Using Twitter for Business? Here Are My Personal Guidelines For Following People

Using Twitter for Business? Here Are My Personal Guidelines For Following People

If you are using Twitter for business, you need to set up some rules to follow. Here’s what I did, and more importantly, why I did it.

First off, it’s obvious that some people seem to think they are really doing well when they get thousands of people following them on Twitter (or any other social network for that matter).

Well, I’m not one of those people. In fact, I regularly go into my Twitter account and unfollow some people, and in some cases, block people from following me.

Why?

Because I’m selective. A lot of stuff on Twitter doesn’t add value, and I don’t follow people who fill my Twitter timeline constant sales messages.

I understand the marketing value of Twitter, but Twitter is not a free marketing billboard. If you want to market on Twitter, buy an ad. 🙂

My first rule is that the people I follow on Twitter must be engaging. If all you’re going to do is tweet (or re-tweet) famous quotes sandwiched between blatant sales messages, don’t expect me to follow you back.

Sure, it does decrease the number of people who are in my circle of influence, but I also think it makes my core group of followers more loyal and feel more exclusive.

Most are people looking for helpful information, but many are also entrepreneurs or business professionals.

I actually welcome a recommendation or special offer from them, because many have earned my trust through our interactions.

I look at Twitter like a club, much like the VIP members program at our shop. Like Twitter, our VIP program is free to join, but unlike Twitter, it does have an entry requirement.

And that requirement is providing us with your permission to market to you.

Since the benefits of membership in our VIP program kick in only after we receive your permission, people can decide whether or not to join. And they can also choose to leave if they don’t want to hear from us anymore.

It’s the same way I look at Twitter. I will follow you back only if your profile has

• a real name,
• a profile pic and city,
• links back to your web site or blog,
• your timeline is recent, and most importantly,
• you have something interesting to say.

I personally don’t think that these requirements are too much to ask if you want me to follow you on Twitter.

If you want to follow me on Twitter or any of the other social media platforms I’m on, you can find a list of them here. But please don’t assume that I will automatically follow you back.

They say that in business, it’s all about the numbers. But I believe it’s really all about the right numbers, and the right people.