*Or, Everything I Know About Twitter I Learned From Foghat, Carly Simon, Aretha Franklin, and The Beatles.

Twitter is on fire. With Oprah’s recent show, the race for a million followers between Ashton Kutcher and CNN, and countless national news articles, people are joining Twitter in droves. Many of these new Twitter users seem to think the name of the game is getting as many followers as possible, as quickly as possible. But if you really want Twitter to work for you, you’ll take a step back and follow some simple guidelines. This article was written mainly from a marketing perspective, but the same rules apply whether you are selling a product, promoting a blog, or just trying to find new ways to interact online.

Slow Ride

Unless your name is Oprah, if you’ve got over 200 followers and you just joined Twitter a week ago, you’re doing it wrong. Slow down. Twitter is not a race, and having thousands of followers is meaningless unless you are actually engaging this new audience. Community-building takes time and effort. Follow people based on their interests, their networks, and their level of engagement. Talk to them. See who they talk to. Follow those people. Be patient. By being more selective about who you follow, you will create a stronger network around yourself, and that is the key to building brand loyalty.

Respect

Did you read a great blog post today? Give the writer a shout-out on Twitter. Did someone in your Twitter stream say something hilarious? Re-tweet it. Did a fellow Twitterer help you out with a project? Thank them by name in your Twitter stream. Don’t worry that giving praise to others, or crediting someone else for a great link, will take away from your glory. The opposite is true: internet culture celebrates sharing, collaboration, and mutual respect. You look stronger, not weaker, for pointing out the strengths of others.

You’re So Vain

Twitter is not your own personal soapbox or advertising space. At its best, it is a salon; a place where people congregate, collaborate, and share ideas. If all you are doing is pushing your own agenda, those dozens, hundreds, or thousands of followers you worked so hard to accumulate will start to drift away. You might not realize they’ve drifted away, because they may just choose to ignore you, rather than unfollow you. But trust me, they’re not listening any more.

There’s nothing wrong with promoting your brand, or your company, or your personal agenda, but don’t be a one-trick pony. What are you reading about? Did you learn something new yesterday? Are you excited about a new product? Is it pouring down rain outside? Be human, be interesting, and be friendly. You don’t have to refer to yourself or your product with every tweet. You don’t even have to do it every day. If people like you, if they find you interesting, intelligent, creative, or provocative, they’ll find out who you are and what you have to offer.

Help!

Read your Twitter stream. Pay attention to what people are saying. Offer encouragement, advice, assistance, and resources where applicable. Don’t do this by pointing people to your product or service (well, okay, you can do that sometimes). But seriously, be there for the people around you, as much as possible. Make time every day to dip into Twitter and pull out some gems – good links, funny Tweets, requests for help, whatever it might be. Participate!

Tags: Online Communities, Twitter