Building Your Twitter Followers: Slow but Steady Wins the Race!

There is a lot of hype on Twitter now about these auto-follow programs, building followers on auto-pilot.  But is that really the best way? I suppose for some it may be, but I prefer to use the old fashioned method of networking.  It's what Twitter was made for.  Sometimes event this method can get you fast results, but often it will take more time, with your follower growth gaining momentum as you establish your reputation and credibility within the online community. Slow but steady wins the race!

Networking and effective social media marketing is about much more than numbers. Growing your followers manually assures a personal and targeted approach.  You know who you are inviting and who you are following.  You communicate, converse, and build a relationship with them. The first step to building followers is to follow.  Here are some tips to locate people you want to follow:

Search for people with like interests. The great thing about Twitter is that people are there to share as well as to learn and help one another.  Don't be afraid to have "competition" in your group.  I guarantee you can learn from them, and them from you.  There is something they can offer that you can't and something you can offer that they can't - it's the beauty of networking.  You can use Twitters Search for people, or one of the numerous apps such as Monitter or TweetDeck to view streams mentioning kekywords. Follow them and establish communication.  I will write another article soon outlining some of the great apps you can use with Twitter.

Use Twellow to find more people who might be interested in you, or who have like interests. Twellow is like the Twitter Yellow Pages, you can find people in specific locations and/or in certain fields.  A great way to find a targeted group of people to follow.

Look at the people who have followed those with like interests. Don't necessarily follow them - only follow the ones you believe you could offer something to, and those who could offer value to you.

Keep in mind when following people that those who have high followers but low following will most likely not follow you back.  Only follow if you believe their tweets are something that will benefit you. Otherwise you will clog up your stream with unwanted tweets.

The next step is to be seen. There are some great apps and methods that will help others looking for people to follow to follow you.

Apps to list yourself/business in:
- Twellow
- TweetPenquin
- WeFollow

Other ways to be viewed by those not already following you:
- Use hashtags (#) that are already in use. If you tweet a quote use #quote.  A marketing tip use #marketing.  Many people have a running search for these keywords and tweting with them will allow more people to see what you offer.  When they like your tweets they will follow.
- Use keywords.  Think of words people would use to find you or your product/service.  Be sure to use those words in tweets as well as your profile.
- Comment in forums, blogs and articles, mentioning that you can be followed on Twitter (include a link to your profile)
- Submit articles & blogs that link to your Twitter Profile.
- Add your Twitter profile to your other  Social Networking accounts such as FaceBook & LinkedIn.

Of course once you get the followers you want to keep them!

- Make sure you follow back those who follow you, it's simple etiquette.  A good way to protect yourself from spammers when doing this is to use TweetLater and unfollow those who unfollow you - use the 24 hour delay in case an unfollow is accidental.
- Be sure you tweet regularly and tweet value.  Don't just talk about your lunch or your sick dog.
- Don't just talk at your followers, talk with them.  Respond to questions, join & start conversations.

Using these methods will help you to grow a great, targeted community that you will enjoy being a part of.  Don't worry too much about your "twitter grade" or how "influential" you are - simply be you and enjoy your experience with your newfound Twitter friends.  For more Twitter & Social Media Marketing tips visit me at http://buzzbig.wordpress.com.  Happy Tweeting!