Targeted Followers....part 2

A simple way for beginners to target people can be found on the Twitter site under the heading "Find People".  You will then see a tab for "browse interests".  Click on this and you will see about 20 different topics to find people to follow.  The problem with this is it is way too general.  If you want to really reach Targeted Followers....you need much better tools than that.

I have used a software with 6 laser targeted search options.  I can find people to follow based on profile data (keywords, # of followers, location, and more),  keywords in tweets, geographic location, followers of another user, followed by another user and Twitter lists.


Why is this an important tool?  Let's pretend that your company sells widgets to Civil Engineers.  They only market this product within 500 miles.  You could search profiles for "civil engineers within 500 miles" to get an entire list of names to follow.  You might also search Tweets for competitor's products...and follow these people too.  Let's say you found out that John Doe was a competitor of yours...and he had a follower list that was mostly Civil Engineers....you could follow determine which people you want to follow on his list.  Click  here to see the software  that helps you target followers.    Warning....this software is like a Ferrari....it is very powerful.   In this analogy, I might have a car that can do 200mph...but that does not mean I have to drive it that fast.  The same can be said for this software.....Learn to use it slowly...do not get yourself in trouble on Twitter.

As we discussed earlier, everyone you follow will not follow you back.  I have ranged from 10% to 50% on this...with the average being close to 20%.  In the above example, let's say you were able to follow 5,000 targeted people over a period of time.....and 20% followed you back.  You now have a Targeted list of 1,000 people!  These are people that are interested in what you are selling.   Can you start to see the value of having Targeted Followers?

Are your followers targeted?

I have visited with many business people who have proudly shown me their Twitter accounts.  Although they may have hundreds….or even thousands of followers; there is a common problem…their followers were not targeted.   They are following anybody…and hoping that somehow, someway people will follow them back.   These people have an assortment of followers ranging from internet marketers to porn to chemical engineers.

Imagine for a minute that you have a company that sells the best baby stroller in the world.  You would much rather reach young mothers than the assortment I listed above.   Now, how valuable would it be to you to have 2,000 or 10,000 young mothers all following your baby stroller company on Twitter?   The value of that is priceless…because these are the people that are interested in what you are saying and selling.

Not Everyone Likes Me : (

Very early in your time with Twitter you are going to realize that:

1. Not everyone likes (follows) you

2. Some of the people whom you thought liked you are going to dump you

I recall my early days on Twitter, trying so hard to get a few followers.  I would follow people….but the far majority would not follow me back.  That’s a lot of people that did not like me!  lol  Well actually, those people just did not see a good reason to follow me.  Maybe the link to my web pg was not working, or my profile info was  less than descriptive or they were not impressed with the Tweets I had sent out recently.   The bottom line, make sure your profile, tweets and web site all look good to a stranger who is considering following you.  You also need to make sure you are targeting people who might be interested in what you are saying.   I will share more on targeted followers soon.

Another huge shock for me in my early days of Twitter was when I lost 25 people in a day!  How could they leave me?  No explanation….I was dumped!   Well, that was a learning experience.  You need to realize that people are going to unfollow you.   Even the most popular people in the world get unfollowed on Twitter.  What is the the solution to this – always be adding targeted people to your followers to make up for those that left you.

To Tweet or not to Tweet

Should you be on Twitter for your business or personal interests? That all depends on what you want to accomplish with it. My name is Steve (steveb2u on Twitter) and I want to share what I have learned about Twitter with you. I currently have over 75,000 followers and that is growing every day. Do I know everything about Twitter…..absolutely not! I do not think anyone….including Twitter…..understands every aspect of this particular Social Media. I do understand enough to help you avoid some of the challenges I have faced along the way…..and that is the purpose of this blog.

I have worked with a number of clients on this topic and most of the comments I hear are: I do not understand Twitter, Isn’t Twitter just for kids, How can I get a large number of followers, and How is Twitter good for my business?

These questions and more will be answered in this blog, so please check back often to get more Twitter tips!