If you haven’t checked out my Twitter Starter Page, you might want to go ahead and do that before reading this post. You have to have a pretty basic understanding of how to use Twitter before you can really start using it effectively.
Sometimes however, you might need a little bump in followers to start getting the interaction you need.
How do I get my Twitter account up to par with the rest of the Twitter population?
A lot of people make one huge mistake when starting their first Twitter Account. They use a greasemonkey script or twitter adder to follow thousands of people in hopes of acquiring a quick following.
There are two things critically wrong with this approach:
- Your Twitter stream is way crowded to engage in quality conversations and keep up to date on key users
- Other Twitter users may write you off as spam and not follow you back
So here is an alternative approach that will help you develop a solid productive following that will allow for fruitful conversations.
Jon Bishop’s 5 Step Twitter Starter Program
Step 1: Set up your Twitter profile with a unique background, bio, location, URL and Photo. This is an important step to subconsciously show you are committed to using Twitter.
Step 2: Post a couple of Tweets to get the ball rolling. This can be anything from the standard “Finally on Twitter” to the more specific “Jon Bishop really helped me get this Twitter thing going”.
Step 3: Find some Local Tweeps. Check out TwellowHood and follow roughly 20 interesting Twitter users that live in your area. As they follow you back, it might be a good idea to check out their blogs and see what they’re about. This would be a good time to try out your @reply skills to comment on how amazing their blogs are or simply the fact that you guys are from the same area.
Step 4: Find some like minded Tweeps. I use Twitter Search to find other Twitter users who share the same interests as me. It’s also a great way to check up on who is talking about my blog posts or my company
Step 5: Interact, then repeat steps 3 and 4. As your following grows you should try and stay very active by participating in conversations as well as providing your own updates on life, thoughts and the world.
That’s really all there is to it. It might be a good idea to try and keep your Followers to Following ratio as even as possible. It gives you a sense of authenticity that is really crucial in a social media environment.