Twitter Follow Rules – Who To Follow
Do you have any specific rules when following people on Twitter? Here is some good advice from Yvonne Perry. You can follow Yvonne here -> http://twitter.com/writersinthesky
1 – First, I look at the avatar or photo of the Tweeter. I want to get an idea of who I am interacting with. No photo, no follow. I prefer to see a photo of the real person–not their dog, their logo, kids, or a caricature.
2 – Second, I read the Tweeter’s bio. If the bio is interesting and complete, I am much more likely to follow that person than if there is only a URL or a few words that don’t really tell me what the person does or enjoys. Since Twitter has shut down their “search by category” feature, the bio is a quick way to see if I share common interests, business goals, location, or area of expertise with the potential Tweeter. Even if the person is my competitor, I hope to learn something from them.
3 – Next, I read through the person’s recent Tweets to find out what type of information her or she is offering. Big turn offs: 90 percent of the messages are in reply to someone else and I have no idea what they are talking about. While I appreciate the interaction, I feel like I’m intruding on a private conversation if there are no other types of exchange. Big plus: links to helpful tips, articles, and even products to check out. I want interesting content, not just a URL with no explanation as to what I might find by clicking.
4 – Then, I look at the number of updates and the date of the last Tweet. If the person is not active on Twitter, there’s no point in following him or her. If someone Tweets fifty times a day about nothing more than their hairdo or what they’re eating, I’m probably not interested.
5 – I use Twitter.grader.com. This service evaluates using criteria similar to what I use to decide whether or not I want to follow someone. If I am leaning toward clicking the follow button but I’m still not sure, I will actually go to the trouble of checking a person’s grade on Twitter. If the Tweeter has a high grade, I will probably consider following him or her. If Grader doesn’t rank a person high, I’ll probably pass–not permanently–I may come back later to see if the score improves. It could be that the Tweeter is new to Twitter and doesn’t have much history for Grader to use in giving a score.
6 – Lastly, I check the ratio of followers to following. If a person’s Tweets are interesting and helpful, people will follow in return. If someone is following 1,000 people and only 65 are following them, I suspect the person is either a spammer, a newbie, or boring.
So, if you are following me and I’m not following you in return, check the above points and make a few simple changes. Not only am I likely to follow you, so are others!
Yvonne Perry is a freelance writer and the owner of Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services (WITS). She and her team of ghostwriters are ready to assist you with writing and editing for books, Web text, business documents, resumes, bios, articles, and media releases.
For more information about writing, networking, publishing, and book promotion, or to sign up for free email delivery of WITS newsletter, please visit http://www.writersinthesky.com New subscribers receive a free eBook Tips for Freelance Writing.
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Comments
I don’t have the time to enforce many rules for twitter followers.
I basically check to make sure (1) they aren’t spammers, or (2) they have a tendency to follow followers. If, for example, someone has 3,000 followers but is only following 300 people, I generally won’t follow.
Great post. Thanks. I also do most of the above but I haven’t gone to the Twitter.grader to check this out as a step. Typically, if their bio interesting, then I typically just stop there.
Great confirmation of what I thought were just my instincts. I don’t follow people who haven’t given the most basic information (picture, bio, website). I almost always click on the website if it’s given.
I’m also turned off my looking at posts that are almost exclusively, “Look at my website,” “Let me help you make a million dollars today, ” etc. It’s boring.
thanks for the great article!
Jack, you are awesome! Thank you for posting this! I owe you!
As you can tell by my Tweets, I do a lot of interacting with other Tweeple. I love the relationship aspect but I have to do a little marketing to make it worth the huge amounts of time I spent on Twitter.
Excellent post! I was using it as a checklist as I read, and found something that I hadn’t thought about before that could greatly impact my following.
Thanks Yvonne!
Thank you for your guidelines. As I read and make judgments about the various individuals and their tweets, I attempt to carve out a style that fits me. Obviously, every post is subject to many different opinions as readers interpret for themselves what the tweet means to them. However, it is great that people like you provide your recommended guidelines. I look forward to including them as I go forward using Twitter. I also welcome other opinions and suggestions for what makes others enjoy and benefit from Twitter. Your suggestion to use Twitter.grading is especially helpful.
Best wishes to your continuing success!
Interesting post – I must admit I checked my Twitter grade before writing this comment 
On the whole I agree with Yvonne apart from point 3 – I actually like to see some @replies because it shows active participation
One biggie for me is the follow back – if I see someone with thousands of followers but only following a few back then I’m not interested. I have members of our government following me and I take the view that if they can follow me back, so can Joe Nobody who thinks he’s a somebody.
I also tend not to follow shovel sellers any more, most of them have no idea how to develop a relationship on Twitter (or Facebook for that matter)
Incidentally, if you want to find followers who have the same interests, twellow.com is a good place to go.
Very interesting article! Thank you, Jack, for sharing Yvonne Perry’s viewpoint.
I have found several “mistakes” that I am personally making (for instance, I didn’t think that people would instantly judge me by the avatar and not by my bio). (see #1)
Also, I seem to find a lot of relevant information and interesting people in the @replies. (see #3) Sometimes searching through Twellow (which is I highly recommend as a database for finding similar interests and relevant information) doesn’t necessarily bring out the gems. And, if Twitter is acually social, I find people who constantly spout out information to be a bit boorish, don’t you? So scattered @replies might make the Tweeter seem a bit more personable.
The follower/following ratio can be a great clue, I agree, but I hope you don’t miss out on those “newbies” who might be diamonds in the rough!
Excellent article for stirring up some buzz! It really started me thinking about my goals on Twitter and just how I’m “optimizing” my time/followship in the Twitterverse.
If you take a look at @writersinthesky you will see that I do enjoy @replies and DMs. I try to keep a balance between posting business info and chatting openly about a matter others aren’t privy to. I don’t want folks to feel like they are eavesdropping on a private conversation, though I realize this is common to Twitter. I like to socialize and give good information that people can use, but in order for the effort to be worth my time, I’ve got to pull in a book sale or client from time to time.
I’ve become more lenient lately about who I follow simply because I don’t want to miss informative Tweets or great friendships, but now I have another problem: I am following more people than I can possibly engage with directly. I may have to unfollow folks just so I can maintain mutual connection with the ones I’ve already established.
[...] I have also found this piece by Jack Bastide to be a good one for those who want tips on how to gain a large following in social media (this applies to Twitter but the rules can apply in any network). Twitter Follow Rules- Who to Follow. [...]
Good article, I also like to read someone’s bio and almost always click on the link if provided.
I do disagree with one thing – point #3 and the amount of replies someone has on their twitter stream. I think it’s a bonus that someone is not just “broadcasting” and they they are engaging their audience. I’m not a fan of a Twitterer who doesn’t respond to anyone. Twitter shouldn’t be one-way communication, nor should someone be discouraged in replying to followers.
You can limit the amount of @replies you see in settings. I have mine on “@replies to people I’m following”. I suppose it depends on how many people you follow too. If you follow everyone following you, you could drown in the amount of @replies you see.
Just my two cents.