These are the twrules

Welcome
to Twitter Tuesday. Every Tuesday we will post about Twitter. Stop by
for advice and how to's for marketing professionals. Every other week
we will post our AppQuest Edition featuring a review of twitter
applications.

10 tips to good Twitter manners 

It doesn’t matter
if you’re CEO of a Fortune 500 company or a 75 year old grandmother, there are
basic guidelines that people follow to get the most out of Twitter. These are
the ten twrules that I find most important.

1.  Don’t Auto DM – The whole business model of Twitter involves
   people following people they don’t know. You don’t have make your first
   impression an obnoxious bore. In the summer of 2008 it was a great way to promote
   yourself, now it’s just annoying spam. This is probably the quickest way to get
   someone to unfollow you. Honestly, no one cares that ”you’re glad they are
   following you and that you look forward to their tweets.” If you would like to
   block people from auto DMing you, start with this opt-out page from Social Oomph.
2.   Share useful information - We’ve all been guilty of tweeting the
   most banal subjects: ”I just got coffee”, ”That ham sandwich at lunch was
   delicious”. The good news is it is OK to do it occasionally provided you also
   provide useful information. People want to connect and showing that you share a
   common interest through useful links, insight and comments works best. Keep
   your lunch, bathroom and bedtime events to yourself.
3.   It's OK to ask for a ReTweet, just say Thank You - The best
   way to get people to retweet your tweet is to ask. It sounds simple but most
   people don’t do it. When you have really good content, ask for people to share
   it. Odds are they will. You’ll garner even better good will after you thank
   people for their time.
4.  Give credit to someone for good content - It’s easy to
   steal a tweet and use it as your own. It’s better if you retweet and give
   credit. Odds are then next time you tweet something good, that people will
   retweet you.
5.   Don't spam - A certain amount of self-promotion is to be expected. These days
   everyone has a blog or a website. Be proud of your links. But don’t just don’t
   repost the same link over and over again. Mix in other links, retweets and
   comments instead of the same link.
6.  Watch what you say – This is one of the most important
   guidelines. The internet has a very, very, very long memory and rarely forgets.
   One offhanded comment or inappropriate link might not harm you right away but
   could find you later. Or it could set the internet on fire with bad publicity
   and brand reputation damage. If you think your tweet might be too
   controversial, odds are it probably is.
7. Become a resource - This is especially important to smaller
   companies. Show you’re more than just a brand trying to sell someone on your
   product. Provide links to news, website or blogs that your clients might find
   useful. Become an expert in your field so when you do tweet your followers look
   forward to what you say.
8. Tweet often but don't over tweet or under tweet - This is the
   hardest to define. How much is too much? How little is too little? The
   ”experts” say that 20-30 tweets a day is too much. Anything less than 10 times
   a day is too little. You need to establish a presence and anything less than 10
   times a day will be lost in the stream of tweets. Otherwise, go crazy. Tweet as
   often as you feel comfortable. Through feedback and time, you’ll develop a
   natural feel for what you think is the proper amount your audience will accept.
9. Learn the lingo - What is RT, hashtags, DM – it’s important to be
   able to talk to the talk with others. Learn what the language of Twitter is before you get started.
10. Don’t have huge conversations – Twitter isn’t a message board or
    instant messenger. Its main function is send out a single message. Of course
    you want people to respond to your tweets. As a rule of thumb, anything longer
    than three tweets back and forth should be moved to DMs or another channel like
    email, AIM or MSN. Since everyone that follows you can see your tweets, if they
    aren’t following the other person, they miss half the conversation and your
    tweets are cluttering their twit stream.

If I could offer

one last piece of advice, read and listen to what’s being said by your
followers. You’ll have a much richer Twitter experience and develop greater
relationships. There are more rules that could be added but these are the top
ten that I find the most useful.

What are your rules for good tweeting?

Stefan Halley is the Digital Project Leader for The Duffy Agency. He love to talk about social media and won't shut up about Twitter.

Comments

[Sara McCoy]

Great post! I'm new to Twitter and have been researching how it all works and the best way to use it. Thanks for the info :)