Being relevant, engaging, timely, and helpful to your audience on Twitter is important for any organization with a Twitter account. I’m not suggesting you spend all day tweeting; that’s not the goal. To be a strong brand on Twitter, you only need to stick to a few guidelines, establish a simple routine, and adopt some of these new best practices.

As hashtags permeate the rest of the social media space, and as mobile tweeting becomes the norm, the new normal on Twitter in 2013 is just a brief plateau for brands as we look forward to the even more changes in the future. Brands that master these lightweight interactions will have the upper hand and the realtime relevance that everyone seeks

1. The #MobileHashtag movement

According to a recent mobile hashtag survey by RadiumOne, 58 percent of respondents said they use hashtags on a regular basis, and 70 percent of the hashtag users are doing so from their mobile device.

While the hashtag is used primarily to communicate personal ideas and feelings, they are also the ‘conduit of conversation’ on Twitter (and now Google+, Instagram, and soon to be Facebook) when social media users search for or follow conversations, categories and brands of personal interest. Hashtags also increase engagement – tweets with one or two hashtags have 21% higher engagement than those without hashtags.

Learn more: Marketing Land

2. Twt Shrtr

Even though we’re past the April Fool’s Day prank on vowels in Twitter, there is merit in thinking about how to exercise brevity on Twitter. According to a study by Buddy Media, tweets of 100 characters or fewer garner 17% more engagement than more verbose Tweets.

Learn more: Yahoo Advertising Blog

3. Engaging with the two-screening TV/Tweeter/Facebooker/Instagramer/Pinterester

A huge percentage of TV watchers (as much as 80 percent) are now on a “second screen” during a program, though they may not necessarily be engaged in a “social conversation” about the show they are watching. They may be shopping, writing emails or reading news, instead.

A new study from SocialGuide (and Nielsen) found that Twitter activity and conversations were positively correlated with TV ratings. Specifically, the study found that for 18-34 year olds, an 8.5% increase in Twitter volume corresponds to a 1% increase in TV ratings for premiere episodes, and a 4.2% increase in Twitter volume corresponds with a 1% increase in ratings for midseason episodes, reflecting a stronger relationship between Twitter and TV for younger audiences.

Not everyone uses TV, but you can’t ignore the two-screen (or more) lifestyle of customers at trade shows, during webinars and another other quasi-passive (or even very active) consumption experience. Do you have a hashtag for your next event, webinar or commercial?

Learn more: Nielsen

4. Tweet Smarter

Is there such a thing as the ‘Perfect Tweet’? Well, companies like Salesforce.com and MarketingThink.com have put together their blueprints of perfection. A few things about the ideal Tweet that you should know:

  • Tell readers what you want them to do
  • Use good punctuation including capital letters, no txt speak and avoid all caps!
  • Shorten all URLs
  • Make 90% of your tweets link to articles, blog posts, pictures or video that relate to your message

Learn more: MarketingThink and FuelLines

5. Stop talking about…yourself

Most people, and sadly, many brands on Twitter still talk mostly about one thing – themselves. I liken this to walking into a networking meeting and getting into a conversation (but really, it’s not a conversation, it’s a monologue) with that person who can’t stop talking about themselves. That’s not a fun situation, and it’s just as annoying on Twitter as it is in person.

There are no shortage of blog posts out there that give you myriad ideas of what to talk about on Twitter. My recent favorite is this one by Pam Moore on Social Media Today where she covers 100 solid ideas of what to talk about on Twitter, besides yourself. Here are just five quick things to Tweet about from Pam.

  1. Tips to help your customers solve their business problems.
  2. Tips to help your audience solve life problems.
  3. Tips to help your audience, clients and friends live a better life.
  4. Anything that shows you are human. Be real, engaging and talk like a human being, not a robot.
  5. Industry news.

Learn more: Social Media Today