You know and I know that right now Twitter is the place to be. Whatever it is that you are promoting, whether it is yourself, a product that you have developed, or a business, Twitter is the perfect platform to get it out there.
If you have been around for a while you will also realize that as you try to build momentum on Twitter, it can be extremely hard to gather valuable Twitter followers who actually have an active interest on whatever it is that you are promoting.
I am going to reveal to you the only trick you need to gain Twitter followers who are going to not only be simply a number, but super valuable.
The frustrating part is going to be the fact that it has been sitting under your nose the entire time!
General Web 2.0 Strategy
I’ll be honest here, I have been using Twitter for over three years now, and the essence of what I am about to show you only really hit me this week. I found it hugely frustrating because it had been sitting under my nose the whole time.
To anyone who has read up on any kind of Web 2.0 strategy, whether it be about blogging or twitter, it will not be revelatory to tell you that the way to gain influence and a solid following online is to provide something of significant value. People will only follow you or subscribe if there is something in it for them.
As a result of this one of the best ways to get people’s attention on Twitter is to answer their questions. I bet you that there are hundreds of people asking questions related to what you do that you can answer every single day on Twitter.
And finding the questions ripe for the answering is so easy that it makes me want to cry that I didn’t do this before.
My Personal Experience
What woke me up to the strategy was a conversation I was having with on of my blogging buddies, Andrew Riches, about increasing the pageviews of his new blog Cobalt Audio. As well as challenging him to try and double his pageviews from last week, I was also trying to give him some advice to get there.
One of the main strategies I offered was exactly what I just mentioned, answering people’s questions on Twitter. It was a no-brainer really, Andrew writes about audio recording and is currently working on a series about multitrack recording equipment, it was perfect as, in my mind, Twitter must be full on people asking questions about mixers and microphones.
If you reach out to people on Twitter with some real value, in an “on topic” way related to what you are about, not only will they want to follow you, they will be super valuable because they have an interest in what you do, and will see you as an authority in your niche. Pretty awesome right?
The Process
So how is it done? This is the bit you are going to love!
1. Twitter Advanced Search is your friend
2. Type your keyword/s into the words section
3. Select the most important tick-box on the page – Attitudes: Asking a Question?
4. Take a moment to think how awesome it is that Twitter provide an option for you to be able to search for ANY keyword within a question, and how much potential there is in that.
Hit Search
5. Find a question that you can answer and make the magic happen
I guarantee that if you commit some time to doing this every day and use a bit of creativity in how you perform your Twitter advanced searches you will start gathering a good amount of valuable, targeted, followers.
Not only will you be reaching out to people who have a specific interest in your niche, you will be reaching them on a personal level, which, lets face it is what social media should be all about. That personal touch can make all the difference and will give you firm foundations to build your brand upon.
Remember to experiment with other features of Twitter advanced search such as the “Places” and “Dates” features. These will be especially helpful to you if you are looking to reach out to people within a very specific locality, or indeed for the Dates side of things, help you to reach people who were tweeting around a certain event.
Have fun and let me know how you get on!
Christopher says
Great tips James. What I was really wondering though…. where is the help with the Chicken wings?
I can’t believe you are going to leave us hanging.
James Brooks says
I’m glad that you asked. The BEST possible thing you can do with Chicken Wings is the following:
Place the wings in an ovenproof dish and fire the oven up.
Pour over the wings some Coca-Cola and a splash of Soy Sauce
Place in the oven and let the wings cook within the Coca-Cola – enough time should be given so that the Coca-Cola reduces and leaves a beautifully sticky caramelized syrup coating the wings.
Enjoy the tastiest-fall-off-the-bone chicken wings that you have EVER had!
Dustin W. Stout says
I will be experimenting with this strategy RIGHT NOW! Thanks for the post… and I’m definitely going to find you on twitter.
James Brooks says
Dustin, looks like i’m following you already. I really love the strap line of your blog. Let me know how you get on with your tweeting!
Dustin W. Stout says
Thanks James! Have you read how I came up with the name & tagline?
James Brooks says
No, where can I do so?
Dustin W. Stout says
Here’s the direct link – http://www.dustn.us/blog/why-theres-no-i-in-dustn/
James Brooks says
Very cool! Best of luck with the new blog. I will be keeping an eye out.
Dustin W. Stout says
Thanks James!
Matthew Snider says
Very interesting to be honest. Hadn’t thought about it, but I am too lazy to do that hahaha.
James Brooks says
No pain, no gain, right?
Kenny says
So true! The first daily searches I teach social media
coaching clients is to use TweetDeck and search for:
“?” – the answer a question strategy you mention above
“www.” and “http://” — this is to find tweets recommending resources on the web. Find relevant or interesting links and then RETWEET them. People notice when they get retweeted and more often than not they will consider retweeting you
“RT @godvertiser” using your own twitter id instead of mine — this finds tweeps that have retweeted you! Send them a DM or public @reply simply thanking them for the RT! Follow them and let them know. Again, many jump on reciprocity and follow back.
Thanks for sharing your tip!
James Brooks says
Thanks for your thoughts Kenny
Chase Livingston says
Awesome tip, I’m definitely going to give this a try!
James Brooks says
Please do, and let me know how it goes!