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I wrote Ultimate Guide to Twitter for Business in 2013.?

I'm laughing as I look back on some of the articles I wrote to promote the book.?

My first thought is that I was such a bad writer in 2013.?

>>>?Check out some of my articles on Entrepreneur.com?

Needless to say, Twitter is a very different animal these days.?

Here's one of my favorite articles?What You Should NEVER Say on Twitter?that is completely irrelevant today.?

We’ve all put our foot in our mouth and said the wrong thing to someone. I’m sure it was embarrassing and you may have heard about it from a few people, who overheard your misspoken comment.?

It probably went no further than the few people who were in the room when you made your embarrassing remark, unless you did it on national television in front of millions of people.?

Be Careful What You Say?

When you say the wrong thing on social media, it’s not only visible to millions of people, it stays online for a long time.?Never respond in a negative way when someone says something on social media that has upset you. If you do respond, do it in a diplomatic way, because the Twitterverse is watching.?

Your Response Can Help Or Hurt You?

Responding in a professional way has a positive effect on your reputation, while responding in a negative way, will make you look immature to your followers and will have a negative effect on your business.?

What If The Entire World Read Your Tweet?

You need to think twice, maybe three times, before you press the Tweet button if you are responding to someone who has upset you.?Sending a Tweet in anger rarely ends in a good result. Take a few deep breaths, count to ten and ask yourself if you want the entire world to read what you are about to Tweet.?

When using social media for your business, you should keep three important things in mind:?

1. Have a purpose.?
2. If you are just starting out with Twitter, “listen” to other conversations until you get comfortable with the way conversations flow. Don’t Tweet anything you wouldn’t say to someone in person.?
3. Start thinking about why you're using social media for your business. Is it to generate leads, monitor your brand, provide support to your customers, or to expand your professional network??
4. It isn't all about you.?
5. Twitter works best when you engage others in conversation, just like when you meet people in person.?I call people monologue Tweeters if they just send Tweets and never reply to other peoples Tweets or interact with others.?
6. Don’t send an endless stream of Tweets about you and your company. Twitter works exactly the same way as in-person networking. Do you want to know the secret? The secret is to be more interested in learning about others than you are about telling them all about you.?
7. Remember your clients and your mother.?
8. I see this tip frequently in social media guides. Don't post anything you wouldn't want your mother, grandmother, clients or employees to read and associate with you.?Word travels fast on the Internet and your posts can be ReTweeted and forwarded to millions in seconds.?

The UnTweetables?

Here are some tips for topics you should avoid Tweeting about. I know these may seem obvious to you, but every day people Tweet about them and they reflect negatively on their business.?

• Don’t say negative things about your competition?
• Don’t engage your competition in negative conversations?
• Don’t get into fights with angry customers online. Engage them by asking them how you can help them and invite them to email you or call you for assistance.?
• Don’t Tweet about your sex life?
• Don’t Tweet about wild nights out and definitely don’t Tweet pictures of your wild night out?
• Don’t Tweet about politics?
• Don’t Tweet about religion?

Remember that you are using Twitter to promote your business, so you want to be professional at all times.?

It’s okay to engage others in conversation, but don’t get into controversial topics that can polarize your customers and prospects.?

My oh my has Twitter changed since I wrote this article.?

Have a great weekend!?