*Our resident U by Kotex community manager Leah Sipher-Mann recently contributed to an Advantages Magazine on “How to Do Anything Better”. Read on for her excerpt below, and for more on networking, making a first impression, being a wine expert and making the most of trade shows, read the full article here.

Twitter can be daunting for brands. “It often seems like the Wild, Wild West of social media, where anything goes,” says Leah Sipher-Mann, community manager at Organic, a digital marketing agency. However, if your brand does stake out a place in the rough terrain of Twitter, Sipher-Mann offers some tips to help pave the way.

First, get personal. It’s OK to tweet as “I” rather than “we” even if you’re tweeting on behalf of a brand. You’re more relatable as an individual. Also, don’t shy away from including tidbits that make you seem like the human you actually are. Tweets like “Ugh, I hate when that happens!” or “That’s my favorite brand of soda too!” can bring your brand down to earth and make you more relatable.

Always admit when you mess up, and do it right away. If you give incorrect information or make a mistake, don’t beat around the bush, make excuses or try to rationalize it. Just explain your mistake and apologize. This will only help people see you and your brand as more authentic.

Be unique, relevant and interesting in your content and customer service, says Sipher-Mann. If anyone could tweet what you’re tweeting, there’s no reason for someone to follow you. As community manager for a brand targeted at teen girls, she doesn’t try to tweet about fashion, makeup or Justin Bieber, even though she knows the audience is interested in those topics. Rather, she sticks to tweets reflecting the brand’s unique perspective and expertise, knowing she’s offering something other brands on Twitter are not.

Make sure you have searches set up for your brand, and relevant keywords, in order to hear what your audience is saying. “You should be responding, listening and engaging with others just as much as you tweet,” she says. Twitter is not just a broadcasting service or a way to publicize your own content. “Twitter is a twoway street, and you should be keeping your finger on the pulse of any conversation relevant to your brand at all times.”

Humor, too, can go a long way in making you and your brand relatable and likable. If you’re not naturally witty, don’t feel like you need to spend hours crafting the perfectly clever tweet. But don’t be afraid to add a little funny into your regularly scheduled tweeting once in a while, Sipher-Mann says.