Mike Seidle ...notes from the road

Most companies and brands use Twitter as follows:

1. Follow people, and when they follow back, unfollow them.
2. Search for people saying things about your company or brand.
3. Use Twitter to advertise to your followers.
4. Rinse, Repeat.

This strategy is comfortable and safe. It's just like email. Just get them to opt-in. Then broadcast away, just like you do with ConstantContact. Here's why this strategy gets the fail whale: it's stupid and short sighted. It leaves out 50% of Twitter's real power. It has a limited, little bitty return.

So what should you do?

Follow people. Ask questions, start conversations and LISTEN. By asking questions and engaging in conversation you get two things: insight and more followers (it's amazing how your followers always have more friends than you do). Here are a few simple ideas:

• Share photos of new product or product ideas.
• Share howtos.
• Ask for feedback.
• Don't just announce events, ask who is participating in them. “We'll be at the big show” is not the same as “Who else is going to be at the big show?”

Remember, follow doesn't mean “opt-in” and engagement does not mean broadcast.

About the Author
Mike Seidle is the founder of Professional Blog Service, a social media and blog ghostwriting company that helps successful executives and busy celebrities get maximum results from blogs and social media. Mike blogs about social media issues on the Professional Blog Service blog and at his personal site, mikeseidle.com.
Tags: twitter, fail whale, brands, social media, social networks