Are you a Twitter snob? Don't know what a Twitter snob is and if you're in that category?
From where I sit a Twitter snob is someone who wants lots of followers but only follows a few back. You're out of balance and have no intention of conversing with your thousands of followers. You feel what you have to say is very important and many people should listen, but you're not interested in hearing what your followers are saying. Sound familiar?
But you say, "I don't want to follow lots of people because I don't want to be spammed and marketed to." Seriously? Really? First of all, you notice you're following someone on Twitter who is "spamming" (tweeting every minute and not conversing), click the "UNFOLLOW" button. Spamming, in my eyes, is aggressive, but a little shameless self-promotion or marketing is good. I've gotten some of the best news and deals from individuals who are sharing/marketing themselves, but also replying and re-tweeting.
For example, when I first found Tina Stull, @tinastullracing on Twitter, she had about 8,000 followers. Today she has grown her Twitter account to 52,962 Followers, but she follows 52,383. My point is she is keeping a healthy balance and sharing. Personally, Tina has listed my personal account, @lgsears on Twitter, in her list "Real Tweeters - people who respond and actually talk." Hint, Hint, respond and talk to each other. Yes, Tina and I have conversed on Twitter and Facebook.
So you say, "That's great but what has that many followers done for her?" This is a true testament to the ROI capabilities of social media. Tina is now in the Sears catalog and part of the Blue tool crew. Fitting for a female drag race driver! Sears chose her due in part to her Twitter presence. Not bad . . .
So when you think you're only going to follow a few select people and ignore the rest of us, think again. If your objective for Twitter is too bring awareness, exposure and effect an ROI, reciprocating and following back would be a very good idea.
For those individuals whose Twitter objective is to just "hook up" with friends, that's fine and obvious to the general public. You might want to even "block" your account so the general public can't see your tweets.
Twitter is a wonderful platform to build a community when you use the "What's happening now" mind set. The point is be friendly, follow back, retweet, reply and share, it's what works.
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I love this because it is so easy to have an inflated sense of audience on Twitter & then have it come crashing down as you see that others view you as just a number or a means to an end. Tina is such an excellent example of personal integrity. We've interacted before on Twitter, and she has a way about her of lifting her friends to view the world from her vistas. Such a gift & such a blessing!
ReplyDeleteThank you Jake for your wonderful words. I, 24/7 Live Reps, embrace social media passionately like Tina Stull. Social's first meaning on dictionary.com is "marked by FRIENDLY relations". I think some twitter individuals/brands have forgotten the #1 reason to be on social media sites. Just sayin. . .
ReplyDeleteGreat post and insight too Jake. I also advocate the fact that being on a social media platform is actually and literally meant to be SOCIAL. For interacting personally, technology indeed has given us so many options.
ReplyDeleteThanks you for sharing it with the world. Will keep glued for more such posts from you. Spreading love and tweets can make a difference. : ) i follow Tina too.
I thought it was just me. For a while now I've felt like I was talking to my kids- starting conversations, asking questions with virtually little or no response. Great post, I'll be keeping an eye open for more.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Very important to converse and not just expect people to look at you. Do you guys have any book recommendations about Twitter?
ReplyDeleteEric,
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and commenting. The book "The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use Social Media, Blogs, News Releases, Online Video, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly", is creating a buzz among my peers. Amazon.com has given the book a 4.5 star rating.