"Building a brand through social strategies doesn't happen overnight," writes Maria Pergolino at Marketo's blog, "it requires a sustained commitment using effective strategies for engagement and relationship building." Even as Twitter celebrates its fifth anniversary, however, many businesses still get it wrong.

Here are a few of Pergolino's tips for getting it right:

• When you see a tweet that your followers will appreciate, hit the retweet button. Retweeting is a win-win-win strategy that shares relevant content, shows respect to the author of the tweet and gives him/her exposure throughout your network.
• Report news and provide links to original content. As industry news breaks, pass it along to your followers. And, she says, "be sure to include links to your own content from newsletters, B2B blogs, white papers and other sources in your tweets."
• Use hashtags for enhanced Twitter searches. A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by a # sign (for instance, #marketingprofs or #sxsw) that makes it easy for non-followers to find your information. "Research tags already in use," Pergolino suggests, "and utilize them in your B2B social media campaign."
• Interact with your followers. Respond when they send @ replies, comment on their tweets and send a quick "Thanks for the RT!" when they retweet you.
• Use lists to categorize tweeters you follow. Lists not only create an easy way to scan tweets by subject but also let the people on those lists know that you consider them go-to experts on a particular topic.

The Po!nt: Remember that Twitter is a social network. High follower numbers are nice, but you'll achieve the greatest benefits when you engage in relevant, productive conversation.

Source: Marketo.

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