Twitter: Finding People To Follow

When you're new to Twitter, you may wonder how to find new people to follow or to get more people to follow you.  I prefer the natural way to follow people and grow my list of Followers on Twitter.  I DON'T auto-follow and I NEVER join lists that promise you thousands of followers.  If you're going for numbers then go ahead and do it that way.  Here's what I do:

• Check out people following me and if they look interesting then I'll happily follow them back.
• Look at who's following people I follow or who are following me.  This can often turn up a few gems - especially if you move in the same circles, as you'll find people you didn't know were on Twitter.
• Check your Twitter stream.  Who's replying to your followers?  You can often find people to follow through who other people are reply to and Re-Tweeting.
• Use tools like Twellow and GeoChirp to find people in a particular industry or in your area.
• When you meet people at offline networking events you'll often find that they're also on Twitter, find their Twitter ID and follow them.
• Use Google or an internet search engine to check a person's name and see if they're on Twitter.  Not everyone uses their own name for Twitter - they may use their Company name.
• Check people's contact details in their online profiles - they'll probably list their Twitter name there too (or they should do).
• Check #FollowFriday tweets - people recommend others to follow.  Add a few of your own and give a reason so other people can check them out too.

You'll grow your followers and you'll find that the more you tweet and the more you participate, the more quickly it will happen.

How Much Time Do You Spend On Social Media

An interesting talk from Lee Cottier on "Social Media vs Time Management".  http://is.gd/75EcG

Links in nicely to this month's newsletter and to a talk I heard on Radio 4's Today programme this morning discussing comments made on a Twitter account by a Labour MP. http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/listen_again/default.stm

We all know about Social Media but how aware are we of protecting our image in such a public environment?

February Newsletter: Are You Making The Most Of Your Social Media Time?

Social Media is a great marketing tool but you do need to be clear about your reasons are for using it. Otherwise it becomes just another source of distraction and a way to while away the hours.

Make sure that you're not spending/wasting all your online time, by following a few basic principles: ...

Read the rest of the article in this month's free newsletter, just register on my website. Free tips, advice, information and news on how to improve your time management for your business and personal life.

Brand Awareness on Twitter

Hats off to BT, although I could have done without the problem in the first place, they've been pretty prompt and communicative in fixing the fault with my phone line. My phone started playing up on Tuesday.  I could make outgoing calls and my broadband wasn't affected - or it could have been more serious - imagine being without Twitter for 2 days!

Having reported it to my provider Utility Warehouse - they passed it on to BT and kept me up to date via text message.  Not only did the engineer call me on my mobile before and after he'd worked on and fixed the fault but I've just received a Tweet from @BTCare.  Less than 48hrs after it was reported the problem has been fixed.

Good to see that some companies are monitoring their brand on social media platforms.

Twitter Account Hacked?

Always be wary of entering your online account details into websites.  Spammers and hackers are quick to jump on to the latest trends and Twitter seems to be their latest target.

Twitter accounts are regularly getting hacked - judging from the number of my followers sending me direct messages (DMs) to test my IQ or check out my photo with a tempting link to click on.  When you click on the link it asks for your Twitter Account details.  Of course if you do - they've now got your details.

Check the URL - you might spot something's not quite right - misspelling, seeming to emulate a real URL but with added info e.g. http://www.twitter.com.fake.spam.co.uk

If you find you've been hacked - here's what to do.

http://help.twitter.com/forums/10713/entries/31796

Be wary of third party apps that request your Twitter (or Facebook) account details.  If you're not sure - don't. You can probably survive without the latest widget or app rather than risk having your account details hacked.

Spam emails are now enticing you to update your Facebook, Twitter, Myspace account details.  Same thing applies for the URL - it's usually not what it appears.  Don't fall for it.

Finding Followers On Twitter

One of my Twitter followers recently asked me how to find new people to follow.

Here's a few of the ways I find them.

• Check your own followers followers - you might either find someone you already know but didn't know was on Twitter or come across someone interesting to follow.

• Check out sites like MrTweet, WeFollow if you're interested in a specific area or business.

