Twitter: How To Know If You Should Follow Someone In Under 5 Sec.
I am admittedly a new Twiitter convert but want to share with you a simple technique you can use to save time and connect with people who add valuable insights to your niche.
Off topic post are fine in moderation, however getting 15 post a day from someone along the lines of ” I just went to Sonic and they were out of Cherry limeades…what the heck!” adds nothing of value for you.
Here is how you can keep that to a minimum by only following people who add content of value and minimize the “Hey there are no raisins in my Raisin Bran” post.
Step 1:
If you don’t have it already. Download PowerTwitter for Firefox. Its free and only takes seconds to install.
Step 2:
Once installed go to your twitter homepage. You will notice some great functions have been added to your Twitter page. Click on your followers list then visit any follower you have.
Step 3:
Once on your follower’s Twitter homepage you will see a search box. Use the check box to only search their updates and input your own version of the following advanced search query.
“Link building” OR “Social media ” OR SEO OR PPC OR Adwords OR ROI OR Analytics OR Ecommerce
*Adjust this search query to match the things that interest you.
Now You Are Setup To Follow Or Not In 5 Seconds
Anytime you get a new follower or think of following someone, simply visit their page. PowerTwitter will remember your advanced search query in the recent searches dropdown . Select it and you can tell in a few seconds if this person produces content that you will value.
I see profiles all the time with great looking BIOs but with horrible content. This simple step will save you wasted time following then finding out the person produces little to no content of value.
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Sounds like a cool tool, but it seems like you’ve simplified it too much. It’s the equivalent of judging the value of a baseball player based solely on his OPS.
Well of course it’s your call but if the person never mentions any of the industry buzz words that I use in daily conversations it’s a good bet they are not talking about industry related stuff often. Fine for buddies, but not so much for people I don’t know.
This is precisely, exactly, and perfectly the opposite of how one should choose who to follow on Twitter.
Instead, you should read (or even skim) their tweets at precisely the same speed and level of attention you use to read the tweets in your own Twitter stream. If you can’t get a feel for how interesting they are from actually reading or skimming the tweets on their page, you’re not going to find value in their tweets when they fly by in your Twitter stream.
These instructions are simply how to transform yourself into a robot.
Chris, thanks for disagreeing. Always fun to have a healthy discourse.
You say people should skim the twitter post. What are you doing when you do that? I would say your mind is looking for “Keywords” things that interest you right?
My method is just an aid to help you do that faster. It’s not 100% but it’s a great start to knowing if this person speaks about things you are interested in. Also adding in a few things of personal interest into your search query would be smart like “Dallas Cowboys” etc. This way even if they don’t mention much about your industry they MAY chat about some of your personal hobbies or favorite authors etc.
That’s hilarious!
I agree, it is a very good tool. Because, if I am using an iPod for example, I would definitely be sharing my experience on Twitter regarding iPod. If I am playing poker, then I will tweet regarding poker. This is really a great start to almost follow those people who ARE related to your niche.
Thanks for creating that! I will spread a word about it on different forums. Keep it up.
Regards