The Government has released guidelines to help government departments develop a communications strategy on Twitter.

The document, developed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), aims to help government staff keen to use the micro-blogging site by setting out a clear set of objectives and metrics, and advising on ways to avoid mistakes and inappropriate use.

Neil Williams, head of corporate digital channels at BIS and the document’s creator, wrote on the Cabinet digital engagement blog, “Micro-blogging [has] a low barrier to entry [and is a] low-risk and low-resource channel relative to other corporate communications overheads like a blog or printed newsletter… I was surprised by just how much there is to say and quite how worth saying it is, especially now the platform is more mature and less forgiving of mistakes.”

The news comes a week after Twitter published its Twitter 101 guide for businesses on how to get the best out of the service (nma.co.uk 24 July 2009).

Meanwhile, to help brands understand how to responsibly market on Twitter, new media age has put together an nma Live half-day conference on the subject. Run on the morning of 21 August, speakers include Dell’s head of digital media communications EMEA Kerry Bridge, Innocent digital manager Ted Hunt and Moonfruit CEO Joe White, who will be revealing the results of its campaign. Register here.