How much time do you spend on social media? Wait, little or none? If that is the case, you are missing out on some golden marketing opportunities.

Being one of the three most used social media sites worldwide, Twitter has proven time and time again that it is a very reliable resource when business owners are looking (and needing) to market their products and services.

That said what if you don’t have a real handle on Twitter? What if getting your message across in 140 characters is proving too challenging for you? Lastly, what if you don’t have the time to tweet and retweet?

Even though the answers to those and other questions related to Twitter are relatively easy to answer, too many businesses simply do not grasp how productive Twitter can be in their everyday business operations. As a result, missed opportunities are what he or she running a company ends up with.

So that you can properly utilize for Twitter for all it is worth, remember these five pointers:

1. Exposure – First and foremost, Twitter (like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram etc.) offers your brand great exposure. As of Q2 2016, it was reported that Twitter had around 313 million users a month. Although Twitter recently slipped to number three overall among social sites (Instagram moved into second place behind Facebook), there is still a wealth of exposure for you if you use the site correctly. Part of using it correctly is making sure you get maximum exposure as oftentimes as possible. For example, tweeting and retweeting at 2 a.m. is not exactly the golden time. Although there are different ways of thinking about when to and when not to tweet or retweet, you can start to judge that for yourself as you watch and come to know your timeline. By going to your profile page, you can gauge when your impressions were at their greatest and when they lagged. This will give you a better idea of patterns to follow during the week, though nothing is written in stone;
2. Strategy – Keep in mind that Twitter (and any other social platforms you use) should be part of a broader SEO and marketing strategy. When you use Twitter for marketing, be sure to promote any and all blog posts you have authored for your site, along with any guest posters who have contributed to your website. While it is fine to tweet these out more than once, don’t get carried away. Posting the same item over and over again is not only bad for your Twitter image; the site itself will remind you that you can’t do that. Sharing the blog post twice is fine in a span of 24 hours or so. You can also retweet it later in the month as warrants. When coming up with pertinent hashtags, keep those to four or less. You don’t want to be having a hashtag party as part of your allowable 140 characters;
3. Friendships – Feel free to retweet (in fact it is encouraged) those tweets that relate your industry. For example, if you run a marketing business, retweeting relevant posts from other marketers is fine. In many cases, a fair number of these marketers will in kind promote your tweets. Twitter is one of the great social venues for networking, so put it to work.
4. Engagement – As mentioned a moment ago, engaging with others in your business sphere is perfectly fine. That engagement also carries over to consumers. When consumers reach out to you on Twitter with questions (even concerns) about your brand, do not ignore them. If you end up ignoring them, you can count on one of your competitors welcoming them in with open arms;
5. Professionalism – Finally, always keep your Twitter activities as a business owner professional. While it is fine to have some fun online from time to time, you want your business to be seen in the best light. Getting into heated arguments with customers, other business owners etc. can’t result in anything but negativity for your brand.

If Twitter has not been on your marketing radar, change that outlook moving forward.

When you see your follower count rising, you will feel better about your brand and your ability to be more social.