1.) Be a person first. List your name on your profile, choose a user name that people will recognize as you, and use a photo.

2) Help others: People often tweet looking for help, directions, ideas, and feedback on their posts or ideas. My rule of thumb is help more often then you ask for help.Which brings me to the next item.

3) Ask for help: Be careful not to go overboard here or you will quickly loose followers. Need ideas for an article, quotes, product reviews, suggestions tweet out your questions.

4) Retweet: According to AJ Vaynerchuk of Blogging Bits “The art of “retweeting” is best described as taking a twitter message someone else has posted, and rebroadcasting that same message to your followers.”  Learn how to retweet at blogging bits .

3) Post updates from conferences: If you are visiting a conference, let others know whats goign on. Most conferences will use a ‘hashtag’. This will allow others to easily see the tweets from any given event. Find out what Hashtag (usually something like #eventname) your event is using and insert it within each of your tweets.

4) Background Screening: Learn about your potential business partners, contractors, and employees by checking out their tweets. I know a tad controversial. If you are a REAL new business management style employer then you will get social media and understand it is an asset to your business not a hindrance.

5) Locate Blogs and Subscribe: Most tweeters will list their blogs within their twitter profile. My Google Reader contains some excellent blogs written by my followers. Twitter is a great way to find some ‘hidden blog gems’.

6) Locate Speakers: If you are searching for just the right person to speak at your event, interview for an article, or a podcast guest, Tweet it out. Some amazing people hang about on twitter.

7) Gain knowledge: Twitter is an amazing resource to make direct contact with some very qualified experts. My son had a school report, one tweet and he had direct access to a professor to an author to quote in his report.

Respond to your followers: Please note I did not say Spam your twitter followers. Offer a free resource sure, but don’t reply to a new follower asking them to buy something. Thank them for the follow and ask them about their blog, business, or who they are.

9) Locate some good Twitter Tools: Test out some twitter plugins to see which work best for you.

10) Get some help: A few people have asked me to host a twitter how to conference call. Once I have 15 people interested I PROMISE to put one together… so if you need more help contact me and let me know you want to be added to the list.