The Power of Twitter Unveiled: a Blog Reply

This Article was created in reply to http://tdhurst.com/tweet-2/

I agree and disagree in different areas.  I agree that one should limit the number of people they follow to those who provide more useful content.  However, following the "big guys" gets your name on a constantly searched "followers" list for that person.  In a way... if you follow 1-200 "big guys" you can probably generate 2-300 followers in a month from people following people on their follower list.

Maybe only 25-100 of those 200 "big guys" even follow you back, but the residual follower count will add up and be beneficial overall.

Now where I agree is that people shouldn't just go follow EVERY "big guy" out there on Twitter.  If you are a business Tweeter, you probably wouldn't gain very much from following Ashton Kutcher, Oprah, Jimmy Fallon, etc.  They, and their target audience are by majority not asking for, nor require your services.

However, going to the "big guys" relevant to your target market, you will find two levels of Twitter users.  The industry pros, and those who have amassed 10-20-100k followers, and the general user who has appx. 500-2,000 followers.

What I propose is a synergy between those two tiers.  Do so by searching keywords in Twitter such as (for my target audience) "Real Estate" or "Business".  I use www.wefollow.com for this purpose. I do the keyword search, and then find the top 3 users who look like legitimate people (a profile picture with their own picture). I follow them, and then follow a few pages of their followers.

Using Wefollow.com again, I'll go to the search results, and go to "next page".  Then, in the address bar, I'll change the page number to page 10, 15, 20... to find more of the users with follower counts around 400-800.  I find that these users are more of the "meat and potatoes" of content, while the "big guys" tend to be follow generators (the gravy).

Sticking to my analogy, there should be much more "meat and potatoes" than "gravy" in your follow approach.  However, without the big guys, it would be harder to expand your web presence to other markets, or other locations you may not be marketing to. Plus, it never hurts to follow your competition, and your competition's followers.

You may think of these ideas or approaches as having negative results on your company or personal reputation.  Once you consider the true power that Twitter presents to a user, I'm sure you'll change your mind.

The Power of Choice:
You choose who to follow. You choose who to unfollow/block.

The Power of Restriction:
If you were allowed to follow 100k people based on the keyword "Business", it would dilute the concept of social networking.  You can only follow a certain amount of people per day. Use that to your advantage. Invest a few minutes and follow as many "real" users as possible.  Real People who actively participate are the key to a positive experience with Twitter.

The Power of Bulk Processes:
http://dossy.org/twitter/karma/ - After about 3-4 days of steady following relevant users, you're going to want to bring your follower/following ratio back closer to 1:1.  What I would do now, is tweet  normally for the next few days.  Post some great links or content you find on the web.  Use Digg.com to find some good material.   Then, after 3 days, use that link (Twitter Karma) to Bulk Unfollow those people who aren't following you back.  Remember, the magic of Twitter only comes alive when there's a reciprocal benefit from its users.  Also, remember to follow-back all the people that followed you.  Where did they all come from?  Chances are, they are from users who found your profile through searches, viewing other peoples follow lists, etc.  That's why it is so important to have as much possible exposure to your name as possible.   When you've done all of this, start over and keep following more people. (nobody said this was easy).

The Power of Infinite Connections:
Twitter is a Networking Microblogging Engine, Pyramid Scheme, and Messaging Device all rolled into one.  With appx. 10 million users, who's to say your voice cannot be heard by everyone? Like the Pyramid Scheme, everyone is familiar with the 5 Levels Deep marketing  approach. 1 person sells 10 items and makes X% commission.  They get 5 of their friends to sign up, thus making X% commission on their sales. Each friend gets 5 more people to sign up, and the original person makes commission on each tier of membership 5 levels deep. Well with Twitter, the idea of the "commission", is really the amount of exposure your tweets get.   Does your Tweet get viewed by 100 people?  If so, now let's say it gets Re-Tweeted 5 times.   If so, how many of their followers see it? And lastly, how many of their followers followers see it, and then Re-Tweet it?  The reason 1 powerful tweet doesn't instantly reach 10 million people is because of the restrictions set in place by Twitter and a constantly refreshing Tweet Timeline.  The resulting scenario is a ratio of Tweet-views, to non-tweet views based on follower count.

I personally have 17k+ followers on Twitter (@chicagodesign).  However, when I post a message, it only gets viewed 1-200 times.  Out of 1-200 Tweet-Views, I'll get about 3-5 ReTweets.  So out of all my followers, only 3-5 people are interested enough to spread the word. Now with 5 RT's, and an average of 2,000 followers per user, I increase the odds that my tweet will be viewed infinitely.  Follow list after follow list will receive my RT, until it eventually dies out.

The average "life" of a tweet usually lasts less than 60 seconds in a public timeline.

Keep in mind, that's ONE Tweet, with ONE "value rich" message/link, and only done on ONE account.

I usually post about 10 times a day, and sometimes on 3 different accounts!  What I am doing is providing valuable content to my followers, building a reputation for myself, and building an affinity for my brand.  If done right, the rate of my RT's will go up, more people will @reply more people will visit my links, more people will follow me, and this (in conjunction with my company website) will have the result of generating highly-targeted and qualified leads for my business.

Mind Boggling.

Now there should only be one question left on your mind: "How does he expect me to post 10 times a day on multiple accounts, while still doing the wefollow and twitter karma approach every few days? That would take Forever!"

Well, sorry folks, I can't give away the farm.  But, I do have a series of videos that I've recorded that walk you through step-by-step of this process, all of the tools used, and how to make it as easy as possible to do what I've done.  If you're interested in learning more: follow me (@chicagodesign), or send me an email through my website at http://www.graphicsms.com - I hope everyone found some value in this article!  Tweet your thoughts!