Last Friday I explained why I don’t want to do #FollowFridays on Twitter anymore. I also shared some links to help newcomers understand exactly what #FollowFriday is supposed to be all about. So rather than repeat myself, please pop over to last Friday’s post and catch up. Plus, you will find a few of my favorite people I follow on Twitter and decide if you want to follow them too.
This week, before I give my second edition of weekly recommendations, I thought it might be helpful to explain some general guidelines I have for how I decide if I am going to follow – or not follow – someone. These are some tips I have picked up from other more experienced Twitter personalities as well as some that I have found work for me in the pursuit of my goals on Twitter (which you can read about HERE). Maybe you will find these guidelines useful, or maybe you have some of your own you would like to share. I would love to hear and learn from what helps in your decision-making process. Drop a comment and add to the conversation!
To understand some of these reasons, I think it’s important to know that I go through every single profile of people that follow me in order to determine if I want to follow them back. At this point I follow over 2200 people and seem to average about 50 new followers per day, so I don’t often actively go looking for new people to follow. However, when I first started on Twitter 3 months ago, I spent quite a bit of time researching and looking for people of similar interests to follow using various search tools such as these:
Now that I’ve built a substantial following and lengthened the list of those I follow, I spend 1 or 2 times throughout the week going through all new followers’ profiles one by one. Here are the things I look for:
Avatar – If you have not yet created a custom Twitter avatar – at least just a picture of yourself or your logo – I immediately move on. This may seem judgmental or harsh, but I have found that a high percentage of user accounts without a custom avatar are either spammers or not that serious about Twitter in the first place. Someone who has taken a few minutes to create an avatar – the primary representation of the account in the Twitter stream – usually is worth taking the next step to see what they’re about. Plus, if it’s a fun, interesting, humorous or well-designed avatar, it grabs my interest right off the bat.
Account Name – If your account name is a jumble of consonants or words I don’t understand, or something like “GetRichToday”, I am going to take a leap in the dark and assume you are either a spammer, porn, or someone trying to sell something. I’m not interested in any of these things. But if your account name is a person, or something related to my interests, then I want to know more.
Profile Background - For me, this is not a high priority in determining if I’m going to follow you. Plenty of wonderful people do not have the ability to create a fun or funky Twitter background. But if you have one that gives more insight into who you are, and it’s colorful or interesting in any way, I will definitely think more about following you. (Shameless plug: if you need a Twitter background professionally designed for you, I provide this service starting at only $50! Just let me know! Now, back to our regularly scheduled program.)
Bio - Your Twitter bio is the quickest insight into who you are and why you’re on Twitter. If you describe yourself as an expert in or guru of something, we’re done. I believe anyone that claims that title has determined they are no longer learning, and in my past I have learned from the mistake of believing I had more to teach than learn. I’m not interested in hanging out with people who are done learning (translated “know-it-all”). If your bio describes you as someone who can help me get rich with little or no effort, or you are into MLM programs or the Law of Attraction, or anything else like that, we’re done. Apologies if this offends you, but I don’t subscribe to any of those “belief systems”. And although it would be nice to never have to worry about money, I’m not interested in trying to get rich. I just want enough to provide for my family and have fun and freedom in my life. I’m doing okay with that so far.
But if your Twitter bio is funny, interesting or of similar interests to mine, I will probably follow you. I’ve followed some people that I have nothing in common with, simply because I thought their bio was clever and/or witty.
Follows To Follower Ratio - Very simple. If you have 5 people following you and you are following 500, there is a pretty good chance you’re using some kind of automated following tool. I’m just not that into automated following, so unless something else on the page can sway my decision, we’re done. Again, I realize people have to get started somehow, and trying to get people to follow you can become a bit of a desperation act, but I need to be able to determine some value in following you. This statistic alone will not end it for me, but it does impact my thought process.
Recent Tweets - the last thing I look at on the page is the list of your most recent tweets. This is really going to give me insight into what will be added to the tweets I’m reading each day. If you don’t have any tweets at all, we’re done. If you only have 1-5 since you opened the account 3 months ago, we’re done. If your tweets are littered with self-promotion, Twitter Traffic Machines or other scams, we’re done. But if your tweets show that you provide value, interesting links, humor and/or interact with others on Twitter, then I’m sold. It’s why I’m there! And I’ll be looking for your tweets from this point forward!
Most likely these guidelines are nothing new – they are not necessarily original to me. But they are a vital part of my process for streamlining and building my experience on Twitter. So far, so good!
