If you’re a Twit, you can follow me here: http://twitter.com/ralfskirr

Today’s article is about ‘What Content to Post to Your Twitter Updates.’

Before you begin posting Twitter updates, you need to be clear about your main goals for using Twitter. If you’re focused before you get started, you’ll write much better posts and get targeted traffic to your blog.

Always remember that 100 targeted visitors are worth more than 10,000 un-targeted visitors.

There are many different ways you can use Twitter, and everyone uses it a little bit different.

Before using Twitter consider these goals:

• Driving traffic to your web site or blog.
• Positioning yourself as authority in your specific niche.
• Building your brand.
• To make your web site a networking experience by adding Twitter.
• To draw people’s attention to a specific campaign.
• To get subscribers for your email marketing.
• To maximize the number of Twitter followers.

You can use Twitter for all of this, or you can choose just one of these goals and run with that.

You could even create different Twitter accounts for different purposes.

What Content Should You Post To Your Twitter Updates?

I’m assuming you’re not tweeting only for personal reasons, but to enhance your business!

The Twitter site has one question and one question only – What are you doing?
How you answer this is totally up to you.

Try to come up with answers that…

• are interesting to read.
• make them pay attention for what you post.
• make them visit your sites.
• make them reply and comment on your updates.

Be a person, not a faceless marketer.

To start out with, you’ll want to post a few things that are related to you personally and not your Blog, site or products directly. Remember, first and foremost Twitter is a social networking utility. People have a low tolerance for blatant advertising.

A lot of people simply post about what they are doing in their daily routine. You’ll see a lot of posts like “Eating dinner.” or “Starting this new project.”

If you’re having trouble answering the question “what are you doing” try thinking of it in terms of “what are you interested in” or “what has you attention.”

But only a small part of your posts should focus on your private life. After all you not only want to entertain but also give value to your readers.

Promoting your Blog.

The most basic way of using Twitter to build traffic to your Blog is to post updates on Twitter whenever you make a Blog post. It is even possible to automate the process of adding new Blog posts to Twitter or vice versa adding your newest Twitter updates to your Blog.

If you do submit a back link to your own Blog, be sure to add more to your Twitter update than just the link. Tell them what the specific Blog post is about. You don’t want to be seen as someone spamming his link all over Twitter.

But there’s so much more to Twitter than that.

Ideas for non-Blog post related Twitter posts:

1. Share valuable information and useful tips. You can post URLs related to your niche, or just interesting articles and sites you find while browsing the Internet.
2. Write replies to other people’s Twitter updates.
3. Ask them questions. Ask people what they think of the latest news story, their opinion on a given topic, or what they ate for lunch. By asking them questions you can build your relationship with your followers.
4. Add to the value of your twitter feed by sharing some personal tips that aren’t on your Blog. 140 characters offer enough space to share a short, helpful tip. Ideally of course post tips related to your industry.
5. Share links to other people’s sites and explain your view.
6. Share your own opinion on popular topics. You can submit links to current news, preferably those related to your niche, and offer your comment.

These are just a few ideas to get you started. Do you have a few ideas on your own? Please post them below. I appreciate any addition that makes this page more helpful for everybody.

And as always at the end of these Twitter articles I’d like to point you to my own Twitter page: http://twitter.com/ralfskirr

And when you go there remember that old Genesis song…

Here you go…

It needs some editing, then I will post it here in a day or two.

Ralf

If you want to, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/ralfskirr.

1. Getting Traffic to Your Blog Posts or Your Web Sites.

Did you know you can add links to your Twitter posts? Thus with a simple 140 character message to Twitter, you can have lots of readers come to your sites.

When you use Twitter, you’ll be able to tap into parts of your existing market that you weren’t aware of before. Plus, you can not only find tons of new readers on Twitter, but you’ll also remind current readers to re-visit your site.

Be prepared though that if you’re going to use it just to post links to your Blog, you’re going to be a bit disappointed.

Since Twitter is a social networking tool, people will quickly unsubscribe from your updates. On Twitter, people want to know more about you and see a more personal side of you.

This is why it’s such a powerful way to drive traffic to your Blog.

2. Connecting With Your Readership.

When you blog in a traditional sense, you’re speaking to your readership from a distance. You write your post, edit it and then post it. During all of these activities, you’re removed from your audience; they may read it even months after you created it.

But when you use Twitter to communicate, it becomes a conversation. You can show more of your personality to your followers and truly communicate with them on a different level.

A Twitter update shows up on your and other people’s sites instantly.

This can get them more interested in you and your Blog, which will build more traffic over time.

