It's a minefield out there, trying to navigate your way between tweeps (Twitter users) who follow back without a second thought, and others who are so selective you must practically complete an entrance exam before they follow you back. This may include clicking on a Truetwit link, which is generally the sign of a Twitter newbie, not an experienced tweep. More here. I quickly sort tweeps into categories in my own mind. |
Another type are the sheep who appear to follow everyone including the obvious 'buy 5K followers' or the 'hey big boy, look at my boobs and follow this link to my porn page' type. More fool them, for they lose the respect of real tweeps. It's not the number of followers you have which is important, it is how actively they engage with you that counts.
There are also tweeps I refer to as the owls, who check a follower's profile, retweet history and topics of interest before following. I try my best to be an owl, as it saves a lot of work in the long run.
One program I have found useful is Crowdfire (www.crowdfireapp.com). This enables you to see who has followed you, who has unfollowed you, and you can copy the followers of tweeps you respect. I have found this quite a useful tool.
Just remember to have a look at each profile before following and try to avoid the wolf-in-sheep's-clothing types.
Next time on Social Media Tips I'll talk about Auto-retweeting.
Kasper is on Twitter as @KasperBeaumont