• Look at Twitterholic and find other Tweeters in your location - town, city, area, country. Great if you're focusing on a particular location.
  

• Look at your Twitterstream - you'll see snippets of conversations with people you're not yet following. If they have something interesting to say, check out their Twitter profile and follow them.

• Check out the #followfriday tweets from your followers - who are they following and recommending.
  

Personally I'd say DON'T autofollow - you may end up following people you really have no interest or connection with or those who are just interested in numbers or have one-way traffic.

AVOID the 'get more followers' or 'find hundreds of followers' schemes - for me, they're the equivalent of junk mail. You'll get lots but how useful or interesting will it really be?

How I Use Twitter

People use Twitter in many different ways - I thought it might be useful to let you know how I use Twitter, so you know what to expect.

I primarily use Twitter to follow people in my network and to let people know what I'm up to. That doesn't always mean I'll be telling you when I'm off to make a cup of coffee or what I'm having for lunch. Yes, that does happen occasionally but I like to have brief conversations with people, to respond to other people's Tweets, to pass on information, to send out occasional time tips and to let you know when my latest newsletter is out, when I've got a teleclass or workshop on and when I get an article posted.

I'll try to be useful, informative and interesting and if you send me a message or ask me a question then I'll respond either publicly or privately and I'll happily point you in the right direction if I don't have the answer.

I do use Twitterfeed to feed posts from my blogs as it saves time reposting or duplicating material and I'm all for that.

If you follow me I will always check out your Twitter profile to find out more about you and what you do. So, it helps to have a bio on your profile, your full name and a website link, as I'll often click on those if I want to find out more. I'll probably send you a direct message, shortly after you start following me. I don't auto-DM, so if you get a message from me, I've sent it personally, even if it is a brief introductory message.

I don't auto-follow and I may or may not follow you back. It often depends on if I know you, if you know someone I know, what you do, what your interests are, how many followers you have and the type of tweets. Having thousands of followers or only having one way traffic in your tweets is unlikely to make me want to follow you. However, I have wide and varied interests, so I'll often follow someone unusual or a bit different or just for fun.

If you'd like to find out more then Follow Me and see what happens.

Are You Tweeting Yet?

You may or may not have heard of the latest phenomenon to hit the web. It's called Twitter and it's been popping up all over the place on TV and Radio with the likes of Stephen Fry and Jonathan Ross now tweeting.

While the original purpose may have been to let people know "What Are You Doing?", most people aren't really that interested in what you had for breakfast, that you're helping the kids with their homework or that you're just off to do some shopping but they might be interested in your expertise, they could have an answer to your question and you might just find out how to do ... well, just about anything. You only have to ask.

Twitter messages are limited to 140 characters, so it's like sending a text message but via the web. You can send a message to all your Followers (people who have signed up to receive your Tweets - as Twitter messages are called), reply to a Tweet (@) by including the Tweeter's name eg. @clareevans or send a direct message (d) that only that person will receive.

I love the quick and easy way that Twitter works. You can get a whole wealth of information in just 140 characters. For me, it's a great way to keep in touch with my contacts and wider network and to connect with people on a more regular basis than I would if I spent my time emailing or phoning them.

There are several people I recommend you follow if you're new to Twitter. @markshaw has plenty of links to useful info and often Re-Tweets (RT) things he finds. @NikkiPilkington has a whole blog on "Twitter for Business" and @grahamjones also has lots of useful info on Twitter.

On the international side there is @ProBlogger @chrisbrogan and @mashable - are just a few of several, prolific online media marketing people. Dozens more I could mention as well as the Celeb Tweeters and other more obscure people who are fun to follow, if you've got the time.

Connect with your contacts, connect with your customers and clients. Have different Twitter accounts for different, focused tweets (use Twhirl to manage multiple accounts).

BUT - plan your Twitter Time along with your other marketing/business time, so you don't find your day disappearing in a stream of Twitter chat! Use tools like Twitterfeed, Tweetdeck or Twhirl to manage your 'stream' so that you can filter your Tweets into useful groups.

Follow me on Twitter.