Twitter: Follow Me – BIG Please!
It’s a strange concept – the rule is simple follow twitter users that interest you. That way you can read the Tweets and information you want in a concise format and it can be a genuinely meaningful experience.
However, that all breaks down as soon as you want to start peddling something – what a shame. or perhaps shame on you.
I’ve frequently called the Twittersphere the world’s largest market place where everyone is a stall holder. Bit like going to a Car Boot Sales – opening your boot full of junk and spending all your money on everyone else’s junk (sorry by junk I mean useful items).
The frequent scenario that of course affects you, my clients, is of course that you want to generate business from Twitter and the key indicator (because the likelihood of real business is almost zero) is the number of people you have following you.
You can start to see the dilemma – no audience or followers and no business – lots of followers and you have a ready audience you can advertise to. It’s a right old muddle.
So what’s the key? what should you be doing? It’s all very suspect and subject to opinion but there are my ideas for you:
- Idea 1
Content – rely on your content to get followers. That way on genuine people genuinely interested will follow you, you have a top quality audience who might actually read what you have to say. - Idea 2
Never sell – forget it, flogging a dead horse – be interesting, amusing even, point out things that interest you, not that might be on trend or target. Don’t even consider your audience particularly and most of all don’t be afraid. - Idea 3
Instruct – this mixes with my advice later on in this article – inform people that matter to you how they might get better experience from your Tweets. - Idea 4
Follow the people that matter to you, if you selling software – don’t follow Lady Gaga, if you’re selling widgets don’t follow entertainers, here are examples of people you should be following:
– All clients – you must follow this group and be miffed if they don’t follow you back (ask why not?)
– All suppliers – these people are useful to you – they will have content you want to know about
– All trade news – follow publications that bring interest to you (and possibly your followers)
– Target audience and customers – hopefully they will follow you back and have you on their radar.