How to Maximize Your Twitter Account

With the ease and efficiency of creating a Twitter account these days (not to mention, the hype!), it is important to remember that creating an account is not the end-all and be-all of Twitter. While there are some important points to consider when creating your account - a few of which are listed here - there are definitely more crucial guidelines when it comes to maintaining a thriving Twitter presence. Here are a few things to consider that will help you get started on the right foot as well as help you keep the momentum going:

1. Username. Most people keep it plain and simple, using their real full names as their usernames (remember: no spaces though). This works well for well-known or famous people, with household names that people will automatically search for when looking for them. For other people like you and me, however, it might be worth considering a more catchy username to attract followers. Note that you can always be searched by your real name, so even if you don't use it as your username, people who already know you can still look for your account. If you are tweeting as a marketing strategy for a business or an organization, you can either use the name of your company or the name of the specific program or project around which your tweets will revolve. Bottom line, choose a username that people will instinctively associate with the topic you will be tweeting about; let it be functional and catchy at the same time.

2. Following and Followers. Follow people tweeting about similar things as you are; this is a great way to not only stay updated on your area of interest or expertise, but it could also pique the interest of the people you're following to check you out and perhaps follow, or even better, promote you on their own accounts. Having people with a lot of followers mention you in their tweet is a great way to gain more followers. Just remember to return the favor once in a while. If you're not sure whether to follow a certain individual or business just yet, but they are tweeting about something relevant to your own tweets, feel free to mention them in your tweets - this will also catch their attention and more often than not, they will retweet your tweet to show their followers that people pay attention to what they're saying. ("Mentioning" a Twitter Account is technically writing "@(Twitter Username)" and then writing your own text.)

3. Hashtags. A hashtag is a word or a phrase (without spaces) that you attach to your tweet or actually include within your tweet, to make your tweet more easily searchable. For example, if you wish to greet the world on a certain special occasion, you may write: "Happy #ValentinesDay Everyone!." People who then search for #ValentinesDay on Twitter will see your tweet in their search results. Alternatively, hashtags can also be used if you wish to start a discussion on a specific topic such as #SuperBowl or #exoticrecipes; in this case, anyone who wishes to join the discussion can just include the same hashtag in their tweets. If you can think of a timely, fun, and catchy hashtag, you might just have thousands of people using it!

4. Connecting Twitter and other social media networks (like Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr, etc). It is now very easy to connect all your social media accounts to one another. This means that if you post an entry on Tumblr, you have the option of having it automatically update your Twitter account with a link to the post. While this seems very convenient, this feature should be used with caution, especially if you are tweeting for your business or your organization. Pay attention to the kinds of people following you on Twitter and on the other social media sites: more often than not, they are different people and thus have different expectations of what they wish to hear from you. From my own personal experience, maintaining social media accounts separately - updating them separately - makes it easier to post more personal and relevant updates for my readers and followers. Try out what works for you best, and then always remember my following last point.

5. Regular and Strategic Updates. Especially on Twitter where your tweet can get buried under a million other tweets from other accounts your followers may be following as well, it is very important to tweet at least twice or three times a day. It is recommended to do so at different times, but see what works best for you. Of course, if you have some breaking news, tweet it right away. Over time, and once your followers get used to seeing you on their tweet roll, they might just go to your profile page regularly to make sure they didn't miss any of your tweets. Until then, update regularly and strategically.

Feel free to leave a comment if you have specific questions about Twitter! Stay tuned for more social media tips and tricks. Thank you for reading!