Since I recently revealed my true dreams over on the Risk a Day blog, I might as well continue my confessional movement: I tweet. Now, I’ve already heard plenty of snide little remarks, so stop your snickering. It’s part of my “real job” – as well as my persona – to stay relatively up to date on all this techy stuff.

I’ve been on Twitter, both with a personal account (@korywells) and a work account (@WorkCompEdge), for several months now. I’ll reserve my full list of pros and cons for another day. I’m still not convinced it’s really for me, but I am convinced that the nature of Twitter enables you to connect with an entirely different set of people than those you will find on Facebook, LinkedIn, or other social media. (To learn more now about why you might want to use Twitter, see Chris Brogan’s article 5 Ways to Use Twitter for Good.)

Although people choose to use Twitter for many different reasons, many utilize it as a marketing tool. If you’re interested in it for those purposes, then the name of the game is to increase your followers, who in turn may become readers of your blog, or your clients, or buyers and fans of your product, like your new poetry book – oh, wait, sorry, that’s me.

One way you can pick up new followers is when others “mention” you on Twitter in their max-140 character messages. For example, let’s imagine I’m following you and am totally impressed with your blog I’ve just visited. I might post

Love the new blog entry by @yourname at http://youraddress.com

My followers would see that message and then click on @yourname to see your Twitter profile, or follow the blog link, then hopefully start following you.

What a gift! You would want to thank me, of course. Wouldn’t you? Well, that’s why I’m writing this article: I’ve been amazed at the number of people – even people I personally know – who don’t thank me (although lots do), and I suspect it’s because they don’t realize I’ve mentioned them. So, with a nod to Miss Manners, who, best I can tell, is not on Twitter, here are two easy ways to check for people mentioning you on Twitter, and recommended methods for responding in kind: (more…)