When Twitter first debuted, many thought it was an inane way for people to keep in touch with one another, but it quickly evolved into a powerful marketing and brand management tool. While there are still plenty of inane updates going on, this service cannot be overlooked by any company that is looking to make a name for themselves and market their products or services effectively.

Sales prospecting in social media is a minefield, but with careful precision and taking the time to learn the ropes in advance, you can make it work for you. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of Twitter.

Start Slowly and Remember Your Brand

First, it can be a bit tempting to tweet your every single movement when you first set up your account. The novelty of the service can be engaging but this is an area you want to avoid. On the other hand, you don’t want to start off with a hard sell either. Here’s the key to Twitter success that will work for just about any product or service.

Follow the 2/3 rule. For every marketing tweet you make, you should make two non-selling tweets. They don’t have to be about what you had for lunch, but they can be about related news for your company, interaction with your followers and generally just professional.

Remember that your brand will be affected by how you tweet, and it only takes one wrong tweet to turn the twitter-verse against you. Case in point would be the Cisco new hire who managed to become reviled in a matter of a few seconds. Always maintain a professional reserve and remember that you are under scrutiny, even if you don’t realize it yet.

Sales Prospecting the Easy Way

Now that you have your etiquette down, how do you get the followers you’ll need to make this service work for you? You will need to make your Twitter address available on your page, and very visible, but this generally is not enough. You will need to get out there and actually follow people if you want them to follow you.

Start by targeting similar businesses who are already successfully using the service. Follow the people who are following them and you have a built in targeted audience. Don’t overdo it, but try to follow a few hundred people each week. This will help you successfully start sales prospecting without being overly obvious about it.

This is one of the easiest ways of targeting customers that will be interested in what you have to offer. Each week, you may need to cull those who aren’t following you yet, so that you have a good balance of followers versus the people you are actively following.

Social networking can be incredibly effective, but never let the relaxed atmosphere lure you into making the mistakes outlined above. By keeping on track and tweeting the right way, you’ll be well on your way to successfully promoting your business, the easy way.