Finding your way on Twitter does take time, research and a good plan.  But once you have these crucial elements a new question arises: How often should I tweet?

Consistency and a plan are both crucial to a successful Twitter campaign.  With every plan, there should be a good mixture of activity so all of your bases are covered.  Twitter gives you a few options in terms of activity/interaction. Let’s focus on the main venues here: tweets, mentions, direct messages and re-tweets. There are several ways that you can communicate with others on Twitter.

First, think about how much time you’ll be able to dedicate to marketing on Twitter everyday.  Maybe you have a couple of hours (lucky you) or maybe just 20-30 minutes a day (which sounds realistic).  Using this time frame, consider how many actions that you will be able to complete during this time and create a daily plan.  While this is a bit more practiced and could be labeled “not spontaneous” I think when you’re a busy person you need to tick things off your daily list with great speed.

Here’s a sample of how many “tweets” and other Twitter activities that I would suggest you execute on a given day with a little description of the importance of the activity:

Tweets (2): These come directly from you/your company and will contain content that is engaging, entertaining and/or educational.  Share links, photos, videos, quotes or updates pertaining directly to items that you target market (followers) will enjoy reading and will be eager to share.

DMs/Direct Messages (2-5):  These messages are sent privately between two Twitter users.  If you have a relatively small number of followers, these do not come in fast and furious.  They will once you begin to amass followers on a daily basis.  Take 2-5 of the DMs that you receive and send a personal response to the Twitter user.  This will help you get in front of your followers yet again and add that personal touch.

RTs/Retweets (2): These are tweets from another Twitter user that you are sharing with YOUR followers with the click of a button.  I suggest finding two influential Twitter users in your product/service category and RT (share) their tweet with your followers.  This is a great way of getting in front of that influential person, while also sharing good solid information with your followers.

@replies/Mentions (2):  When you type @ in front of a Twitter user’s name, your tweet will be shared within their main Twitter stream.  Choose two influential people and tweet them about something that they have shared, or even something that you’ve in the media outside of Twitter—anything on topic.  This is a great way to connect with influential people in your niche and will help you connect with more quality members of your target audience.

So my total for the 20-30 minute Twitter user is a consistent 8-10 per day.  As your Twitter following begins to grow, you’ll need to spend more time as you’ll receive more mentions, RTs and DMs. By the time this happens though, you’ll be able to handle everything that comes your way.

When you do this everyday, you’ll hit your stride and after the first month won’t even need to worry about the number of Tweets that you put out.  The whole process will become organic.

This article was written by Chris Tompkins of GO! Media International, an online marketing company.