Guest Blog Post by @shannonpaul

Twitter provided my first real foray into social media.

Sure, I already had profiles on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and MySpace, but I was using them to stay connected to people I already knew.

When I began to use Twitter, it marked the first time I reached out to people I didn’t know on a social network—and many of them weren’t just any people, but they were some of the most intelligent, productive and creative individuals that I now consider part of my personal network.

I believe that the resistance many still have to online social networks centers around the outdated notion that connections formed online are not real.

This just isn’t true anymore.

Meeting people online isn’t just about dating. Other professional relationships and friendships formed online often move into so-called real life and have the same impact on our lives as those we form when we meet face to face or through an acquaintance.

Twitter is great for letting people get to know one another in a much more organic way than they would at a networking event or a charity dinner or even a golf outing, because Twitter provides a platform where people can chat, exchange valuable information, answer questions and offer support on a daily basis. As an added bonus, you can also observe how someone interacts with other members of the community.

Many of the people I now interact with, online, and offline, I came to know through Twitter. A few of them have even become some of my most valued professional contacts.

Many of my colleagues working in public relations at various stages of their careers have a hard time taking social networking seriously, but, at the same time feel pressured to engage half-heartedly because they read newspaper and magazine articles that proclaim social media is the next big thing in communications.

Luke-warm participation doesn’t work.

Temporary participation doesn’t work.

If you’re going to use social networking tools like Twitter to build your network, remember:

Take a deep dive—spend time looking at other peoples’ timelines and get to know some of the people with the most followers. To find out who they are, visit Alltop and see how they interact with others.

Check out their URL—read the content people you’re following are creating and engage in conversation about their blog or podcast by commenting on their posts. Almost everyone on Twitter has a URL in their profile—click it and learn more about them.

Promote others—more than you promote yourself, your company or your clients. Use twitter to share links with your followers that they might enjoy and re-tweet links that have been shared with you from those you follow. Also, if you’re in marketing or public relations, be sure to disclose every time you’re promoting a client. Blanket disclosures don’t work.

Be human—this may be the most difficult to explain, but don’t just tweet about things that are in line with your agenda. Play a little and share who you are beyond what you do.

Recognize that life online is real life—make yourself at home. To truly benefit from social networking, recognize that part of your life is now shared in the online space. Don’t use it to simply escape from your three-dimensional activities and responsibilities, but rather think of it as a more efficient means of building your network than attending every networking and professional development event in your geographical area.

Guest post for Twitter Stars by @shannonpaul

Shannon Paul is an Account Coordinator at John Bailey & Associates. At JB&A, Shannon provides assistance for such accounts as the North American International Auto Show, KPMG, OSRAM Sylvania, Macy’s North, International Automotive Components Group, Harley Ellis Devereaux and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Shannon also worked as an intern with the Community Relations department of the NBA Detroit Pistons and WNBA Detroit Shock, Creative Breakthroughs in Troy, Michigan and at Henry Ford Community College in its Office of Public Information.