Twittering for Brand Marketers

Well, it seems that it's been all Twitter in the news lately (or Michael Jackson). Brand marketers are still trying to figure out how work with Twitter. Many wonder if it's worth the effort at all. With the evolution of Web 2.0 social media tools, brand conversations are happening faster and in more places. This challenges marketers who traditionally spend time trying to manage communications rather than planning and participating in the engagement.

Here a couple of real-world things a brand marketer might try if you are still trying to dip you toe in the waters of Twitter.

1. Set up a Twitter account. (Obviously, you can try the water if you don't go to the pool.)
2. Log In, watch and listen. Then post a few messages. (Step into the shallow end.)
3. Begin to Follow others. There are several ways to do this, but two very easy methods include:
A. Use the Search tool on twitter to find people you want to follow.
B. While logged into to your Twitter account, open another window in your browser and type in www.twitter.com/username using the name of the person you want to follow. For example, to follow me, type www.twitter.com/mwitzling When you get to the Twitter page of the person just click the "Follow" button under the photo.

Don't know who to follow? For marketers, try following your competitors, key industry players, and bloggers that you like. Seth Godin is one of the more popular marketers to follow. Follow me if you like.

4. Auto Follow. You can easily set up your account Settings to automatically follow those who follow you. This helps start the potential for dialogue. Once you do this, you are ready for the main part of the pool.

This is not intended as a full training guide, just a push to help you get started. For marketers, it's very easy to move from this point to hosting your own instant "focus group" on Twitter, engage with loyal users, and track key issues.

Good luck!