Who Should I Follow on Twitter?

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When it comes to interacting on Twitter, it is critical that you understand who you should follow and focus on who your followers are. The are both essential to your professional success and making the determination will bring you success.

Who to follow – and not to follow – on Twitter

During an introductory class on the basics of Twitter, the general question is, “How do I get followers?”  That question should really be, “Who should I follow on twitter?”  While your followers ARE key to the success of your Twitter efforts, the difference between reaching out to follow those who are of interest to you and gathering followers just to increase your number of followers is important. On Twitter, as in most of life, quality is more important than quantity. Having thousands of followers, if they are only interested in broadcasting their SPAM, is really of no value to you.  And it will give you the mistaken impression that Twitter is only full of SPAMMERs.  If you focus on offering valuable information and search for those who are sharing information of interest to you, you will find the Twitterverse a useful and positive place to learn, grow your sphere of influence and find real business leads.

Keep in mind; even if you don’t have a fleet of followers, by tweeting, you are sending information out into the worldwide web. Searches, by you or by others, are of the entire live Twitter feed, not just of your tribe.  If you are tweeting about travel and someone is searching on a keyword you use, they will find you, whether they are a follower of yours or not.  And if they contact you, be sure to follow them – that will be a valuable connection!

Start out by following people you already know (friends, co-workers, clients, customers, and friends) and those you know of and respect.  Think big – this is a platform where you can follow anyone with a public account.  Follow experts in your industry. Search the Twitter stream for people using your keywords in their tweets.  Keep an eye out as you read blog posts and check email signature footers for the Twitter icon (sometimes a single lowercase “t,,” sometimes a small bird) or an @name.  Check out their profiles and see if they are sharing helpful advice and suggestions. Keep in mind that everyone you follow need not be directly related to your business or field.  Like networking in the real world, meeting people is not only about what they can do for you but also about what you can do for them. Or sometimes, follow people just for the fun of it – a follow-worthy post may make you think, offer insights you hadn’t considered, or just make you smile.

Hashtags – words or phrases with the # sign in front of them – are another way to identify people who are tweeting about topics of interest to you. Clicking on a term with a hashtag symbol will automatically pull up all tweets with that word in them. This is a quick way to identify tweets of interest and you can then decide if you want to follow their authors. Note that a hashtag can have multiple words – or can be an abbreviation – but has no spaces nor punctuation.

As you search on your keywords and hashtags and visit various profiles, you should follow the ones that are of interest.  To continue with the travel theme, say you run a hotel in Paris, France. Your search keywords might be “trip,” “#travel,” “Paris,” etc.  As you look at the results, click on the conversations that are about your city (there will probably be all sorts of other results about Ms Hilton and possibly Paris, Texas, among others).  See where you can offer advice or assistance.  Hopefully, you publish an e-newsletter about your hotel with suggestions for local dining, advice for first-time visitors, maybe the hours for visiting the Eiffel Tower. Introduce yourself and offer them a copy.  If you see that they will be arriving later that week, let them know if it will be chillier than usual so they can pack an extra sweater.  Offer them a coupon for a free drink in your hotel bar.  Most likely they will respond positively.  And while they may not stay in your hotel this trip, maybe they will stop by and see you, and if nothing else, they will probably follow you.  Again, this is a valuable addition to your group.

You will, upon entering the Twitterverse, probably find a large number of people who will rush to follow you. Some may be real live people but many will be on auto pilot or will be bots; programs that troll Twitter looking for people to add to their lists.  These automated services follow anyone they can find, for the express purpose of sending you SPAM of one kind or another. Tips and links to get rich quick seem most prevalent, followed closely by offers to help you find thousands of Twitter followers. I would highly suggest vetting these followers before you consider following them back. See what they tweet and determine if they offer anything of value. See if they have a profile picture and a biography.  See if they have clothes on in their photo – and hey, depending on your goals, maybe that will help you decide that you DO want to follow them – but my point is this, do not necessarily auto-follow back.  Especially people (or @names) that offer nothing but a repetitive stream of SPAM.  As you follow these steps, your list of followers WILL grow, and you don’t want to dilute your tweet stream with their SPAM messages.

I have seen articles about how to determine who to follow with criteria indicating a large minimum number of followers and tweets.  I tend to disagree.  First, check to see the quality of the tweets – 1500 tweets on “how to grow your”… anything is probably not full of value.  And just because someone has thousands of followers does not mean that those are actual people, it may just mean that they are part of a ring of auto-follows.  While a tribe of followers numbering in the hundreds of thousands of real people (like Mari Smith or other active and hugely popular Twitter users) IS a sign of their genuine value, follower numbers alone are not necessarily a good benchmark.  And I would venture to say that a real person, with just a few followers who have just joined Twitter may actually be a great connection!  Their stream is sparse enough that your tweets will be seen and hopefully appreciated.  They will have the time to respond and start conversations, to build connections and maybe even share your message via re-tweet!

Open and read through your Twitter feed regularly. Eventually, you will be able to check it less often but at first, it may be best to check in frequently (a few times a day). Pay attention to the people you are following, watch what they say and how.  Learn the personalities of the various people and interact accordingly. Many people mix work and personal life on Twitter so don’t be afraid to let people know who you really are – you are not just a business profile, so let your personality shine through. If someone is commenting on an extremely complicated recipe he is preparing and you like to cook, you may want to add a suggestion.  Follow up the next day to see how it turned out!

Conclusion

By following these easy steps to help you determine who you should follow on Twitter and who should follow you, you too can grow a large tribe of “true” followers.  Soon, you will need to think about follower management tools – but that is a topic for another article.  For now, enjoy and engage in the conversation!

