5 Ways To Build Your Following @Twitter.com

April 13th, 2008 · 61 Comments ·

Ed Dale made a good point in this tweet. Before you jump on the bandwagon and join Twitter.com to use it as a marketing tool, its important to understand the dynamics of this social community - and what makes it tick…

If you’re not already familiar with Twitter.com, you may want to read Introduction to Twitter and Twitter: A Valuable Marketing Tool first.

Twitter presents an incredible opportunity to build relationships with the leaders in your industry, and with your target market. It’s a social medium for exposure and connections, and a great way to know and be known.

Keeping those connections active and mutually beneficial is the key. Which brings us back to the point Ed Dale made in the tweet above: consider the ways that you can create “followbility” with your Twitter account.

Just like any marketing strategy, you have to ask yourself what it is that your target market wants or needs from you - and deliver exactly that. The only difference between Twitter and any other medium… is that you do that in 140 characters or less.

If you blog, you need great content to build a loyal readership that keeps coming back for more. If you own a mailing list, your emails have to contain some value to keep your subscribers opening them. The same holds true with Twitter. Constant self-promotional blasts will leave you with zero following.

Your reach is your most valuable asset. This is the number of people that you can reach online at any given time, that are specifically interested in what you have to offer. This may include your blog readers, newsletter subscribers, website visitors, your networks at Facebook and MySpace, and now… your followers on Twitter.com.

Twitter users are particularly sensitive to spam in their space. Blasting out self-promotional tweets consistently is a sure-fire way to get unfollowed - and fast. That doesnt mean that you cant include links and make announcements. It simply means that you have to be both creative and tasteful about it.

Done right, ‘tweeting’ is one of the easiest and best ways to gain exposure and drive live traffic to your blog or website. Not just visitor count mind you, but real people with specific interests who are genuinely interested in what you have to say on a particular topic.

If I had to wrap it up in a bite-size nugget, my advice would be:

Keep it real, make it fresh, interact and show some personality! Your tweets should contain a good mix of current news, opinions, conversations and announcements. Reference links are welcomed, so use them liberally but with good taste.

Of course it helps if there are people out there ‘listening’ when you post your tweets. Just like any other web property, you have to stake your claim and then build your following.

Not sure where to start? Here are five super-easy ways to get the ball rolling…

1. Create a reason to be followed
Set up your account and start tweeting. Contribute something original, useful, funny or interesting to your ideal ‘follower’. Most people will scan your profile before choosing to follow you, so make sure there’s something there to interest them at first glance.

2. Search for people you already know
Use the search box at the top of your Twitter screen to search for people you already know. If you find them on Twitter, follow them! Look for authorities/leaders in your niche, blog authors you enjoy, people you connect with on other websites, etc. Twitter is a very social site and people you follow will often follow you too.

3. Put the word out!
Invite people to follow you on Twitter. Blog about it. Mention it in your newsletter. Put out a MySpace bulletin. Add a Twitter widget to your Facebook profile. Let people know about this cool new way to stay in touch with you!

4. Get involved in the current discussions
Reply to tweets you find interesting. If they reply to your response and a dialogue gets started, your twitter link will end up on their profile page. A person with a strong following, or even a smaller but targeted following, could end up sending you several new loyal followers.

5. Be consistent and let it grow naturally
Do the first four steps consistently, and you’ll find that your Twitter following grows daily. Post a good mix of resources, humor & personality, news and updates throughout the week or even throughout the day.

Bonus Tip: Use your real name on your Twitter account - or the name people will most likely know you by online, such as a common username. This will help people find you easily when searching for you on Twitter or Google.

Its all in who you follow, and who follows you

Also see Caroline Middlebrook’s Big Juicy Guide To Twitter and Top 100 Twitterholics, based on number of followers: http://www.twitterholic.com/

Best,

New from Sherman Hu:
How To Use Twitter For Business Connections & Results

Tags: RSS & Blogging

61 responses so far ↓

Shannon // Apr 13, 2008 at 9:27 am

6. Add your twitter link in your blog post about increasing twitter followers! lol

http://www.twitter.com/lynnterry

~Shannon
Lynn Terry // Apr 13, 2008 at 9:56 am

Its there Five bucks to the first person that finds it!
Brian McLeod // Apr 13, 2008 at 10:04 am

Excellent article!

Why I think Twitter is different and poised to be very important this year:

1) It’s FUN.

2) The system gets out of the way and let’s you do your thing, very fast.

3) The interconnectivity with other services like Facebook, et al.

4) The direct line of communication between the follower and the followed.

Using Twhirl also changes the whole experience for the better (thanks to Ed Dale for THAT tip, as well..)

Best,

Brian McLeod
Miami, Florida
http://twitter.com/loudmac
WulfGar // Apr 13, 2008 at 10:10 am

Excellent article Lynn.

