Social Media offers various challenges and opportunities for your business.  Leveraging each channel can be difficult to do especially with limited time, resources, or money perhaps.  Being new to social media can present an even greater challenge in finding the right path towards participation in conversations, creation of leads, and ultimately generating more sales for your business.  Some tweeps get it right away and others will adapt in due time after getting burnt a few times.

Here’s a few tips for you to use while in the Twittersphere.  A few strategies that you may or may not have implemented into your Twitter Marketing plan.

1. Your Profile – it’s quite unpopular not to have a proper information about you or your business in your profile.  You should have a photo, description, and page address listed here.  This will ensure that your future followers will have a firm understanding of who you are and what you do.  Save the cheesy sales pitch for this one.  Your tweeps want to know about you.
2. Follow Others – you’re not in a cult nor entering one for that matter.  In this case you want to follow leaders within your industry.  As a good start you should follow 10-15 new tweeps that fit within your industry.  Don’t pay attention to their followes or following count as appear misleading.  Focus on surrounding yourself around leaders that offer industry expertise regardless of their followers count.
3. Twitter Posting – you may think that building your tweeps will require lots of non-stop tweeting but think again before acting.  In order to be most effective with your Twitter marketing post in the following block segments – morning, afternoon, & night time.  Each segment block should consist of no more than 10 tweets.  Feel free to switch up your posting style if you like by posting eight conversational tweets and two self-promotional ones.  Avoid a spam-like pattern or behavior unless you’re looking to max out your luck and get thrown in #twitterjail.
4. Provide Value – offer others industry tips and news while spending less time of shameless self-promotion.  Attraction marketing techniques were found to work best when you give others value in a specific area of expertise.  Pitching yourself left and right will decrease your chance of conversion.  Be careful about this one!
5. On Your Blog – if you have a blog it’s recommended that you incorporate your Twitter account into it.  There are various widgets and plugins available that can do this automatically for you.  Let your visitors know that you can be found on Twitter as well as the option to see all of your current and past tweets.  It’s a great way to connect with your target audience outside of your website/blog.

Implementing and executing an effective Twitter marketing plan can take some time.  Consistency with your strategies are key.  Perfecting them will ensure that generate or contribute to more conversation, acquire new leads, and create sales for your business.