1 – Your Username

• Choose a name that is easy for others to remember and use
• Don’t make it too long as this will eat into the 140 characters if others retweet your posts

2 – Your Avatar

• Don’t be an egghead….
  add a photo

3 – Your Bio

• This your opportunity to create a first impression, make it a good one
• Include a link to your blog or website within your bio

4 – Tweet regularly

By all means listen and learn, but then join in and contribute:

• Post useful links
• Add comments to other people’s posts
• Ask questions

5 – Respond

• Don’t just focus on your own tweets, read and respond to others questions and comments
• Twitter is social so check and reply to your direct messages (DMs) and mentions from others
• Thank others for retweeting your own posts

6 – Retweet

• Retweet useful posts to share with your followers
• Show your appreciation to the people you follow and acknowledge you have found it useful – they will reciprocate

7 – Consider the length

• Don’t always use all of the 140 characters – allow space so that others can retweet your full post (which will include your username) and add a comment

8- Consider the content

• Share tweets and information that show your expertise in your chosen field and of value to your followers
• Engage in a dialogue: ask questions, share associated resources

9- Consider the tone

• Be professional
• Don’t use Twitter as a forum to vent and resist negative or sarcastic remarks
• Have empathy and sensitivity

10 – Keep personal, personal

• Use a DM (direct message) for personal messages meant for just one person or a selected group

11 – Getting organised

• Utilise the favourites feature
• Download a Twitter app to your smart phone
• Create lists (See How to create lists)
• View your Twitter lists using a dashboard e.g. Hootsuite or Tweetdeck

12 – Analyse link click-throughs

• Maximise free analytics using URL shorteners e.g. bit.ly, goo.gl, and ow.ly

Is there anything you would add?