Twitter is a strange place. People speak in symbols and things can get very confusing very quickly. I was reticent to even get involved in it in the first place, but once I started really watching it and taking the time to learn the jargon, I quickly saw the value in it, particularly for building a brand and keeping name recognition with your clients.

I'm no "expert" in twitter and I'm sure there are ladies and gentleman on this website who can enhance what I'm saying, and I welcome them to add to the comments to discuss this. I'll tell you what I've found can help you out if you are getting started

#1 Figure out the jargon. Check twitter for official command lists.

#2 Follow "like" tweeters. You can love Ashton Kutcher and want to read the latest from Brittany Spears, but loving them from your business account doesn't really help anyone. With twitters newish upgrades, you can find people to follow with similar interests as your own based on who you are following and who they are following. This also means that you want similar types of people following your business so that you will show up on other people's suggestion lists. Save the personal interests for your personal accounts.

#3 RETWEET. If you see something you love, retweet it to your followers. It helps to build relationships with other tweeters and shows that you are interested in them. When you are interested in them, they are more likely to check you out as well. You can either use the "retweet" button, or you can manually say RT @yourfriend :message. Either works.

#4 Watch your @s. Keep a close eye on your @yourname list. It shows who is talking about you and why. Sometimes you can find out if there is a misunderstanding between you and others. I recently saw a tweeter slamming a business using the @ command. The business was able to see that there was a problem and rectify it to everyone's satisfaction. It also lets you build a relationship with those who are talking about you for good things too.

#5 Make lists. It seems silly, but putting someone on a list elevates them. It says "you are worthy of putting my my group," and it also shows that you are taking the time to be a resource for those in your field.

#6 Do #FF. FF stands for Follow Friday. Every Friday, tell your followers who you suggest they follow- it is just a nice thing to do for people you respect. If you see someone @you for FF, take a second to retweet their mention AND @ them as a "Thank You."

#7 Periodically purge your "following." It is possible to follow too many people. If you are a business that is following 10,000 people and only have 14 followers, you are doing something wrong. Its kind of like making a giant big budget commercial that everyone turns the channel on. Twitter estimates that only 15% of their accounts are completely active and offering worthwhile information (not spam). You want to weed out these inactive accounts from your "following" list both to prevent you from looking desperate and to prevent your fans from following useless account. Many businesses also "unfollow" people who do not follow them after a given amount of time. Following someone who is following you is just good social media etiquette. If they aren't going to follow this unwritten rule, you can certainly unfollow them without repercussion. You can make it easier by using services like JustUnfollow, Twitroria, Manageflitter, or countless others.

#8 Be active. Don't make an account and walk away from it. An inactive twitter account, just like any inactive social media account, reads worse than having none. It shows decay and lack of concern. If you don't care, why should they?

If you disagree or agree, please feel free to post your comments below. I'm interested in learning what techniques work for you and your business!

And...if you haven't yet, take a moment to follow @dealerELITE!