Twitter, as they say, is full of marketing folks, and this seems to frustrate the general user. This fact can give you pause when you’re considering using the social network to spread word about your brand or to promote the businesses for which you’re a marketer. However, these tips will help you connect with other users without annoying them or sticking out like a sore thumb.

Promote Others

There’s no way to more quickly lose followers than by only posting links to your website or blog. This is especially true if you’re posting the same link repeatedly. Branch out. Link to other websites. Promote the blog posts by those in your industry, link to local news articles and use Twitter as a way to discuss anything that you find interesting. Chances are, it will entertain or inform your readers as well, and they’ll see your Twitter account as an useful recourse.

Listen to and Engage Your Readers

The people who don’t understand Twitter probably only see the posts about someone’s cat or another person’s dinner, but the service is so much more than that. In fact, you can help make it more than that by posing thoughtful questions and interacting with your visitors. The way to make your followers care about your business or brand is to cater it to them. Don’t think of what you want from Twitter; rather, you should consider what you have to offer to specific users and, then, let them know.

Encourage Followers with Deals and Discounts

Why should people follow you on Twitter? Is it because you have special deals or let them know about upcoming sales beforehand? These are powerful motivators for the consumers who are active on Twitter, and they boost your sales, too.

Live Tweet Conferences

Your followers might not care what you had for lunch, but they’re probably interested in what you’re saying or hearing, if you’re attending an industry conference. BlogHer’s 2012 conference in New York spawn a plethora of blog posts and Twitter hashtags, because people were interested. Anyone who was stuck at home glued herself to Twitter to live vicariously through the accounts she follows. Of course, the same method also works if you attend a concert and you’re a music blogger or if you want to promote a local sports team.

Listen to What They’re Saying

Twitter is a two-way street, which makes it great to know what others think about you. If someone recently experienced poor customer service or bought an item at a great price, they might be talking about it on Twitter. Use the search tool to find topics including your company or brand name and, when applicable, reply to those concerns. It might be one way to make a satisfied customer even happier or to improve a customer’s upsetting experience.

Don’t Forget to Network

Twitter lets you make connections with others with less effort than other social networks or even email. You can easily reply to someone or have a private conversation, known as a direct message, with an user, once she follows you. These might be customers, as we’ve mentioned, but Twitter lets you connect with bloggers, too. Someone who is both will help to spread the word about positive experiences, awesome sales and the news you post to Twitter. Don’t forget about other professionals in your industry, either. If you’re a Web designer, you might want to connect with other developers or hosts via Twitter.

Of course, these are just a few ideas to get you started. Remain consistently active, and you’ll be well on your way to Twitter success.

Jeff is a copywriter and a social media expert at Serijskiubojica.hr, an online database of tv series.