Using Twitter as a tool for staying on top of current events has been fascinating.  I feel like I’m attending conferences and gatherings all over the world. I’ve been particularly intrigued watching how folks use Twitter and seeing how it builds their brand reputation. I took a few screenshots from yesterday that demonstrate 6 strategies for building your brand with Twitter.

Twittering Conference Content and Resources

I received this excellent example of sharing the wealth by @jcolman. He gives a free link to conference powerpoint slides and video for a presentation he was about to deliver in the Blogs, Wikis and Virtual Realities session at Conservation Learning Exchange. It’s an excellent use of twitter from a presenter / organizer perspective, that serves conference attendees as well as those following events from afar.

Twittering useful links

@Deliciousbaby took the time to ask her tribe if they posted a blog post for Blog Action Day. Using the hash tag #bad08 ensures @deliciousbaby that her post found by anyone who was tracking tweets related to Blog Action Day. Upon receipt of a direct message via Twitter, Debbie read and linked to my blog Blog Action Day post and included it in her roundup of travel related Blog Action Day posts on poverty.

Live Twittering Events

All day, folks attending the New Marketing Summit conference in Boston, MA, USA (#NMS08) were twittering away snippets of information provided during keynotes. Conference attendees also used the hash tag to connect with other Twits who were attending the conference including @chrisbrogan. Being able to be inspired from a distance – by tweets from people on the floor and in their seats (and in some cases seeing their view from the stage!) is something that is enhanced when twits help transform the information and knowledge being presented into wisdom. It’s really helpful when this short bits of information include personal insights and inspiration from those on stage. Live twittering gives folks a sense of being there and helps your Twits benefit from your attendance.

Twitter Your Web 2.0 Content

@dmscott used twitter to point to his review of Seth Godin’s new book. Whether making a book review on Amazon.com, letting folks know about a blog post you authored, or identifying a helpful video on Youtube, Twitter is perhaps best at helping point those in your tribe to useful urls.

Twitter the Gold by retweeting inspiring content

Another way Twitter helps promote the distribution of great information is the retweeting of blog posts like @douglaslampi did below. Since each Twitter user touches a unique audience, sharing really good content you find valuable with Twits in your tribe is a valuable way of building your reputation.

Promote you Twitter Contact Info in Direct Messages

One of the really nice things about Twitter is that when you send a direct message (protocol “d username”) the message is sent to the contacts email address. In the footer of the email, Twitter appends the senders Twitter Contact information. This makes it easy to connect. I suggest Twitter users consider copying this content (like that shown for me, toddlesby below) and putting it into your their existing email tag line to promote your social identity and build your online reputation at Twitter with each email.

Review of Strategies for Building your Brand with Twitter

Increasingly, our online reputations are being built, not on what we create, but on what we identify as online gold. Google has been doing this for years, rewarding Websites that link to highly regarded, relevant online content! Building your reputation by pointing out links of significance and discussing the relevance of important (timely!) topics is becoming vitally important as Web 2.0 and Twitter find more time in the spotlight.

How are you engaged with your audience on Twitter to build your Brand?