Twitter, the "do's and dont's"

I started using Twitter about 12 months ago and only really dipped my toe in the water, but now I am a regular "tweeter" I look forward to what's going on and get excited when I see I have gained new followers. So much so, that I no longer need to browse several news websites. Why, when I can get all the news on one platform - Twitter, oh how I am glad you are in my life!

The do's.

1. Be proactive, and spontaneous, Twitter does not have to be a pre-conceived method of marketing your business/yourself. If you have received some good news, share it! (we are all nosey and want to know). Unless of course, it's something regarding porn, probably best to keep that to yourself. (there are alternative sites for that kind of chat).
2. Reply to those who are new followers and thank them, I am guilty of not doing this enough, not because I am ungrateful, just because I think, "oh I'll do that in a bit" but I am thankful. (very much so, and if you are new - thank you).
3. Re-tweet other tweets that you find interesting, this is the beauty of Twitter. I love it when someone I follow re-tweets something that ordinarily I wouldn't have even been looking for and there it is a little nugget of information just for me. It's a great way to share knowledge with others.
4. Do speak to your followers, ask them for their opinions and also respond to their tweets this enables you to build up a rapport and build relationships.
5. Finally, do be succinct, we only get 140 characters to say what we want. There is nothing worse than trying to read 5 tweets to see what the punch-line is. (we don't have time).

The don'ts.

1. Don't worry about those who "un-follow" you... that feeling of rejection, what did I say? Am I not funny or engaging? there is no way of knowing and there's better things to worry about.
2. Flood your followers with tweets, spread your tweets across the day. Nobody wants to be bombarded with lots of tweets from you that block up their timeline.
3. Try and sell your product/service "directly", twitter is about building relationships, the selling comes naturally when your followers are engaged in your brand.
4. Post links to websites/blogs/articles that you feel will not be of genuine interest to your followers. We are time poor, hence why 140 characters use them wisely.
5. Finally.... Rudness is not a good attribute to have, the same applies to Twitter, it's not funny and you may find yourself blocked.

There are plenty more, but I like the number 5, so that's your 5 for each of my do's and dont's for twitter.

Useful websites to use to get the best out of your twitter account;

• www.hootsuite.co.uk - this site enables you to schedule in your tweets and for a small monthly fee, you can access stats on your twitter account.
• www.Bitly.co.uk helps you share, track and analyze your links.
• www.tweetmeme.com register your twitter account with tweetmemme and it will automatically tell you how many times your article has been re-tweeted and by whom. It will even rank your tweet, could your tweet become number 1?
• http//favstar.fm/. enables you to see who has marked your tweet as one of their favourites.