Now on to this week’s recommendations. I hope you will explore these wonderful Twitter folks and find them as engaging and interesting as I do. If you feel that I have wrongly left you out, feel free to let me know. There will be a new list every week, so don’t worry! See you here soon, I hope!
I hope you enjoy this week’s recommendations and find them to be as wonderful as I do. If you ever decide you would like to recommend me to your followers or to anyone else, would you please take a second and use the great tool called Mr. Tweet? It is fast becoming a great resource for finding great people to follow on Twitter, and the more people recommend you the easier it is for others to find you. Thanks again!
- « How I Got 3500+ Twitter Followers In 90 Days (By Just Being Me!)
- » Challenging Integrity: Personal and Professional Branding
- RELATED / YOU MIGHT FIND THESE INTERESTING
Comments ( 34 )
[...] This post was Twitted by EdLovesSumo [...]
Twitted by EdLovesSumo added these pithy words on Jul 03 09 at 10:30 pm[...] This post was Twitted by bkmacdaddy [...]
Twitted by bkmacdaddy added these pithy words on Jul 04 09 at 11:58 am[...] This post was Twitted by vinothperiasamy [...]
Twitted by vinothperiasamy added these pithy words on Jul 05 09 at 1:31 amCool! I’m flattered to be on your list with these other wonderful people and I also found some new Tweeps from you post. Much nicer to have an explaination than just a random list of @names to follow! Thanks, Dude – and I DO laugh at your jokes…b/c you’re funny!
[Reply]
JenniferClement added these pithy words on
Jul 03 09 at
9:56 am
yeah BKM I am following them all, thanks for recommnedations. Thank you for such a beautiful post. Just Keep Tweeting
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bkmacdaddy Reply:
July 3rd, 2009 at 11:01 amCool! Glad this was helpful. Thanks for all your support here and on Twitter!
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Neotericuk added these pithy words on
Jul 03 09 at
10:40 am
Dude! you rock
Awesome blog post too!
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bkmacdaddy Reply:
July 3rd, 2009 at 1:15 pmThanks for visiting, Cam. But I believe you rock MUCH more!
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Cam added these pithy words on
Jul 03 09 at
11:25 am
I totally agree that this is so much better than a bunch of #FollowFriday tweets! I love the explanation at the top for why you choose to follow people. I can’t believe how many tweeters don’t fill in their bio. It drives me crazy!! Thanks so much for including me in your awesome list!! You are DEFINITELY one of my Twitter favorites, and always at the top of my #FF list
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bkmacdaddy Reply:
July 3rd, 2009 at 1:16 pmManda,
You are quite welcome. I love your work and your blog and I hope this helps others find and enjoy you too!
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Manda Szewczyk added these pithy words on
Jul 03 09 at
11:28 am
I follow all of those people as well. Good post.
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Pliggs added these pithy words on
Jul 03 09 at
12:16 pm
Soory to double post, but I meant to say I follow most of those people, sorry.
[Reply]
bkmacdaddy Reply:
July 3rd, 2009 at 1:16 pmNo prob on the double post, my friend! Hehe…thanks for stopping by and dropping a comment.
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Pliggs added these pithy words on
Jul 03 09 at
12:18 pm
Hey man thanks for the inclusion! I guess the wisdom of coffee is indeed…en-java-nating.
Do not drink decaf, for it is like mud-flavored water. –Coffee Proverb
[Reply]
bkmacdaddy Reply:
July 3rd, 2009 at 1:17 pmAh, the mighty Coffee Guru has graced my blog with his presence. Thank you again for your java wisdom, O Great One.
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Coffee Guru added these pithy words on
Jul 03 09 at
12:43 pm
Enjoyed your post and am now following your recommendations. Love this format! And I truly admire you and all your talents. Thanks so much!
[Reply]
bkmacdaddy Reply:
July 3rd, 2009 at 1:18 pmHi Decotta,
Glad you like it. Have fun with these new friends – I know you’ll love ‘em!
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Decotta added these pithy words on
Jul 03 09 at
12:46 pm
WOW, thank’s so much for the inclusion! Your opening quote married quite well to your criteria. Pretty darn clever! I’ve only been tweeting for about a month and you’ve really helped to make my experience worthy, if not great fodder for my periods of procrastination!
[Reply]
bkmacdaddy Reply:
July 4th, 2009 at 11:25 pmSharon,
Glad I have been able to help! I’m still learning too but I figure it’s best to share what little bit I’ve gained in hopes that it will help others. Thanks for the support!
