Still haven’t drunk the Twitter kool-aid yet, and wondering just what the heck you should tweet about (It’s a question I hear often )?

Here are some tips that I shared by e-mail with a colleague today. The bulleted items beneath each subhead are theoretical tweets (some exceptions noted), and not necessarily posts I’ve read or made myself. Please don’t hold me to their factual nature!

Start engaging with some of the people you follow with @ messages.

  • @jowyang I say that Bud Light Super Bowl ad was over the top! Two thumbs down.
  • @KyleFlaherty You may be singing the praises of your new home state of Texas, but no place beats California!

Comment on stories in the news that are relevant to you areas of interest
You can also reference a specific Twitter user, following the @username convention

Ask for people’s opinions, input, and recommendations

  • Need to buy a new MacBook Pro. 15″ or 17″?  [I actually asked a version of this question, and probably received 15-20 responses that helped inform my buying decision]
  • Finalizing content marketing panel for conference proposal. Need one more panelist, preferably based in NYC. Any recommendations?  
  • Twitter pal is looking for community manager position. Has 3-4 years of experience, primarily for branded communities. Can I send her your way?
  • About to lead a webinar on best practices in pitching bloggers. What’s your best piece of advice for PR pros? [I posed this question to my network moments before speaking at a Cision Breakfast Seminar last week, and incorporated some of the responses into my presentation.]

Generally, be helpful

  • @astrout I have the perfect hotel recommendation for your stay in East Bay: The Four Seasons on Park St. Great location. Good price.
  • @BryanPerson Sorry to hear about that. Here’s how a friend distracts her son when giving him a nebulizer: with her iPhone. [this actually works for me!]
  • @Fairminder I hear @GuyKawasaki has some insight on SEO best practices. Check out this post …
  • RT @ScottMonty is taking Q&A tweets right now for Ford CEO Alan Mulally.  [note: "RT" is convention for a "retweet" -- and this one actually happened. See Scott's post.]

Note: The decision about whether to publicly or privately tweet a hotel recommendation, birthday wish, link etc. is a judgment call.  Sometimes you’ll appear to be sucking up or name-dropping when you tweet the details openly (and you just might be), but realize, too, that your suggestions could be helping others, too.

Don’t be all business
Don’t be shy about mixing in some personal tweets with your business posts. Updates on my kids, the Red Sox, and drinking tea often draw more responses than my social media-related tweets.

Don’t just take my word for it; ask Barbara Gibson!
Barbara, who is the current chair of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), has latched onto Twitter in a big way recently, and she isn’t shy about saying so!

Check out three of Barbara’s recent blog posts where she explains what she’s learned about Twitter and how the tool is making a difference in her work:
* Food for Thought (or How to Get Responses on Twitter)
* Twitter – Stage Two: Moving Beyond the Newbie Stage
* Twitter Tips for Newbies

And now, over to you …
What are some other Twitter content buckets you’d like to see added to this list? I’ll happily update this post with some of your contributions.

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