some general topics queued up, so you're tweeting with a consistent voice.
--Jayson Elliot, director of user experience, Wunderman, New York

---Source: DMNews May 8, 2009 (www.dmnews.com). Sharon Goldman is the executive editor at DMNews. Reach her at sharon.goldman@dmnews.com