Many CEOs and other executives are joining the Twitter world. Some have thousands of followers.

While Twitter is a powerful influencer, misuse, a.k.a. “mis-tweeting,” can turn customers off to the brand and/or the company. So . . .

– Share tweets that are informed and authentic. The IT department shouldn’t tweet for the CEO. Consumers can sniff out a fake.

– Don’t have “Twitter strategy meetings.” Executive tweets should feel off-the-cuff and spontaneous, yet controlled and interesting.

– Don’t tweet on the defensive. Twitter can be used to quickly quell a problem; however, the voice shared needs to be thoughtful and not about transferring blame.

– Don’t tweet negative, poorly written thoughts or emotions about the competition, colleagues, or the media. Those same tweets will travel faster than the speed of sound and will come back to haunt you for a long time.

Twitter can be an incredibly valuable tool in brand building. It is simply a question of using the right tools at the right time in the right tone.