Social Studies: Starting from Scratch on Twitter

Twitter has more than 200 million users, and in business, it's a great way to share updates about your company, do a little self-promoting, listen to feedback and keep an eye on your competition. It's fairly simple, and once you've built up followers, it can be valuable. Here are some quick tips to get started.

1. Complete your profile: Don't overlook the importance of your profile. Plug in your company's logo and also fill in your bio section explaining your business; this helps people understand who you are and why they should follow you.

2. Follow relevant accounts: Follow leaders in your industry, businesses you work with, and other companies in your community (a great place to start would be @WFBusinessMag and @NWFA_WoodFloors). Hopefully these people will follow you back. Avoid mixing personal interests with your business' Twitter account. Sure, you might like Beyoncé, but don't follow her from your business account.

3. Tweet regularly: Tweeting once or twice a week isn't going to get you anywhere. Make a goal to tweet once a day. Don't know what to tweet? Try pictures of your work, website updates or special promotions. Ask yourself: Will my followers benefit from this tweet? Avoid being overly promotional, however. Twitter is best as a discussion platform, not a megaphone.

4. Engage: "Engage" is an annoying, overused social media word, but it really is important. Interact. Someone asks you a question? Answer it. Someone says your company is the greatest? Retweet it. Someone has a complaint? Respond professionally. Interaction helps your followers connect with your company.