Too many times, we get caught up in the passion of trying to market and develop traffic 24/7, and we forget that there are actual people out there, who need a reason to follow you.

You communicate that point well.

And since I found your twitter link in your signature, I think I may have to try twitter!
Lynn Terry // Apr 13, 2008 at 10:15 am

Send me your PayPal address, Wulf - you just won five bucks!

I stick funnies & relevant links in my sig here at ClickNewz quite often
Rick Wilson // Apr 13, 2008 at 11:02 am

“I stick funnies & relevant links in my sig here at ClickNewz quite often”

I use graphic sigs where I can and have it linked somewhere also.

Kinda kool.

Rick Wilson aka CorpRebel
Carrie Wigal // Apr 13, 2008 at 11:11 am

“I stick funnies & relevant links in my sig here at ClickNewz quite often”

What a cool idea! I found it too before I read all of the comments, but I wasn’t first. Your twit is what brought me here this morning.
Shannon // Apr 13, 2008 at 11:56 am

Doesn’t count when you hide it!

~Shannon
The makingyouricher review site // Apr 13, 2008 at 12:02 pm

Thanks, I really appreciate this one. I actually signed in the day I saw your post on Twitter but haven’t done anything yet because I noticed an issue am expecting support to help out.

This article will serve as a guide for me… it is lovely
Lynn Terry // Apr 13, 2008 at 3:37 pm

Doesn’t count when you hide it!

Sure it does
Ed Dale // Apr 13, 2008 at 7:08 pm

Thanks Lynn

Just got your tweet about this - really well said.

You know it’s funny - I read your blog everyday in my feedreader and really loved.

But we have never met - It took twitter to open the channel - and that Ladies and Gents - is just one of the MANY cool things about twitter…

Keep up the awesome blog

Ed
Lynn Terry // Apr 13, 2008 at 7:18 pm

Agreed, and thank you! I’ll keep an eye on the tweets for mention of upcoming events. I’m sure we’ll bump into each other one of these days
Shannon Herod // Apr 13, 2008 at 7:24 pm

Great post Lynn!

Actually was made aware of this post through Twitter. Ed Dale actually.

Great way to communicate.
Lynn Terry // Apr 13, 2008 at 7:29 pm

Thank you Shannon. How long have you been using Twitter?
Mari Smith // Apr 13, 2008 at 8:07 pm

Great points, Lynn! I’m a mega fan of Twitter and love to follow everyone back who follows me - I call it Twetiquette.

And for tweets, rather than answering “What are you doing?,” I think in terms of “How might this be of interest to my Twitter peeps?” “What has my attention right now that would add value to others?” “Would this nugget uplift someone’s spirit today?”

You might’ve seen Seth Godin’s blog post about Twitter - he’s spot on about the trust-building factor!
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/04/drip-drip-drip.html

And I like Jeremiah Owyang’s Essential Twitter Tools too:
http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/04/05/my-essential-twitter-tools/

Cheers,
Mari
http://twitter.com/marismith
Lynn Terry // Apr 13, 2008 at 8:15 pm

Nice to meet you Mari - and thank you for the links. Off to check those out
Dr.Mani // Apr 13, 2008 at 8:47 pm

Nice post, Lynn

Some people may mis-interpret this part in sheer numbers:

“Your reach is your most valuable asset. This is the number of people that you can reach online at any given time”

A HUGE following is practically worthless if all your followers are in turn being followed by hundreds or thousands - because your ‘reach’ drops like a rock.

Say you are on Twitter an hour every day - that 60 minutes of attention is shared by those on your radar screen… and it works that way for everyone.

So if you follow 1,000 active Twitterers, it is obvious you cannot devote but a fraction of time to each one, which drastically lowers your ‘reach’.

‘Reach’ is measured in ATTENTION SPAN, not sheer numbers.

Just a little qualification of your very nice summary.

All success
Dr.Mani
Ed Dale // Apr 13, 2008 at 8:56 pm

I love Mari’s work - but I disagree on one thing

Following everyone who follows you. I don’t follow many people - just my close team and Darth Vader.

Following too many people will give you “Tweet Burnout” and you’ll miss the power of it all

Choose people to follow on value and friendship - not obligation

I don’t thing thats a good idea

I explain why here

http://seesmic.com/v/h3Ls38yWbW

Seth Godin - uses twitter brilliantly and follows no-one -does that mean we should not listen to what he has to say…
Lynn Terry // Apr 13, 2008 at 9:00 pm

Excellent addition, Dr Mani - thank you. I would agree - its certainly less about the numbers and more about your ability to connect, state of influence, etc.
Shannon Herod // Apr 13, 2008 at 9:40 pm

Hey Lynn,

I started using twitter about a year ago, but quickly quit using it.

