On Friday April 17th Oprah jumped on Twitter. Within days she had almost a half million followers. Her Twitter coming out was a big deal. It was the 35th most popular search on the internet on Friday. And yes, Twitter benefited from the traditional Oprah effect, and got a big bump in traffic. Now that the “big splash” is over. Is Oprah going to use it?

. . . She should. But she is not.

Since Friday, Oprah has Twitted 15 times, of those, 12 came on Friday. Oprah has 420,000 followers. Yet, she follows only 10.

I hope this changes.

What makes Oprah, Oprah is her ability to connect with the average person. Her stories are heart felt and are human driven. Oprah is connected to people, her use of Twitter should extend this connection.

“Oprah” Twitter use should look more like this:

1) She should follow everyone who follows her.
2) She should assign someone to read her followers Twits everyday. (it’s unrealistic to expect her to personally read them all)
3) She should personally reply to the most compelling Twits
4) She should RT (ReTweet) at least 3 times a day
5) and she should Tweet regularly, about personal and professional things

If there were ever a perfect tool for Oprah, Twitter is it. Twitter fits perfect into Oprah’s brand. It connects her to the heart of her audience. It allows her to tap into the pulse of her followers, getting a view into their everyday lives like never before. It would extend the Oprah effect to blog posts, and Twits giving exposure to causes or stories that may have been lost. Oprah could have the same “effect” on Twitter as she does her show, but 10 times as fast. The ability for Oprah and her organization to positively impact peoples lives is increased exponentially.

It’s consistent for Ashton Kutcher to have 1 million followers and only follow 90. He isn’t about the people. Oprah’s different. Her brand is connecting, her brand is the human element. It’s not OK for her to only have 10 followers.

I hope Oprah and those closest to her see this. Twitter is a medium she could use to change peoples lives. But, to do it she has to be consistent with her brand, and right now she’s not being consistent.