By: Katie Finney, Account Coordinator

Social media transformed the marketing toolbox by enabling everyone from high-profile business people to celebrities and teenagers connect with each other. Although the Web seems like uncharted territory where the rules of etiquette and civility don’t matter, PR experts argue that Twitter guidelines are a must, especially for marketing professionals. If you’re looking to boost your business or even create a personal brand through Twitter, here are some great tips for gaining followers, boosting your online presence and engaging with the Internet community.

1. Always add value to your tweets. According to PR Daily, gone are the days when Twitter users would tweet about what they ate for breakfast. In order to gain followers now, you must engage the audience, ask questions and provide meaningful content. In the long run, you will get more followers by offering useful, thought-provoking information that goes beyond sharing an article’s headline.

2. Don’t forget how to spell. Although many users compose tweets in text message language, it’s important not to forget your basic spelling and punctuation rules. It reflects poorly on your brand. Social Media Today’s Florence Poirel says, “Instead of shortening words, choose them carefully and stick to the quintessence of the message.”

3. #Don’t #overuse #hashtags. It may be tempting to create a hashtag trend out of every word more than three letters, but PR Daily recommends keeping hashtags down to three or fewer per tweet. They can sometimes be distracting and can potentially muddle your message. By sticking to a few key hashtags, you can really set your business apart.

4. Stay positive! This universal mantra applies to the social media world as well. “You should only tweet messages you would be happy to tweet again and see retweeted,” Poirel says. Criticism and negativity can turn away followers and shine an undesirable light on your business.

5. Treat Twitter like a friendly community. Take advantage of opportunities like #FollowFriday to give shout-outs to loyal followers, but also make sure that users can retweet your material. Although Twitter limits tweets to 140 characters, try and keep tweets around 120 characters to give others enough space to retweet you.

Keep calm, and tweet on!