Tweeting or micro blogging is now viewed as an important component of most of the integrated communications strategies we implement.

Twitter can easily become a distracting part of your day. It’s also easy to get carried away with Twitter and end up communicating the wrong messages to your target audience or aimlessly retweeting others news. Setting out some goals in advance of embarking on a twitter campaign is a must. Forward planning by creating a twit list will help keep your communication objectives firmly on track.

“Forward planning by creating a twit list will help keep your communication objectives firmly on track.”

We currently put together comprehensive twit lists for a range of our clients and find this helps get the most from twittering without wasting valuable time.

When should I tweet?

We advise that a minimum of three tweets a day is a good start. These should be spread evenly throughout the working day for maximum impact and reach.

“a minimum of three tweets a day is a good start”

If the information gathering has already been done and a firm strategy of at least three months in advance is currently in place, any extra spontaneous tweets around developments or the news agenda will be an added extra bonus.

Balance of messaging

The right balance of information in your tweets is essential. For example, it is not good practise for each of your tweets to be related to a blog post, but on other hand you don’t want all of your tweets to be about who’s wearing what socks in the office today!

Your tweets need to be interesting or informative, the aim of the game is after all to build influential followers and increase retweets to boost the reach of your brand and messaging.

To get a good balance it’s worth considering the content of each tweet well in advance. Below are a few suggested themes to follow:

1. Blog related tweet –encourages links back to your website
2. Twit pic – images and audio create more interest
3. Ask a question –creates a dialogue and interaction with followers
4. Comment on relevant news topics – builds credibility and brand values through interest in various topics or stories
5. Where you’ve been or going today –demonstrates the activity and personalities behind the company or brand

“Using a tweet schedule programme like http://twuffer.com can help with this by sending pre-planned tweets out for you within your chosen timescale.”

Too busy to tweet all day?

Often it’s difficult to find the time to tweet throughout the day. Meetings and appointments and day-to-day work life can often take up too much time. Using a tweet schedule programme like http://twuffer.com can help with this by sending pre-planned tweets out for you within your chosen timescale.

Let us know if you have any more tips for successful twittering by leaving a comment below.