I just started back, but am using http://twhirl.org/

this time to manage it. I was directed to that tool by Ed Dale, and makes using Twitter so much easier.
twitter is a great marketing tool | Internet Marketing Strategies // Apr 13, 2008 at 9:45 pm

[...] Also, I just read a great blog post about how to get Twitter followers at Lynn Terrys blog. [...]
Katherine Reschke // Apr 13, 2008 at 11:59 pm

I think this is all great advice to stop and think before we hit send to make sure our tweets are a contribution rather than noise. It might help me not to typo quite as much as I do too. I think with Twitter it is easy to forget that every single message is a reflection of ourselves and our businesses and as such may be available somewhere on the internet in perpetuity. If we stop to consider that our tweets could outlive us then maybe we will focus on quality rather than quantity. Then again, maybe it’s all just good clean fun and I am over-thinking this one!
Alice // Apr 14, 2008 at 12:28 am

I’m getting to the point where following nearly everyone who follows me isn’t going to be possible anymore for the reasons people, including Ed, have stated.

Thus far, I’ve had a policy of checking a profile and if it looked like we had common interest and you weren’t using Twitter to post ads, I’d follow.

But I’m now following over 330 and it’s getting a little overwhelming. The gap between the number of people I follow and who follow me is growing and will no doubt get bigger.

And…uh yeah…I never make typos.
James Mann // Apr 14, 2008 at 4:45 am

Hello, my name is James Mann and I’m a Twitter Junkie.

Well okay, I’m not a complete junkie but I am using it a lot more this month than last month or the month before that.
The makingyouricher.com // Apr 14, 2008 at 6:16 am

…Doesn’t count when you hide it!

Hello Lynn,

NO I didn’t hide it all. When I tried to register at I discovered that my email was already used (but registered with another email) but I still want to know how my email was used by someone other than me.

I will open it later Lynn…
Lynn Terry // Apr 14, 2008 at 6:50 am

At least your pacing yourself, James - Today marks 2 full weeks on Twitter for me (it was my April case study) and I am already totally hooked
Lynn Terry // Apr 14, 2008 at 7:00 am

I agree on the following - I generally scan the profile and decide if its something I want to add to what I am already keeping up with. Often I will follow for a few days and then unfollow if its not adding value for me (which could be in one of many ways: news, resources, humor, pulse, friendship, etc).

Its less about etiquette (IMO) and more about shaping your own personal Twitter experience so that you get the absolute most out of it.
Lynn Terry // Apr 14, 2008 at 7:06 am

Katherine, RE: “twitter noise” - great addition to the discussion here! I like a good mix of personal and business from the people I follow. I’m getting to know their schedules, lifestyles, personality types… as well as hearing about their latest blog posts, opinions, and upcoming projects.

There are times that Twitter seems more like an IM chat room than a series of answers to the “What Are You Doing?” question - which is okay by me too. Its an awesome tool all the way around.

All said and done, I unfollow when the noise is not interesting to me - but thats not to say I dont follow a little noise there too
Lynn Terry // Apr 14, 2008 at 7:10 am

…Doesn’t count when you hide it!

Hello Lynn,

NO I didn’t hide it all.

Sorry to confuse, Patrick - we were referring to the fact that I “hid” my twitter url in the original post (its linked to my signature).

Glad to hear you got signed up!
Dr.Mani // Apr 14, 2008 at 8:32 am

Interesting discussion you’ve got going here, Lynn. I’m enjoying reading the various perspectives.

Here’s another - it’s about why I slashed my following on Twitter in February.

http://moneypowerwisdom.com/why-drmani-slashed-his-twitter-following/

And early on in my exploration of Twitter, I wrote this blog post on how Internet marketers can use Twitter - might be interesting to a few of your readers, too.

http://moneypowerwisdom.com/how-can-internet-marketers-use-twitter/

All success
Dr.Mani
… he Twitters as ‘drmani’
The Story Ideas Virtuoso // Apr 14, 2008 at 6:01 pm

Lynn,

As usual you have created another great discussion. The one day I spent on Twhirl, all the while multitasking, was one of the most fun I’ve ever had online. It IS like a chat room, only better. I love the bite-size pieces we must tweet in, but most of all, I love the camaraderie when we start tweeting replies. And then there was the whole “Lynn Terry beats dog” headline thing… But I won’t go there.

Deb
Lynn Terry // Apr 14, 2008 at 6:28 pm

LOL Deb I’ll have to give Twhirl a whirl!

Thanks for the links, Dr Mani - off to check those out
Ankit Garg // Apr 15, 2008 at 5:16 am

Very informative post followed by even better discussion..

