The phrase “content is king” has been around for ages, and giants in industry ranging from Bill Gates to Rupert Murdoch are credited as its creator. Regardless of where the phrase originated, it is a profound truth when it comes to crafting an effective Twitter campaign for your business. The good news for executives and entrepreneurs is that great content is usually a few keystrokes away. You just have to know where to look.

If Content is King, Blog is the Castle

First and foremost, your blog is the center of your social media universe. It’s the place where readers start making the transition from Twitter follower to customer, as they get to know, trust, and like your brand. One great benefit of a blog is that you are in total control of this universe, so you get to set the tone, format, and agenda. Be sure to update your blog regularly, as it is the cornerstone of your content strategy. Each article is a gold mine for content from which you should plan on extracting 5-10 tweets, highlighting notable tips and quotable thoughts. You might be tempted to include a link to a given article with every tweet, but you don’t want to overdo; include a link 60-80% of the time; other times you can let your nuggets of wisdom stand on their own.

Have you been neglecting your blog? Here’s a resource for custom, consistent, expertly written blog content for your site.

Hashtag Inspiration

Hashtags are a great way to find conversations related to your business and locate shareable articles, videos, and images. For example, an interior designer would enter #interiordesign in the Twitter search bar to find tweets on the subject (there are many). From there, articles can be borrowed around which original tweets are crafted; reuse the hashtag to help your tweets get found in the stream and, if space allows, add others you’ll find along the way that are relevant to your business or brand.

Trending Tweets

As you’re monitoring Twitter conversations, you’re sure to find Twitter accounts for influencers and publications related to your business. Follow what they are posting, bookmark their blogs and websites, and create tweets from articles and other items of interest as appropriate. Besides helping you stay current on trends in your field, showcasing the expertise of another leader in your industry is a great way to establish goodwill and make lasting business connections.

Don’t Forget the Lighter Side

All work and no play can make Jack’s (and Jill’s) Twitter stream a very dull place. Add a dash of personality to it by sharing famous quotes that fit your brand or show the lighter side of your character. No matter what business you’re in, there’s probably a holiday or special day related to it. If you’re a journalist, for example, you’d be interested in knowing that April 4 is National Hug a Newsperson Day (hashtag: #HugANewspersonDay). Personally, National Social Media Day (June 30, #SMDay) is one of my favorites!

These are great starting points for generating engaging Twitter content, so be sure to bookmark this article for when writer’s block strikes and you need to get the wheels of your social media campaign turning again.

And, of course, if you’d rather take the heavy content-writing weight off your back completely, consider Ghost Tweeting’s Twitter Essentials program. You will never again worry about your Twitter content.