1. Send informative and/or entertaining tweets. Unless the tweet teaches, notifies, or amuses a reader, they probably won’t be back to see what else you’re saying.
2. Save some room for a hashtag. Twitter says: “People use the hashtag symbol (#) before a relevant keyword or phrase (no spaces) in their Tweet to categorize those Tweets and help them show more easily in Twitter Search. Clicking on a hashtagged word in any message shows you all other Tweets marked with that keyword. Hashtags can occur anywhere in the Tweet – at the beginning, middle, or end. Hashtagged words that become very popular are often Trending Topics.”
3. Be current. Topics of tweets can be tied into holidays and current news. (Example: Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to express gratitude in children, etc.)
4. Announce an important event. Tweets can be used to announce upcoming interviews, lectures, appearances, etc. Do you have a book signing coming up? Maybe a radio interview in the next few weeks? Use Twitter to let people know about your schedule.
5. Share the wealth (or an article)! It’s a good idea to frequently repost or retweet articles, essays, tweets, etc. that fall in the topics of things you write about. This will provide a greater chance of people in your field to want to follow you on Twitter and also spreads the word much better about whatever topic/subject is being discussed. In addition, the more you retweet & repost, the better the chance that person may do the same for you.
6. Use it as a writing tool. If you’re an author, posting short sentences from your book is a good way to tease interest from readers. If you have some really strong blurbs, those too should also be tweeted.
7. Reach out to others. Commenting on others’ tweets is another way to build rapport with people who write about subjects in your field. This is also another way to possibly get more followers. So join in on the conversation and start meeting people!
8. Show the love! Everyone enjoys seeing a tweet of theirs get a favorite, and people will be more than willing to reciprocate.

These are just some quick tips for effectively using the social media tool. Practice makes perfect, so be sure to apply these tips whenever you use Twitter.

Have your own tips to share? Tweet us at @McKinneyPR!