Making friends isn't easy in real life, so you wouldn't think that finding friends or "followers" on Twitter could be an easy task either.  But it can be!  I used the following method with a client's twitter account and got fantastic results!

Like with real friends, I found the key is to identify common interests.  So first things first, what is your twitter account's interest?  For example, let's say I'm starting a new website about cooking beef burgers.

Provide a backlog of information.  I would want to get a bunch of burger related content up in my history, to prove that I'm serious about my burgers.  I can find online content about burgers and tweet it, with a tiny URL (check out tiny.cc ) for optimum space usage in those 140 characters!



Now for the edge - I will tweet my own content (a blogpost? A video?) about a great broiling technique.  When twitter users see my account, this will be the most recent update and most likely click.

Now it's time to search for friends, soon to be followers.  Scroll to the bottom of your twitter homepage and click on the search link or enter summize.com into your URL bar.  Next, type in "Hamburger".  As you can see, all of the results will be people who have tweeted about the subject of hamburger.



Now I want to follow all of these people who have mentioned burgers in their recent tweets.  In exchange, my hope is that people will follow me, as I continue to share my burger knowledge.  Also utilize synonyms, for instance I should also search for "cheese burgers" and "beef burgers", maybe if I'm feeling daring search for "hot dogs" too!

I also found it helpful to find a relevant twitter account (or potential competitor?), and follow all your competiror's follwers.  For instance, I may follow all of this guy's followers:



Note - it's really important that I continue to share my burger knowledge.  No one wants to follow an account that is inactive; they'll drop me from their followers like a fly.
 
Important Numbers: On average, I have found that about 25% of the people I follow follow me.  And Twitter only permits you to follow 2,000 people in a given day.

In short: provide relevant content on your twitter account and then search for people talking about that content matter.

I don't know if you have heard about a website called "Good URL  Bad URL"? I've been a huge fan of this basic looking but phenomenal website for a long time and I regularly visit it for latest photos of examples with good URLs and not so good URLs. I guess this blog post is a humble dedication to this website.

An URL is the company brand which is meant to connect with an audience, most times the connection is spot on but sometimes things go really wrong. "Good URL Bad URL" is a brainchild of Aaron Goldman, on the website he says his aim is to give businesses some guidance when choosing and promoting their URLs.

"Good URL Bad URL" is packed with interesting points and examples. It says whenever possible, use YourBrandName.com. CapitalizeTheFirstLetterOfEachWord and/or UseDifferentColorsOrBoldToHelpEachWordStandOut. Don't use acronyms, abbreviations, or numbers unless your brand is widely known as such. Don't use YourProduct.com or YourCategory.com as a replacement for YourBrandName.com.

Here are a couple of examples, all are from the Good URL Bad URL website.

Good URL



This is a very clever URL from Corporate Express, the URL show up properly in the rear-view mirror of the car ahead.

Better URL



This one gets the message across. Spot on. Concise and to the point.

Bad URL



Here the URL is lost in the mass of text and at first view it's actually difficult to spot the URL. The use of different colours and mix of upper- and lower case letter would improve and get the message across.

Worse URL



This is actually not a bad URL but the all lower cases makes it's message look really bad.

Check out "Good URL Bad URL" website for many more excellent photos of URL examples.

Twitter is a service that broadcasts 140 character notes through the twitter community of approximately 1 million users.  Think of it as a mini blog, that can be placed on websites , added to social networking profile pages, sent to mobile phones, etc.  Users can update their "tweets" via mobile phones, PDAs, instant messaging services, and a host of widgets, so many users don't even sign in to the actual site.  According to Tech Crunch there are about 3 million twitter messages broadcast every day, so my question to your company is - why aren't you part of the action?

Many companies do operate twitter accounts, keeping clients and customers in the loop.   These include Dell, General Motors, Jet Blue - and the biggest success story - Zappos.com .  So get in on the action - the username "B2BMasterMind" is still available!

Twitter Terms:
Tweet - an 140 character update, like a new note.
Follower - The Twitter profiles receiving your updates ("tweets") on their homepage.
Following - The profiles a given Twitter account is receiving tweets from.

 Why Your Company Should Twitter:
1.    Easier than blogging. 140 characters or 400 words?  Forget debates over grammar, coming up with content is no longer a struggle, and your employees wont avoid you in the halls when there hasn't been an update in a week or two.  
2.    Simple Way To Update Your Website.   Add a twitter widget to your website and your tweets are automatically updated, so clients can always see what your company is up to.  Both Twitter Feed and Widget Box have created feeds.
3.    Free Advertising.  Every time you update, your username and tweet pop to the top of your follower's homepages.   The more you update, the more you will dominate their list.  But be sure to strike balance - spamming or recycling the same comment will probably deter them from following you.   Check out Woot's twitter, a site that "focuses on selling cool stuff cheap", they advertise one new product each day. 

How To Twitter A Company:
1.    News Updates.  Did your company just send out an exciting mailing, announce a new product, or change the logo?  Let the world know about these decisions, it will keep your followers informed.
2.    Get Client Feedback.  Twitter users love responding to questions.  Ask about your products, and don't be afraid to extend the subject matter.  Twitter is an opportunity for clients to see your personality, so if you're looking for a child entertainer for your annual company picnic - let them know!  
3.    Your Company Evangalist = Twitter Star!  Tony Hseih, CEO of Zappos, is a Twitter star.  He has 15,000 people following his every word because he's funny, great at interacting with audiences, and keeps users updated on Zappos developments.  Or create a character, as Mars Candy did with their "Ms.Green" from the M&Ms lineup.  Your company could be holding the next twitter celebrity...
4.    Inter-company communication.   Imagine everyone staying on the same page at work via twitter updates.  No emails crowding your inbox, just tweets on a homepage.
5.    Find Fans.   Use a twitter engine like Steve's to find mentions of your company on twitter.  Perhaps people are talking about you (or your competitors) and you don't even know it!  Blogger Jonathon Fields was followed by Jet Blue only a couple minutes after tweeting that he was in a Jet Blue terminal. 

What are your experiences with Twitter?  Does it sound like a fad that'll die out soon enough, or is it an amazing bit of software?