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Sharon Landon added these pithy words on
Jul 03 09 at
2:56 pm
Great recommendations. I agree with all except the law of attraction viewpoint
Thanks for sharing your insight. Ryan
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poverty consciousness added these pithy words on
Jul 03 09 at
4:40 pm
Great Read and Thanks for the recommendation. All those people you listed are great, was following most of them anyway!
Awesome blog dude and i dare you to go without coffee for a day!!lol
[Reply]
bkmacdaddy Reply:
July 4th, 2009 at 11:27 pmGerrel,
You know very well that I CHOOSE not to go without coffee. But I could skip it if I chose to.
Thanks for the kind words![Reply]
Gerrel Saunders added these pithy words on
Jul 03 09 at
4:58 pm
Oops! sorry Dude, a make a #followfriday today for you. Sorry.
[Reply]
bkmacdaddy Reply:
July 4th, 2009 at 11:28 pmNo apologies necessary, Luis. I’m not opposed to #FollowFridays’ original intentions and really appreciate the mention. It’s the abuse of it that is bothersome to me and apparently many others. Thanks for visiting the blog!
[Reply]
Luis Ahmed added these pithy words on
Jul 03 09 at
5:03 pm
My friend, you are way too much generous and that is one neatly explained things that all twitter user should understand. Gratitude and Cheers to you friend because you are simply awesome and excellence is your power.
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Ruhani Rabin added these pithy words on
Jul 04 09 at
5:45 am
((i can’t wait to have my site ((finally)) completed, so that i can do the same..
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meg added these pithy words on
Sep 11 09 at
1:56 pm
Thanks Brian! I have followed @SharonLandon and @CreativeOpera.
Actually wanted to follow @dambold but he protected his tweets and I don’t know what he’s going to tweet since he’s a total stranger to me…I respect your thoughts in this post! Enjoy your weekend!
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Charles Lau added these pithy words on
Sep 25 09 at
12:07 pm
Another thing I look for is do they actually engage other people. If I see their recent tweets, and ALL of them are quotes, news articles or things about themselves or their business… well, what fun is that? I want to follow someone that is going to be engaging… respond to people, be SOCIAL.
Also – a big red flag is someone that has a screen full of bit.ly short URLs on the end of each of their tweets. Are they trying to send me to some teeth whitener site, a get rich quick site, etc? It just screams deceptive when they’re not engaging people, and all they have is short URLs.
[Reply]
bkmacdaddy Reply:
October 15th, 2009 at 2:30 pmThanks for the blog visit and comment, Keith. Just followed you since we’re Tallahassee neighbors.
One thing on the bit.ly links: url shortening is absolutely necessary on Twitter due to the 140-character limit. Just look at the URL for this blog post! It would never fit! Plus, many people use bit.ly or other shorteners to track their links and provide click-through analytics. I do this for my blog posts to see how many clicks I get on my tweets and compare that data with Google Analytics, since there have been studies and articles written pointing out the discrepancies between the two. Third, Twitter itself automatically shortens all links using bit.ly’s service, so there’s not really any way around that.
Just wanted to help you see that everyone who’s using a URL shortener is not necessarily spamming you.
Thanks again – and looking forward to getting to know you via Twitter and maybe even at a Tally Tweetup sometime.[Reply]
Keith Barineau added these pithy words on
Oct 15 09 at
2:22 pm
No, I totally agree and understand using URL shorteners in tweets. I should have clarified that I’m just referring to people that are replying or RT at all, and all they have is a short sentence with a bit.ly link on the end.
Anyway – cool, I didn’t even notice you were in Tallahassee. Thx for the follow.
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Keith Barineau added these pithy words on
Oct 15 09 at
2:37 pm
OOPS! I mean “people that are NOT replying or RT at all” … i.e. not engaging followers.
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Keith Barineau added these pithy words on
Oct 15 09 at
2:38 pm
Big fan of your posts and your tweets. This is a pretty resourceful little post that made me think about how I tweet.
Fact: @jasondefra used to be my neighbor until he moved to the other side of town. We also went to the same university and share the same major. Funny guy with a great personality and a good friend.
Keep the content rich and fresh, as always.
Brett
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Brett Widmann added these pithy words on
Feb 03 10 at
5:38 am
Add a Comment
bkmacdaddy Reply:
July 3rd, 2009 at 11:00 am
Jennifer,
Thanks for the blog visit! Glad you like the inclusion. Hope this will help others enjoy following you too. I’ll try to keep up the jokes. Oh…the pressure!
[Reply]