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Author

  • LisaMarie Dias

    LisaMarie Dias of LisaMarie Dias Designs works with business owners to leverage social media for profitable growth. Specializing in e-newsletter start up and introductions to social media, she also offers online webinars and live presentations on how to use e-newsletters and social media to grow a business and personal consultations to help clients determine the marketing tools and sites that are right for their needs and goals.

17 Responses

  1. Karen Yankovich says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Step Into The Spotlight!
    Discussion: What is Your Twitter Following/Followers Strategy?

    This is a great post! I love Twitter, I have a bunch of followers, but I spend a good deal of time cultivating that following. Worth every minute.
    By Karen Yankovich

  2. Patrick McFadden says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: What is Your Twitter Following/Followers Strategy?

    My strategy for twitter followers is to GO do something unique and remarkable. People follow those who are doing work that matters, that resonates with them, that brings them value. Now we can talk about the journey. Yes, for some it’s 6-months, another 3 yrs, another 10 years, but as long as you’re doing, you’re closer to succeeding.
    By Patrick McFadden

    • Thank you for the comment Patrick! I applaud your interesting approach – definitely makes for more engaging content, much better than the navel gazing you frequently see!

  3. Don Lokke says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
    Discussion: What is Your Twitter Following/Followers Strategy?

    Put it out there and follow back ASAP. Tweet 10-12 a day continuously. Stay on topic and drive traffic. 200,000,000 users is an audience.
    By Don Lokke

    • Thank you Don! I actually do NOT believe in auto follow back but agree that you need to be out there and engaging. Please share your handle here so we can follow you on Twitter as well!

      Have a great day!

  4. Sharon Elwell says:

    Thanks! A very helpful post for those of us on the brink of diving into Twitter and wondering if it’s worth the time and irritation…

  5. David Russell says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Writers World
    Discussion: What is Your Twitter Following/Followers Strategy?

    Hi all, I have not been active on twitter for several weeks, and had a low following. When active, I would comment sporadically about my novel, but generally comment about the this and that of daily life: i.e., weather, sports team win or loss, news story, light fare. I somehow got on numerous book review or recommend lists and felt it wasn’t really serving anyone so stopped posting. I guess it is like most things in life, people like to be approached on occasion but not have you in their face constantly..
    By David Russell

  6. Val Rainey says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Writers World
    Discussion: What is Your Twitter Following/Followers Strategy?

    Hi David maybe you need to try a different tactic. Stick to information about your novel and some of the ups and downs of writing it or put in teasers. I know 140 characters isn’t much but when you make every one of them count you sharpen your skills as a writer more than you realize.
    By Val Rainey

  7. David Russell says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Writers World
    Discussion: What is Your Twitter Following/Followers Strategy?

    Hi, Val thanks for the tip. A few months ago I read where if one posts regularly on twitter, meaning 4-6 times a week, be varied and let your book title perhaps be one of those 4-6 posts. I guess like anything else, trial and error.. Needed the nudge, thanks!
    By David Russell

  8. Great advice Val!

    And David, you may want to think about Twitter more as a live networking event where you are milling around and meeting people. Try to find some other writers who you can offer advice to, find some fans who you can thank and maybe answer some questions (if it is a fiction novel, you could talk about how you developed the characters, who in your life they are based on – as long as that won’t get you in trouble – and maybe even talk about a new book you are writing.

    Rather than looking at your Twitter time as a business requirement, try to think of it as a live event and interacting with real people and I think that you might find it a bit easier to come up with things to talk about.

    That said, some people DREAD live networking and prefer the detachment that the digital world and 140 characters offers. If that is your case, you may want to come up with a series of posts (you are a writer, I am thinking that content is probably not a challenge) with questions about the characters, asking fans to elaborate on where a character might go next, what their favorite color might be, etc. Ask questions where THEY can do the talking.

    Good luck and please share your Twitter handle here so we can follow too!

  9. Holly O'Driscoll says:

    Great post … I am building my PR business — Twitter and social media mystify people — which opens doors for me. There’s a big difference between using it myself and selling it as a service and providing measurable (payable) results … My background is journalism, corporate publications and content marketing … this is an extension … Thanks!

  10. Nealey Stapleton says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Step Into The Spotlight!
    Discussion: What is Your Twitter Following/Followers Strategy?

    I’ve been working on growing my Twitter presence and following and have found a few things to be successful that have helped me double the amount of people who follow me.

    First, I increase the number of people I follow on a regular basis and they are all people I think would bring some sort of value to me personally and/or professionally (even if it’s just entertainment for a few seconds).

    Second, when people follow me or follow me back, I send out a tweet with their profile name in it thanking them for the follow. This does a few things – 1. Personalizes the process, 2. Starts a conversation with my new follower, 3. Shows up in the news feed of all those that follow my new follower.

    Here’s an example: “@soandso Thanks for following! I also love #Pugs & have one named Brisket!”

    My methods do take time, but I’m finding that a little extra attention to the process makes the whole thing more valuable…

    Oh wow! I didn’t mean to ramble on but I hope this helps some people grow their Twitter following. Cheers!
    By Nealey Stapleton | On Track Organizing Services

  11. Great tips Nealy – thanks! I love what you are doing and that you have acknowledged that it DOES take a bit more time but creates a more valuable relationship!

    I get the feeling that your organizing skills have come in handy, helping you create a methodical approach that works well for you!

    Please share your Twitter handle here for additional followers.

  12. Ellen Huxtable says:

    Excellent summary of using twitter wisely!

  13. Richard Hatheway says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Association of Strategic Marketing
    Discussion: What is Your Twitter Following/Followers Strategy?

    Rather than concentrate on quantity, I try and concentrate on quality and provide tweets that have value to those who follow me.
    By Richard Hatheway