It is good you are familiarizing your readers with the ways of Twitter. It can be an effective relationship building tool if used properly. Or, it can be a giant waste of time, especially if one goes into it without the most valuable piece of advice – “find the right audience.”

I have a friend who collects people on the Web. He has over 200,000 friends, connections, and people he’s following, etc. Bob got into this people collecting stuff at a time when it was easier to buy software that would build huge groups of people attributed to him. It’s been a game for him until the platforms started to get stricter. In fact, on one particular site he was kicked off for six months for scamming the system by using some kind of automated software to invite and collect even more people.

Recently, I asked Bob if he knew who all these people that are attributed to him were. He answered me by saying, “all sorts of people.” As an affiliate marketer, big numbers of “all sorts of people” can work well for him since multi-level marketing (MLM) fits nearly every type of profile. This exercise might, however, turn out being a huge waste of time for others, who require a targeted audience.

Attract the right followers by having a well thought out strategy in place. Try a service like “Mr. Tweet” to seek out follow-worthy tweeters, based on their interests and not just their pulse. Also, go around the web and click on the Twitter icons of people you might want to follow (often they’ll follow you back). If they like your tweets they may re-tweet them to their own followers and expand your audience.

There is alot you can do with Twitter to help your business.

1. Keep in touch with bloggers and the media
2. Monitor your business brand
3. Announce special deals
4. Offer Live updates on events and conferences
5. Promote your blog posts; your webinars and interesting news

Hope this is helpful.

Marc LeVine
Director of Social Media
RiaEnjolie, Inc.
http://www.RiaEnjolie.com