While you connect with your (new) readers, you also want to position yourself in your reader’s mind. That’s what the third Twitter benefit is about. Read on…

3. Building Your Brand.

In order to stand out amidst the large amount of Blogs and Twitter accounts online, you need to develop a persona for people to connect to and identify with.

You can accomplish this through your Blog, but you can further your branding by using a Twitter account.

You need to figure out what makes you unique in your niche and then extend these differences between you and others in your Twitter posts. Decide what your persona is, and then make sure your Twitter posts reflect that.

Before I finish this article, here’s an important Twitter benefit that’s largely overlooked by many marketers. Twitter is one of the fastest and cheapest ways for

4. Researching Your Niche.

With Twitter, your target market can be at your fingertips. You can spy on their interests, ask them about their needs and automatically get ideas for your Blog posts or for profitable products.

Interact with other people, answer their questions and ask them questions back. This way you can become part of the community.

If you add a lot of people to your follow list who are in your niche, pay attention to their problems, their questions and the type of things that they share.

This can all be part of your niche research and you can incorporate what you find there in your Blog or in the form of a new product. You’ll find that your Twitter account can be a treasure trove for Blog post ideas.

You can use the information that you find on Twitter to create Blog posts that meet the needs of your readership. You can also address specific questions or concerns.

You’ll be surprised at what a great brainstorming tool your Twitter account can be. You’ll read someone’s update and then it will get the wheels turning for a Blog post, or even a series of Blog posts.

That’s it for now, 4 ways to enhance your business with Twitter. Thanks for reading. Follow me at http://twitter.com/ralfskirr and as always: feel free to add your input below…

Twitter has totally changed the way that people communicate online and it should be an indispensable part of your overall marketing plan for your web sites and blogs.

If you’re brand new to Twitter, or even if you’ve been around on the site for some time, you’ll find out in this Twitter article series how you can use it to create a whirlwind of traffic to your blog and open the doors to brand new subscribers.

So What Exactly is That  ’Twitter’ Thingy?

First of all: Twitter is a free service available at http://www.twitter.com/. If you haven’t been there before just follow the link to the main page and check it out.

Or see it in action on my personal account at: http://twitter.com/ralfskirr

But I still haven’t told you what it is or what it does…

Twitter has two main components. It is a combination of a blogging tool and a social networking site.

1. The Blogging Aspect of Twitter.

When creating an account you’ll get your own page at Twitter.

Here’s mine for example:

http://twitter.com/ralfskirr

You can post messages to your twitter page just like you can post articles to a blog. Your messages are limited just to 140 characters, which is why some people call it a “microblogging” tool. You have to keep your messages brief and too the point.

Sometimes it’s a challenge to get the point across in the allotted space, but it also leaves room for a lot of creativity! Coming up with ways to say what you have to say in that small space is part of the fun of Twitter.

You’ll find out what to post to your Twitter page and how it helps your business in the upcoming articles in this Twitter series.

2. The Social Networking Aspect of Twitter.

Just like social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook, you can add “followers” (called ‘friends’ at the other sites) and follow other people as well.

They’ll receive your updates and you’ll receive theirs.

That’s why Twitter is a fantastic way to get more traffic to your blog and build a relationship with your readership. It can spread your message virally all over the web.

Let’s Look at How Twitter Gets Your Message Around.

There are a three different ways of posting on Twitter that you need to know about.

1) First, there’s a regular post.

When you type in a message to Twitter and hit “update” it will be viewable by all the people who are following you.

2) The next type of post is a reply.

When you type in a regular message, people may reply to your post.

You’ll see your user name with the symbol @ before it when someone replies to your message. You can respond to other people the same way. You simply type @ and then their user name directly after that.

Replies are viewable by everyone who is following you or the other person you are replying to.

Read that again: Replies are viewable by everyone who is following you or the other person you are replying to.

Can you see how powerful this is? You’re not only getting your message to your own subscribers (=followers), but to your subscriber’s subscribers as well.

3) Finally, there’ a direct message to individuals.

If you want to send a private message to someone that no one else can see, you can send a direct message. To do so, simply type the letters dm with the person’s user name.

You’ll receive messages from others on a special page of Twitter and be notified via e-mail when someone direct messages you.

The direct message is something that you won’t be using much for marketing; focus on posts and replies instead.

To summarize: Twitter let’s you post very short messages to your own Twitter micro-blog page and that message will be shown on your follower’s pages – and in case of replies on your follower’s followers pages as well.

It’s an easy and fast way to get your message in front of thousands of people.

Feel free to post your comments and questions below.

In the next part of the Twitter series I’ll talk about ’4 Ways That Twitter Can Jumpstart Your Business’.