Twitter can be great tool to get to know people. As you follow them and read their tweets you’ll start getting a handle on who they are. Over time, you’ll have an idea of their personality, their business and their interests.
But if you’re new to Twitter, how do you find people to follow?
First, look for people you already know. You can go to their website and see if they have links to their Twitter profile. If so, just click on the link and start following.
If you don’t know their website, you can type their name into the “find people” box on Twitter. Even if they’re not using their name as their Twitter handle, if they’ve included their name in their profile, they should turn up.
Once you’re following people you already know, it’s time to start connecting with people you don’t know yet. One of the easiest ways to find these people is to go to the Twitter profile of someone you are following who is interesting and engaging. Then look at the list of people they are following. Odds are, the people they are following will also be interesting.
Don’t worry about following people you don’t know. On Twitter users don’t need to approve you; you can follow anyone you want. Not only that, most people on Twitter like getting new followers. In fact, a large number of Twitter users will automatically start following you back because they want to be social and learn about you as you are learning about them.
However there is another way to find people to follow that is often overlooked by newbies. That tool is http://search.twitter.com.
Go to this page and you can type in keywords – words you think people you would like to know would be using.
For example, if you are a bookkeeper and are looking for people who might be potential clients, you might type in bookkeeping, or Quickbooks or invoices. Click search and it will bring up people who are talking about that topic right now.
If your customers are all local – you have a retail store or provide a service where you need to meet with customers – don’t think Twitter isn’t for you. Go back to search.twitter.com and click on the Advanced Search button. This will open a new window with more options. Scroll down to Places. Type in your city and select the distance from that city you want. Click search and you will find local people who are on Twitter right now.
If you are from a major urban area, you may need to add in other keyword terms to narrow the search so you are not overwhelmed by the number of results. In smaller communities however you can use this tool to find just about everyone who is on Twitter locally.
Once you are following these people, you need to take the time to get to know them. Read their Tweets, pay attention to their interests and start engaging them in conversation.
Use the @ reply (@username) to comment on someone’s post. Retweet (forward) interesting Tweets by them so others will learn about them. If they follow you back, send a direct message (private). Visit their websites.
Over time, if you use these tools you will start developing relationships with these anonymous Twitter people you’ve been following. And if you’ve targeted the right people and said the right things, some of them may become customers.
Andrea J. Stenberg
Have you turned an anonymous Twitter contact into a customer or supplier or joint venture partner? Please leave a comment and let us know how it happened.
