Written by Phyllis Zimbler Miller, Twitter Marketing Expert

Joining the microblogging platform of Twitter may seem so easy that you start right in answering the question “What’s happening?” without understanding what’s really happening on Twitter.

Of course, you see that big number 140 that counts down as you type in your tweet – until you reach 0 and then negative numbers if your tweet is too long.

Yet other than that, what’s the big deal about answering the question “What’s happening?”

The big deal depends on why you are on Twitter.

If you are on Twitter to tweet about what you ate for dinner or to tell everyone you’re taking a nap, there’s no big deal because you can tweet whatever you want and not be concerned about what people on Twitter think of you.

But if you are on Twitter to promote your brand, book or business by becoming a valuable contributor to the Twitter community, then how you answer the question “What’s happening?” is very important:

Here are the top 10 things when joining Twitter you can do to answer this question:

1. Tweet a link to a worthwhile blog post or article not written by you although connected to the subjects you tweet about.

2. Retweet (RT) someone’s tweet with worthwhile info in the tweet itself or a link to a worthwhile article or blog post.

3. Tweet thanks to someone — using @username — for sharing a good article or blog post and include the link to that article or blog post.

4. Tweet about an upcoming event in your city and include the name of the city in your tweet so anyone searching on the city name can find your tweet.

5. Tweet a link to a website — other than your own — that answers a need connected to the subjects you tweet about.

6. Tweet an answer to a question someone else has asked on Twitter – such as the answer to a question of where to find a free tool to measure the pixel size of a website image.

7. Tweet breaking news if it can help others – such as right after an earthquake tweeting what to do about using landlines or cell phones.

8. Tweet links to your articles or blog posts.

9. Tweet occasionally about any product or service you offer.

10. Tweet occasionally about someone else’s product or service that you endorse.

While many people offer a formula for the right mix of tweets, I personally believe that common sense should be the deciding factor.

For example, if you have been on Twitter for some time sharing valuable free information, you can certainly tweet about a new product or service you are now offering.  You could even concentrate these tweets in a 48-hour period if you are offering a time-sensitive introductory price.

But then in the following days you would want to balance these offer-focused tweets with tweets that share worthwhile free information.

Two other tips for when you first join Twitter:

•    Try to tweet a few times a day and several days a week to show you are committed to being an active Twitter participant.

•    Develop your own schedule for tweeting without becoming so addicted that you lose hours a days reading every single tweet of all your followers. As in many things, moderation is often a good idea.

FYI – Not all tweets need links in them.  But if a link can add to what you are tweeting, then add the link for those who want more info.