If Twitter was around during the making of the Wizard Of Oz, then Dorothy would have had a follower strategy for Twitter! Since Dorothy followed the Yellow Brick Road, she was able to find relevant friends and organize her search for a way to return to Kansas!
By developing a follower strategy for Twitter, you will increase your social network and find success too. Your strategy will help you to stay on track by using a solid following strategy and great content and messaging to receive a valuable pay out, like Dorothy’s return to Kansas.
What Is A Twitter Follower Strategy?
A follow strategy for Twitter is a set of rules of engagement to determine if someone or some company should be followed. Like the guidelines given by Glenda the Good Witch, you need to develop your own rules of engagement to follow Twitter users so you can find who you are looking for to follow you. This strategic focus on whom you will follow will help you connect with the people in your potential network who count! For example, if you were a software sales executive you might want to follow a mix of cloud computing contacts: thought leaders, customers, prospects, individuals with titles and positions who can influence a cloud computing purchase (no matter if they are in your sales territory). The same approach would go if you were a bakery or craft beer bar. Whatever type of business you run, your strategy document needs to articulate your follower strategy for Twitter.
Why It’s Important To Have A Follower Strategy For Twitter
It is critical for your business, or personal brand to focus on a follower strategy for Twitter to help you:
- Find And Get On The Radar Of Meaningful Contacts. Following users who will have an interest in your brand, content or messaging, will get you on their radar. They may even return the favor and follow you back. Even if you don’t receive a follow back, you will have a very focused group of meaningful contacts. It is likely 20-40% of contacts you follow will follow you back if you have an active and relevant Twitter feed along with a professional and completed Twitter profile.
- Keep You Organized And On The Road To Success. A purposeful and organized approach to your Twitter followers keeps your news stream focused on the content that makes sense for you. Using a ‘follower filter’ to build up your Twitter following eliminates the need to pare down superfluous streams of content that do not add value to you or those who list you! As Scarecrow said, “Well, some people without brains do an awful lot of talking don’t they?”
- Help You Generate Sales. With a focused list of followers, you are able to connect with this group with Twitter mentions, retweets and questions, whether or not they follow you back! Having a follower strategy lets you connect, nurture and close customers with value-add messaging and content instead of intrusive phone calls. You should think about creating an editorial calendar to connect and engage with your followers so you can further spark and maintain your relationship.
Do you have other reasons to support the importance of a Twitter follow strategy? If so, please share below! Or reach out to me directly on MarketingThink.com, on LinkedIn or, on Twitter.
What Twitter follower success for you lies behind the curtain? If you follow this advice to create a follower strategy for Twitter, then you just might find out. Your Twitter following is truly in your hands and can become a great asset for you if you have a clear and articulate strategy. “Now”, as Dorothy said, “which way do we go?”