Twitter

Twitter is by far the most robust and accessible social network. It's real-time, enables two-way conversations and is constantly active.

Before you hire a "social media guru" to handle your Twitter, try these tips first.

1. Target the right people: Use tools such as FollowerWonk to scan Twitter for exactly the type of people you want to be following and engaging with. These tools let you search for keywords, tweets, hashtags, locations, and so forth. I like to refer to them as the AdWords of Twitter.

Also, SocialBro is a sophisticated tool if you're interested in extracting even more data from Twitter.

2. Schedule content: If you'd rather not always worry about what and when to post on Twitter, simply user Buffer. Buffer allows you to schedule your posts on Twitter and other social networks. You can pick a few relevant articles, tips, quotes, etc. and Buffer will share them at the optimal time.

3. Gain Followers: Gaining followers comes from the sum of many things, but here are a few tips, do's and dont's.

- Tweet things relevant to your audience (see above). Also, use images, respond to followers and join in on popular hashtags--don't try to create your own, just go where the crowd is.

- BuzzFork allows you to enter keywords in which your Twitter will favorite any Tweet with those keywords in it…use with caution. Just make sure not to overdue it. This works better for some accounts/companies than others.

This is a longterm strategy. You won't build a Twitter empire overnight. Also, keep your follower/follow ratio to at least 2:1.

Get creative, and be personal. Respond to your followers' questions, and engage with them.

Want something to standout in a crowded Twitter feed? Try spacing your Tweet out so you can take up more real estate, a tactic employed quite often by Gary Vaynerchuck.