Everyone I follow on Twitter I follow with good reason. They provide me with information I want or need. It’s that simple.
By key players (tweeters) I mean those who you might otherwise hire, associate with, or work alongside. They could also be people you respect. In the world of ecommerce, the most sought-after information is usability (shopability), SEO, marketing, social media and related campaigns.
Many business owners still don’t grasp how Twitter can help them promote their stores and web sites. That, however, is a post for a different day. Today, I want to give you five reasons you should follow key players in specific fields.
- They do the homework. A professional tweeter does his research and provides links to key articles and posts he thinks you need to read. This can be an immense time saver—after all, who has time to comb through thousands of web sites every day?
- They have ideas. Popular, professional tweeters do more than just provide links. They provide commentary on the links they post, and share ideas (often with links to their own posts so you can read all the juicy details).
- They’re usually more reliable. Key players with loyal followers are respected for what they do. This means more people listen and trust what they have to say.
- They often work with successful businesses. And, let’s be real, success is what you’re after… no? Experienced communicators have witnessed both the good and the bad, what works and what doesn’t.
And the fifth, all-important reason you should be following these players? Because chances are, some of your competition already does.
When searching for the right pros to follow, don’t just look at the number of people who follow them, but rather their timeline and the number of people they actually engage. It’s quite easy to gain 1,000+ followers in a short period of time, but the bulk of them may not even be reading what the tweeter has to say. Also, don’t follow just one person in each field—you want a healthy mixture of information. Why? Because no one answer is correct for every single scenario.
Follow professionals for guidance and ideas. The real work, however, is still up to you.
