Contrary to those that know me, I don’t really believe that Twitter is the best thing to happen to internet marketing ever….honest. However, I do think it has an incredibly important part to play in an holistic search marketing campaign, if used with some thought and a clear strategy. Primarily a communication tool, ironically this represents both Twitter’s greatest strength and also its greatest weakness. Anyone with internet access can open an account in under a minute and tweet about anything and everything – and they usually do. The perception that Twitter is where people tweet about what they’ve just eaten is based on fact (hell, even I’ve done it!) but that doesn’t mean that serious users should shy away from participating. On the contrary, the fact that people are actually using Twitter at all means that anyone serious about internet marketing should be part of the process too. Why wouldn’t you want to promote your service or product in an arena where literally millions are ready to listen?

However, having millions ready to listen means there are millions of other Twitter accounts to compete against – so how do you make yourself or your client stand out from the noise?

• Get consensus on the public profile from the start from all parties concerned- agree on the corporate image you want to promote.
• Establish your online identity. Choose a user name that reflects your company name or one very close to it.
• Brand your profile page and update your Twitter icon. Use the Bio feature to establish your service or product and always link to a website if there is one.
• Consider using different Twitter accounts to feed into the main one if applicable, i.e. Customer Service, Technical Support, Promotional Offers. Make sure each are branded the same to ensure continuity.
• If you’re using just one account try and vary the tweets – a constant stream of promotion or sales pitches can be off putting to potential followers.
• If you or your client has a blog, tweet about and link to each new post.
• Always include a link back to the URL if you are promoting something on your website.
• Use keywords in your tweets so you’ll be found on searches (just like real SEO!)
• Twitter works best when its two way – follow people back, respond to their tweets, promote others.
• Take notice of the Trending Topics – these are the 10 or so most popular subject of current tweets. If you have something to say that fits in with a topic, just pop a hashtag followed by that subject on the end of your tweet. That way (for a few minutes anyway) your tweet will be on the front page of searches on that hashtag subject.
• Don’t wait to tweet until you have something to say – build up your following and then you’ll have an audience for that special announcement.

The world of social media is evolving at a crazy rate and it takes time and effort to build up a presence. However, the rewards could definately be worth it for a well executed and well maintained campaign.

There’s a reason why people like Stephen Fry and Jonathan Ross are reaping incredible PR benefits with their Twitter presence – they are an easy reference point for new users, a safe pair of hands, a trusted source. Make your social media campaign a point of reference for your customers and clients too and build up that client relationship in a unique and rewarding way.