Marketing on Twitter can not only get you more leads and customers, but also allows you to show prospects that you communicate with your previous customers (by replying to tweets or participating in discussions). However, as nifty of a tool as Twitter can be, it is often misused, and as a result, a loss of leads and respect are lost.

This post will talk about 5 rules you should adhere to if you want to be among the good marketers who do the right things.

Rule #1: No spamming

One of the most annoying and irritating things you can do is to keep tweeting about your own product, service and website. Do this and you will not only lose followers, but you might also get banned.

Also, try to avoid automated direct messages. Are they against the rules? No. But the thing is, your Twitter followers are real humans (most of them should be!) and they can spot auto msgs miles away. It feels impersonal to them and they simply disregard it (a bit like you disregard most banner ads or even Google content network’s ads).

Yes, this means that they can see through your automated thank you messages. If you really REALLY want to send them, then at least try to go beyond the “Thanks for following!” thing that every bad marketer seems to be using. Try to be more personal, like “Hey, thanks for following! If you need anything, let me know! :) “. They’ll be more likely to actually reply and tweet about you.

Another thing you need to avoid at any and all costs, is to misguide your followers using trending hashtags. There is really no point in using the ‘#bieber’ tag and link to your home gardening blog unless you want to upset the pre-teen girls on your followers list. It doesn’t stop here. Your reputation will greatly suffer. People will stop reading your tweets and will start unfollowing you. Only use them if they are relevant to your niche. For example if you found a cool gardening trick, you can hashtag gardening and share the link (even if it’s not yours!). Your followers will see that what you share is always relevant and are more likely to check out your tweets if they feel that it concerns them.

Rule #2: Update frequently

Frequently doesn’t mean every second. Frequently means that you don’t want new people landing on your page seeing that your last tweet is dated 12 days ago. There is no magic formula, but I personally like my accounts to show that my last tweet is at most a day old. Why? Because I personally instantly click away when I land on an inactive twitter profile. Twitter is all about on the moment things, and if one can’t bother tweeting only 140 characters to keep the followers updated, then why bother being on Twitter at all?

Do not ignore the tweets that come your way. Show that you care for your followers and tweet them back if they bother tweeting to you. Prospects like transparency and communicating with the product or service provider, so take advantage and nurture your customer relationships. Do not limit yourself to just replies though. Using free, online Twitter monitoring tool, you can catch people mentioning your name, business/company name, product or service and then tweet to them if you deem it’s appropriate.

Rule #3: Be a real person, like your followers

Do not be an advertising machine. Be real. Let your followers know that it’s your son’s birthday today. It will show them that you are for real and understand how to use Twitter properly. This is SOCIAL media, not advertising media. And if you want to tweet about your website, then start a blog on it. Then post relevant stuff (articles) about your niche. And THEN you can tweet about your posts (as they are now relevant and you are not directing them straight to your salespage). Another tip is to retweet affiliates’ reviews instead of directly your sales page.

Rule #4: Use more than 140 characters if you need it

How? By tweeting twice of more in one go instead of just once to pass your message across. Do this especially if your long tweet is cool. Actually, this could be your 1st marketing strategy if you are just starting out with Twitter. Spread your message across 3 tweets once a day. You are bound to get some attention.

Rule #5: No flaming or heated up debates

People will start talking trash about you, especially once you become established. Proof? Some people HATE Microsoft. Others HATE Apple. Some people like Norton, others prefer Bit Defender. There is always something bad to say about everyone and everything. But you hardly see them battling on Twitter.

It’s unlikely for companies to start going after you, but it’s possible that some individuals would start trolling you on Twitter. In that case, you should either ignore them, or reply politely by saying that it is unfortunate that they feel bad and ask them if there is anything you can do for them. In all cases, do not feed them by starting a defensive debate.

It works the other way round too. Do not troll your competitors by pointing out their faults or saying that they are inferior. Maintain a professional relationship with everyone, including them.

Just do what you’ve got to do

Apply the concepts discussed in this post and you are sure to be seen as an individual / business / company having a high integrity and professionalism.