Social media marketers want ROI, according to a study Brafton recently covered. (Of course you should want return on investment!) One of the leading social platforms is Twitter, and many businesses are already using the microblogging site to bring in leads and sales for their businesses.
There are more than 140 million Tweets sent across the Twittersphere each month. How can you get your business to stand out?
Here are some tips on planning a Twitter campaign that puts the microblogging site to work for you business.
Getting started:
1. Set up a Twitter account and use Twitter Advanced Search to monitor to your brand, track competitors and discover relevant search topics.
2. Create a custom Twitter background that represents your corporate logo and branding.
3. Search through your competitors' followers and follow them if you think they could offer valuable insight or become leads.
4. Use Twitter directories like Twellow or Listorious to list your brand and find profiles in your target market. 
Strategizing Tweet content:
5. Make a list of your preferred search terms and use these in your tweets.
6. Listen to the buzz in your industry. If you're a marketer follow trends like #SEO, #SocialMedia or #Marketing and post similar content.
7. Integrate Twitter and content marketing and publish informative, unique content to your followers with shortened links back to your site.
8. If you don't have much time to tweet, set up an RSS feed to automate delivery of your blog, then concentrate on interaction with followers.
9. Ask questions in your tweets that you’d like your followers to answer.
10. Add Tweet variety with news content, pictures, videos, whitepapers, blogs etc.
11. Share business projects or community involvement with your followers. They'll be interested.
12. Don't just promote yourself – plan to share information about your industry and retweet relevant content.
Building engagement
13. Dedicate at least 15 minutes per day to monitoring your @Mentions or Retweets to see which of your Tweets are most engaging. 
14. Reply to your @Mentions, especially if your followers ask questions relevant to your brand.
15. @Mention your staff or retweet a few of their posts to show employee value and interest.
16. If you have an upcoming sale or contest, tweet about it! It brings a different experience and generates free buzz around your brand.
17. Do not use an automated “direct message” – it appears spammy to followers. Only “DM” with personalized messages.
18. Notify followers of exclusive corporate news, events or conferences to encourage interest and loyalty.
19. Use contests to attract new followers by making cross-web entries include an @Mention or RT.
20. Just a reminder: If you're selling on Twitter, make sure you're interacting too.
Going “Twitter pro”
21. Follow Friday #FF – leverage it every week. You’ll be glad you did.
22. Limit your tweets to 120 characters. This lets followers easily RT with your Twitter handle and full tweet attached. 
23. Have more than one user on company pages. Distinguish between users by labeling tweets with initials ^MP. (Staples is a great example.)
24. If you're managing multiple accounts try out a third party application, such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck.
And, of course…
25. Most importantly: Have a personality! Post your mission and show your support to translate this to your audience.
If you're looking for more info on how to get the most out of your Twitter campaign, be sure to check out Brafton's blog: Twitter Marketing to Boost SEO.
