Six Simple Yet Powerful Rules That Help You Build Your Twitter Flock.

Image via WikipediaAs a professional advertiser for an online marketing company, I am often asked, how can they can get more people to follow them on Twitter. When asked this question, I usually answer it with this question of my own. "Who are you looking for as follower", (i.e.…. who do you want to follow you)? The answer to this question will always get you started you in the right direction. This question can act just like a compass does when you’re looking for one of the cardinal direction points. However, knowing the right direction is only half the battle. You also need to know the rules of the road. Here are a half-dozen simple, yet powerful rules that keep you on track and make sure you don’t stray from the direction you want to travel. Let me explain...

Simply Powerful Rule #1
So here is a simple yet powerful rule to start with; always follow those who lead your field of interest. If, for example, you’re looking for followers who love scientific novels, or those who are environmentally conscience then you go look for the leaders of those fields. More than likely the leaders in any field of endeavor with have lots of follower. In fact, this rule leads to my second rule.

Simply Powerful Rule #2
Now let’s look at simple rule number two; always follow the followers of those who lead the field. Simply put, “following other like mind subscribers so they will in turn follow you”.

Image via CrunchBase

Understand that some will follow you and some will not. In general, many will follow you as a courtesy if you follow them. This is especially true if they are not famous or have few followers. I usually follow anyone who following me unless I dislike what they are saying, selling or doing. However, if they do not follow me back, I have to make a choice whether I want to continue following them. If I like what they are posting, I will probably continue to follow them. However, if they look like they are only trying to sell something or are just looking for followers I un-follow them within a few days.

Remember Twitter set limits on how many you can follow in a session and how long you can be online. These limits are there to try and keep people from gaming the twitter system and to try and keep the spammer from using the system.

Simply Powerful Rule #3
Image via WikipediaThis leads me to my third simple yet powerful rule; Stay within a 1.5 to 1 ratio of following to followers. You will always need some room to add people you want to follow. In turn, this will also give you room to follow people back who just decided to follow you because of your tweets and not because you just followed them. If your always bumping up against the 2000 follower limit, you will have a lot of trouble growing you’re following.

Simply Powerful Rule #4
My next cardinal guideline is simple and powerful rule number four; “always thanks people for following you”. You will be surprised how powerful being courteous can be. A simple thank you for following goes a long way. In fact, it’s even better if you show your gratitude by providing a token gift like a free white paper, coupon or cool link, as a little bonus. So this simple rule is just that; give your followers a reason to follow you by offering them a gift. This gift does not have to cost you anything and gifts can go a long way towards initially getting people to follow you when your connection is new.

Simply Powerful Rule #5
Image by juque via FlickrSimple rule number five is related to number four because it also has to do with giving thanks. When sending a thank you tweets, always include links to connect with your followers via other means. For example, add your face book, website or blog URL to your tweets. When you combine your other contact URL’s with the gifts I mention early, you have a powerful means of connecting with your new, found follower.

Simply Powerful Rule #6
The last simply powerful rule I will mention in this article is; to be sweet, re-tweet. Another way to give a gif
t to your followers is to Re-tweet something they’ve tweeted. Re-tweeting their articles and links shows them that you feel what they are saying is important, cool and worth sharing. It also increases the chance they will continue to follow you. Indeed, Re-tweeting can be sweet, for you and your business.

Image via CrunchBaseThere you have it a half-dozen simple yet powerful rules you can use to grow your twitter following with out spending a dime on fancy programs that try to game the system. Following these simple yet powerful rules will quickly add to your rank of followers. My next article will provide another set of cardinal rules to help you grow my flock. Until then, that’s my opining, what’s yours?

Hector Cisneros has been an entrepreneur for 30 year, a veteran of BNI for 18 years, and was a BNI director for over 6 years. He is still an active BNI member and follows the philosophy of Givers Gain. He is the owner of several Businesses in Northeast Florida. He actively coaches business owners in the fine art of internet advertising, Networking and Word of Mouth marketing. He is the president of Website Know How, Inc. a holding company for his business ventures that include online advertising, word of mouth marketing, real estate holdings, health and wellness product sales and Adventure sports. He also partners with a new company called Successful Campaigns LLC. This company provides training and support for non profits organizations helping them with their marketing efforts, growth, retention and sustainability.

That’s my opinion, I want to hear yours.

Hector Cisneros is a writer, has been an entrepreneur for more than 30 years, is a veteran of BNI for 19 years and was a BNI director for over five years. He is still an active BNI member and follows the philosophy of Givers Gain. He is the owner of several businesses in Jacksonville, Florida. He actively coaches business owners in the fine art of Online advertising, Business Networking and Word of Mouth marketing. He is the president of Website Know How, Inc. a holding company for his business ventures that include online advertising, word of mouth marketing, real estate holdings, non-profit training/support, book publishing, health and wellness product sales and Adventure sports. Hector's new book 60 Seconds to success, teaches business owners how to get the most from word of mouth marketing by using great 60 second introductions. To learn more about Hector Cisneros, Social Media, Online Marketing or Word of Mouth Marketing visit the Networkers Apprentice workshop http://networkersapprentice.com or my book website at http://www.60SecondsToSuccess.com

Related articles

• The Best Free Twitter Tools (dreamgrow.com)
• How to share video on Twitter (marketing.yell.com)
• 4 Ways to Measure Social Media Success With Free Tools (socialmediaexaminer.com)