If you've decided to get started with a Twitter strategy, here are a few simple steps to start adding content and followers to your Twitter feed. These require a little work, but don't require a single piece of new content. This isn't a long-term plan. But if you want to get started and build a strong, relevant foundation for a longer-term Twitter execution, this is a great place to start.

Adding Content

• Start doing searches by hashtag for keywords relative to your business, brand and/or industry; save these searches with TweetDeck, Tweetie or similar
• Review these search results a couple times a day, retweet articles and links that are interesting related to your target keywords
• This will start to associate the right keywords and content with your Twitter stream, and will start to accelerate organic followers of your Twitter account directly
• By doing this, you'll be publishing and associating yourself with relevant content without having to publish any of our own primary content (at least not yet)

Adding Followers

• Easiest way is to start following others
• Use the search results above to see who's writing about the same topics and keywords you care above (check their bio, etc.)
• Add them to your followers; most will follow you back
• There are automated tools that can seek even more Twitter users with either the right keywords in their bio, or in their streams

(Relatively) Easy Next Steps

• Design a quick custom background as a JPG to reflect your logo and brand (see www.twitter.com/heinzmarketing as an example)
• Let your employees know you're getting active, and ask them to follow the feed (they'll likely start retweeting stuff from your account, which will also increase followers)