Twitter ads another tool to marketer’s armoury.
Dr. Sally Witt // Apr 15, 2008 at 11:12 am

Lynn,

I am so glad that you have come on over to Twitter! Always great webinar info, and you are an angel with all that you share.

Thanks!

Sally
Paul Short // Apr 15, 2008 at 11:15 am

“This will help people find you easily when searching for you on Twitter or Google.” Or, on social search engines like Peepfish.com
Jeff Neil // Apr 16, 2008 at 5:36 am

Very interesting conversation to say the least. Even more so since I am brand new to Twittering, despite the fact all my close friends twitter.

Guess I was like John Reese, thinking “why?”.

I big public thanks to Ed Dale for shedding some light on that why.

I ended up here from a link that was posted in a Facebook group. The whole concept blows me away when I think about the potential.

Jeff
Lynn Terry // Apr 16, 2008 at 5:55 am

Hi Jeff,
I’ve only been on Twitter for a couple of weeks myself and already love it. Its been incredibly valuable! No worries, you’ll be hooked in no time
RobToth.com // Apr 16, 2008 at 11:56 am

I’m sending this post to a friend as I’ve gotten tired of answering “what’s so special about Twitter” all the time… thanks for doing the work for me.

http://www.twitter.com/robtoth
Lynn Terry // Apr 16, 2008 at 1:15 pm

I just added a video to the original post titled How To Use Twitter For Business Connections & Results - enjoy!
Lori Clark // Apr 16, 2008 at 2:00 pm

Thanks Lynn - just started following you

I must admit I am a Twitter newbie and still trying to learn what it’s all about…. not to mention how to use it! ha! Thanks for the great article - I have a lot to learn

http://twitter.com/loriclark
Pete Balasch Jr. // Apr 17, 2008 at 12:07 am

Wow terry that is a Great Article social networking is what its all about. and web 2.0 is like minded individuals getting together and networking with each other. Keep up the great work
Pete
Lisa Herbik // Apr 17, 2008 at 7:57 am

Just starting here, glad to have this as a resource.

http://twitter.com/lisaherbik
Robert Nelson // Apr 19, 2008 at 9:56 pm

Found this discussion as a result of getting twittervision. Hope I don’t get “twittered out”
Alejandro Reyes // Apr 20, 2008 at 3:17 am

Solid post Lynn…it was fun interviewing Sherman. The guy is super sharp and a great guy.

Looking forward to connecting with ya!

http://twitter.com/successfool
Liz // Apr 20, 2008 at 7:05 am

This is a great post Lyn thanks. I have only just heard about Twitter and was not sure what it was all about. So now I will go and investigate further.
Lynn Terry // Apr 20, 2008 at 8:01 am

I agree Alejandro - probably one of the nicest and most personable people I have ever met. It was fun meeting him in person in Atlanta a few weeks ago. Super cool guy!

Liz - see you on Twitter Find me @lynnterry
Jeanne May // Apr 22, 2008 at 2:08 am

Today have spent a couple of hours really getting into twitter… was hearing so much about it from all kinds of areas so I had to check it all out again! It was kinda tedious setting up my blog feeds but I think I’ve done it ok!

And this is a great article with lots of extra tips!

Jeanne
Lynn Terry // Apr 22, 2008 at 6:35 am

Thank you Jeanne. What is your Twitter ID?
Robert Nelson // Apr 22, 2008 at 2:10 pm

Great Resource
http://twitterhandbook.com/blog/twitter/
Lynn Terry // Apr 22, 2008 at 3:37 pm

Thank you Robert - I agree. The Twitter Handbook is an interesting and exciting project. One to keep an eye one
Jeanne May // Apr 22, 2008 at 8:39 pm

This is going really well… easy to do once you get the hang of it.

Jeanne
http://twitter.com/itsannje
Rob Bunting // Apr 24, 2008 at 10:18 am

Great blog overall and excellent post here on Twitter Lynn. I am now following you on Twitter, adding you to my blogroll and going to spend more time reading your posts. You made an excellnt point about the importance of providing VALUE with tweets; just like any other medium the message must be compelling or helpful or will have no impact.

Very happy I found your blog!
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Tom Cheredar // May 1, 2008 at 3:36 pm

Some really great insight here. Bookmarked for future ref.
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Frazier Scott // Jul 25, 2008 at 9:05 am

I have known of Twitter for awhile but never understood it. Great article, and comments, I will definitely be getting into it. I’m sure Ed Dale will have lots to say about it on his 30 Day Challenge coming up in a few days.
Lynn Terry // Jul 25, 2008 at 9:25 am

Thank you Frazier. I imagine he will. I am actually taking the challenge myself this August (for the first time) to review it.

For those that arent familiar with the 30 Day Challenge, this is my referral link (not an affiliate link, as the challenge is completely free): http://www.thirtydaychallenge.com/challenge/24627

See you there, Frazier