More Twitter Gems
Posted by TeamCharlie on January 27, 2009 under Gabe's Twitter Gems, Twitter, Twitter for Beginners | 
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Twitter Gem #3 – Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day
As one starts to see the value of Twitter one imagines what would happen if an “uber Twitterer” (one with TONS of followers) liked one’s message and “retweeted” it. One would think that’s the ticket to more followers, more business than one can handle, etc. This is not necessarily true. For my @KidsAreHeroes identity I have been chasing those uber-twits since the beginning. At the moment the KidsAreHeroes identity is trying to promote the Kids Are Heroes web site as well as MaryMargaret’s Music for Life program. We have quite a bit of funds to raise, so we have to get creative. I always imagined that one “tweet” from an uber-twit and that would be it – we would get many more followers and raise quite a bit of money in a very short time. Well we got our “uber-tweet” but the results were a bit different.
Yesterday I read a request from a gentleman that asked for someone who was capable with graphics to superimpose his head on another’s body as a joke for one of his blogs. In return he would give a free gift of some sort. I looked at this guy’s profile and saw he had over 15,000 followers! That was my ticket. I told him I wasn’t a graphic artist but I felt I could do it, so he gave me the opportunity. He liked the result and asked what I wanted in return. The almighty tweet of course was what I was looking for. He gladly obliged. Here is the text of the tweet: PLEASE RETWEET – HELP KIDS WITH CANCER http://tinyurl.com/bfcb34 (for more info >> @KidsAreHeroes) He actually did this twice.
The link points to a web page where people can “tip” us money and all of that goes to the program. We suggest small amounts to make it easy for people because we want a lot of people to donate just $2.00. With that tweet from a guy with over 15,000 followers one would think that would be a home run – wouldn’t you? I counted and a total of 58 people retweeted this tweet with a grand total following of just over 58,000 people! I was one of the top three people to be retweeted at that time according to RetweetRadar which is quite an accomplishment based on the total size of Twitter. Since that happened (which was last night) I have gotten a handful of new followers (no more than I would have gotten anyway really) and the total donation count from that session was $19.00. One would think that would be discouraging but it wasn’t. Twitter, at least to me, is not a platform of instant gratification although it surely appears to be. This just underlines my original feeling that it takes time to develop relationships and build up a following of people that care about what you have to say. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
This also illustrates another gem:
Twitter Gem #4 – Twitter is a Platform Where we All Help Each Other
I’ve heard it said, “You have to give something to get something” which is basically the same thing. But I would rather think of it a bit differently. If you see a need and you can fill it, do it. This is regardless of what you may get in return. If you see an opportunity and you can help that person, jump to it, regardless of the number of followers they have. This is the way I intend to link with people. Just by having done that one thing for that “uber-twit” he now knows me rather well, at least comparatively. He has sent me another task which I gladly did. You never know who is the next person that will help you achieve something.
Twitter Gem #5 – Seek out Experienced Twitterers for More Info
One could argue (and rightfully so) that why should I listen to someone who has less than 200 followers and has only been “twittering” for one month? That is up to you whether or not you agree with my postings or feel that they have any merit. I have read many other blogs about how to get more followers on Twitter. None of those in my mind were worth repeating until I found one yesterday. Kevin Rose is an amazingly successful young man with over 90,000 followers on Twitter. He founded Digg.com and Pownce among others. It is not this reason alone why I recommend listening to him. It is because what he says makes sense to me. Here are some practical tips on how to gain more exposure on Twitter. I plan to utilize them myself. Enjoy.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/25/kevin-rose-10-ways-to-increase-your-twitter-followers/
