A Time to Tweet, A Time to Follow
Now that your profile and setting are optimized for the best experience for you and your followers, it’s time to join the game.
Find People to Follow
Twitter provides a simple tool that scans your email address book to find people you know who are already on Twitter. It then suggests them as people to follow.
This feature works with the online email services from Yahoo, Gmail, and AOL.
Click on the email service you use, and provide your username and password. Twitter only scans your email for email addresses that match those of users already registered for the service. Your privacy is protected and your email is secure. You can re-run this service periodically as you communicate with new people via email, too.
Once you provide your log in information, Twitter will quickly scan your email and return a list of people to follow. Review the list and pick which ones you want to follow by clicking the “Follow” button below their info.
Each person will get an email from Twitter alerting them that you are now following their tweets. It’s common courtesy in the land of Twitter to follow people in return when they follow you. That’s why you will find many of you follows will become your followers in return. Be sure to respect this convention as you use Twitter more and more.
I inspect each new follow as they happen. Yes, you will be followed by “get rich quick” schemes people, by people selling useless products, and other valueless content. Use your judgment to decide who you want to follow in return since you will see the tweets of all your follows in your stream. And if a person is blatantly spam, report them so Twitter can revoke the profile. A little shared policing action is good for the community.
Not enough for you?
The Twitter scan will also return a list of users in your email address book who are not on Twitter. You can send invitations inviting them to sign up and follow you.
If they ask you what the service is about, or why they should be using it, feel free to share this post with them.
Twitter also provides a list of Suggested Users. There are many people and companies who have tens of thousands of followers. For example, if you are shopping for computers and equipment, follow the Dell Outlet account @DellOutlet. They offer numerous Twitter-only deals throughout the day.
Prefer to shop local? Many independent businesses use Twitter to promote sales and events in their stores. By following their tweets, you can find excellent bargains from $1 coffee to big discount coupons. When you visit a local shop, look for a sign promoting their Twitter handle – and start following. Others are beginning to experiment with running contests as a combined way to attract followers, and people who engage with their brand while passively spreading the brand across their own networks.
Many bloggers, authors, actors, and other high profile people have Twitter accounts now. Simply search for their name to find their handle and to begin following them.