Here at Promoting Group, we have written many blogs about using Twitter to promote your business and get in touch with your clients. However, when used improperly, Twitter posts, or “tweets,” can be…well…annoying. So how do you construct a tweet that is effective?

We have several tips for creating tweets that will both get across your intended message, and also not annoy your “followers” with unnecessary blathering.

The main problem with Twitter is having too many updates. Twitter should be used to keep your business fresh in your clients’ minds and to share important information, not to bombard people with useless information every hour, on the hour. Stick to updating your Twitter account once a day at most, once a week at least.

Say something useful. It is better to not post a tweet at all than to post a tweet that does not give your clients any new or interesting information. Announce what new projects you are working on, declare an ongoing project finished, and describe new products. Tweets that read “Great day at work today,” or “Heard a great song on the radio,” are not interesting to clients, and may eventually lead clients to unsubscribe from following your Twitter account.

Twitter only allows for 140 characters per tweet. If you find yourself abbreviating words or phrases to fit in your whole idea, take a step back. Abbreviations and shortened phrases are fine for Miley Cyrus, but have no place in the business world. If you can’t fit your tweet into 140 characters, rethink what you want to say. Do not tweet until you can fit your idea into one concise sentence! Simplify, simplify, simplify.

With these three ideas in mind, you should be able to tame Twitter and keep your clients checking in. Just remember, do not tweet too often, say something interesting and informative, and mind the 140 character limit carefully. Twitter should be an ally, not a pitfall.