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&lt;p&gt;The &lt;em&gt;New York Post&lt;/em&gt; recently ran an article about the lamest Twitter accounts based in the Big Apple. Among the silliest were a feed run by a gerbil (yes, really), a clown, and a &quot;sandwich club.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But the most pathetic were the bad business-run accounts. @PodiatristNYC tweeted: &quot;I posted a new blog post on congenital six toes.&quot; Um, okay? Commercial Upright Vacuum Cleaner Information (@CommUpRightVac) asked, &quot;What vacuum cleaner commercials from the early 90s do you remember?&quot; Well, I seem to recall that one, with the vacuum in it…&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The tweets are entertaining, in a laughing-at-them-not-with-them sort of way--but it&#39;s sobering to think about the time and resources wasted on dry, pointless tweets that aren&#39;t improving a company&#39;s customer base, and are most certainly taking their reputation down a notch.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It gets worse when you consider that many businesses are also using the social networking site to attract and recruit potential employees.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;According to the 2010 Vault Social Media Survey, 65% of companies use Twitter to promote their organization&#39;s brand, 46% advertise job opportunities on it, and 34% communicate with potential candidates via the site.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Which all seem like better uses than announcing a congenital toe disorder blog, but even so: if potential employees aren&#39;t following a company&#39;s Twitter feed—or they&#39;re falling asleep while reading it—the &quot;open position&quot; tweets aren&#39;t going to cull any talent.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So what&#39;s a corporate tweeter to do?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Weed out the nonsense and check your Tweets for these vitals:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1. Consistency&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This goes hand in hand with branding. There has to be a steady voice and sense of purpose for a company account to establish authority and a sense of culture.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Decide what the point of your company being on Twitter is (if there is one) and reinforce that purpose with every tweet. Your fan base will grow along with a pool of enthusiastic job seekers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Obvious Example: &lt;/strong&gt; Starbucks (@Starbucks). Just as with their coffee, you can expect consistent tweet quality—updates on new products, prompt question-answering, and you-heard-it-here-first promotion details.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Not So Obvious&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;: &lt;/strong&gt; Perez Hilton (@PerezHilton). His followers want shameless, catty gossip, and he unfailingly delivers. Small wonder that his name has become as synonymous for dish as &quot;Kleenex&quot; is for facial tissues.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2. Value&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What product are you delivering to your adoring Twitter followers? Customer service? Industry insight? Maybe just a sense of community? You must be offering something if you want to earn and keep followers—and attract quality prospective employees.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Obvious Example: &lt;/strong&gt; Home Depot (@HomeDepot). They answer questions and concerns quickly and professionally, boosting a reputation for fast, reliable service as they literally deliver it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Not So Obvious: &lt;/strong&gt; The Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls). With tweets like &quot;Today&#39;s injury report: Gooden is questionable, Deng and Hinrich are probable and Ruffin is out,&quot; followers really feel like they&#39;re on the inside track—and that fosters a sense of community not easily found elsewhere.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3. Voice&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Entertainment is a big part of Twitter. Without the fun, it&#39;s just a medium for 140-character press releases.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Try demonstrating a little personality while tweeting to build brand culture—you&#39;ll snatch up perfect-fit candidates in the process.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Obvious Example: &lt;/strong&gt; Ford (@Ford). When you&#39;re a follower of Ford&#39;s feed, you&#39;re really a follower of its social networking head, Scott Monty. The chatty, social, ultra-loyal Monty&#39;s enthusiasm for the brand is surprisingly contagious.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Not So Obvious: &lt;/strong&gt; Popeyes Chicken (@PopeyesChicken). It can&#39;t be easy churning out all those puns and poultry references, but Popeye&#39;s manages to do it—with amusing enough results to keep you on their followers list, and eagerly awaiting a &quot;job openings&quot; tweet.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4. Professionalism&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Twitter is fun and informal, but personality should never overshadow a brand&#39;s values—or you&#39;ll risk alienating followers and trashing your company&#39;s rep.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Don&#39;t-Follow-This-Example-Example: &lt;/strong&gt; Optimum PR (@OptimumPR). Opinionated, combative, and speckled with curse words. Need we say more?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Don&#39;t-Follow-This-Example-Even-Though-It-Worked: &lt;/strong&gt; Kanye West (@kanyewest). Pointless, egotistical, politically incorrect, and all over the place, Kanye&#39;s tweets are also wildly successful. In fact, their brilliant juxtaposition with thoughtful New Yorker cartoons has become an &lt;br /&gt;internet meme. But that doesn&#39;t mean you should follow suit.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A few final tips:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1. Don&#39;t spam your users.&lt;/strong&gt; It&#39;s just not nice… and it&#39;s all to easy for them to hit the &quot;unfollow&quot; button.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2. Be patient.&lt;/strong&gt; There&#39;s a push and pull to branding via social media. If you build it, they will come—just don&#39;t expect to force anyone.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3. Share the wealth.&lt;/strong&gt; You&#39;ve got to follow to lead—so be generous with following and promoting others. What goes around comes around.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4. Be strategic.&lt;/strong&gt; Most pitfalls on Twitter can be avoided with a plan—get your team together and plan for frequency, tone, and value you can all agree on.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read More: &lt;br /&gt;Kanye&#39;s New Yorker Carton: Memetastic &lt;br /&gt;2010 Vault Social Media Survey&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-- Posted by Cathy Vandewater, Vault.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Cathy Vandewater

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