If you choose to participate on Twitter, don’t be a tweeter everyone dodges. It’s not good for business. Instead, focus on listening, adding valuable content to discussions, and building reciprocal relationships.

Knowing the right strategies to successfully tweet will lead to an increase in your website traffic, a boost in online exposure, and position you as an expert in your industry.

Familiarize yourself with the top five twitter don’ts:

1. Don’t be negative: Avoid complaining and being viewed as a Debbie Downer. No  one wants to read tweets that have negative connotations—it doesn’t add anything  constructive to the conversation and discourages followers from following you. This doesn’t mean you can’t disagree with someone. As long as you are polite and still add value to the conversation, you are more than welcome to disagree.

2. Don’t blatantly market and promote your business on Twitter: People don’t  use Twitter to be bombarded with advertisements; therefore, don’t use Twitter as an  advertising platform for your company. If you want to build a solid Twitter network with  working relationships, you must first listen and actively participate in conversations  relevant to your interests or industry. Once you have built a solid network and reciprocal connections, you can begin posting links to a few articles, blogs, or informative pieces about your company that you believe would provide value to your followers. However, be careful not to abuse your newly acquired position on Twitter. If you start to only tweet for business purposes once you feel comfortable with your network, you’ll immediately be back to square one. But this time, people will know not to follow you.

3. Don’t do all the talking: Twitter is very much like a cocktail or dinner party—  traditional social etiquette applies. For example, no one wants to listen to a chatterbox go off on a tangent about himself for an hour. The same idea goes for Twitter—no one wants to be tweeted at. Rather, Twitter is used for those who want to have intellectual discussions that provide every party in the conversation with valuable information. In the end, successful and solid relationships are built, and a network is created. By building relationships online, you can increase your exposure to potential clients and others in your industry.

4. Don’t neglect your Twitter account: Many people think that by setting up a Twitter account, they’ll automatically get followers and people interested in what they have to say. Some businesses even use autotweets—something that is frowned upon by the Twitter community. If you want Twitter followers, you need to work for them. You won’t build solid relationships if you’re not constantly present on Twitter. But how often should you tweet? Several times a day, throughout the day. Don’t pile all your tweets in during the morning. Space your tweets out in order to reach those who go on Twitter in the afternoon as opposed to the morning. Since fresh tweets always rise to the top of Twitter homepages, yours will most certainly be missed by those who go on several hours after you tweet. Keep fresh and valuable information constantly streaming through your Twitter account.

5. Don’t get discouraged when people you follow don’t follow you: Twitter is a great          place to find fresh and useful information, which is why it’s much more beneficial for you to        focus   on finding people you are interested in following. If you provide valuable information, they may   consider following you. Also, it’s not about the quantity of followers you have—it’s about the quality. Having just a few followers who provide you with valuable feedback and information and who are excellent connections for you to have are much more beneficial than having thousands of followers who don’t provide you with anything useful.

Two Twitter lessons to remember:

1. Proper social etiquette is essential on Twitter.

2. The Twittersphere can be a harsh place, which is why it’s important to always keep your Twitter dos and donts in mind.

Not familiar with the Twitter dos yet? Visit our recent S?mèr post, Top Five Twitter Dos.

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Wednesday, February 11, Gary Harwyn, owner of Daniel Island Mortgage,  unveiled his new green mortgage services and association with myEnergyLoan. (photo below: Gary Harwyn and Jeff Cole, founder of myEnergyLoan)

We are so excited to be helping promote Daniel Island Mortgage and its new ecofriendly mortgage products, and writing the web copy for their new site.

The event, hosted by Green Drinks Charleston, was held in downtown Charleston at Yo Burrito. As you can tell from the photo, we had a huge turn out for the event.

Being green has never looked so darn good. The green craze is not simply a celebrity fad. It’s a growing national movement. Green Movement consumers are on the rise, passionate about saving the environment, conscious of health hazards in food consumption, and keen on decreasing energy consumption. All companies can contribute to the Green Movement, whether it’s through participating in a volunteer program, selling green services / products, or paperless marketing.

How your company can market green:

·       Have a credo of values section on your website, allowing consumers to understand the goals and inner workings of your company. Mention in your mission statement ways your company participates in green practices, such as using minimal packaging that’s recyclable, conserving resources, and using services / products that decrease energy consumption and waste.

·       Join an ecofriendly organization to certify your company as green. For example, if you are developing a new marina or revitalizing an existing one, join a volunteer program such as The Certified Clean Marina Program. Joining organizations shows consumers you are a certifiably clean marina and comply with environmentally clean standards.

·       Create a green conscious product / service line. We’ve all seen this in grocery stores, with a variety of organic meat and dairy products. Clothing stores are doing it as well, designing lines of clothes made from organic materials.

·       Research ways the world is going green and cater your products / services around some of the actions people are taking. Knowing how people are buying and consuming is important to the success of your business.

·       Create customer surveys focused on the Green Movement, and research the top things people are doing to save the environment.

To get more tips on effectively marketing your business and learn about our many result-driven copywriting services, visit Michelle Salater Writing & Editorial, LLC.