Follow You Follow Me - Increase Twitter Followers With Reciprocal Follows

Follow me where I go what I do and who I know
Make it part of you to be a part of me
Follow me up and down all the way
Take my hand and I will follow you
-- John Denver

If I follow you, will you follow me?

I've been on Twitter for a year and have slowly increased the number of followers to 1,200+ in that time - an average of 100 new friends per month.  That's more than what a lot of people have, and it may be enough for some, but frankly it isn't all that much.

I think my followers may be quality followers; people I've met at tweetups and tweeps who retweeted stuff I've posted to their followers.  Some of them are customers and others have heard me speak.  I remember getting a bunch of followers by signing up to a list of bloggers who twitter.  I think the more you engage others in conversations, instead of just posting, helps get you introduced around Twitterland, increasing your number of followers.

I get more new followers per day than I did even a couple of months ago.  I think I'm getting recommended more by Mr Tweet and others, perhaps since I passed 1,000 followers.

There are many ways to increase the number of people following you on Twitter. Blog posts, books, e-books and other resources offer tips.  There are places you can register that will get you noticed.  We'll discuss those another day.

I've been trying to determine approximately how many people will simply follow you back if you follow them.  I see Tweeps who have accumulated thousands of followers in a very short period of time and with very few tweets.  If people are not following someone because of the content they provide, then their large number of followers must be coming from 'reciprocal follows.'

So I started tracking Tweeps with large numbers of followers in a short period of time with very few tweets.  I've watched for several months.  Many are people who follow(ed) me.  Others I noticed from looking at the followers of others.  It's a very un-scientific poll but interesting.

27 Tweeps, who had been on Twitter for a week or less, were following an average of 1,541 people, resulting in 697 followers or a 45.2% rate.  They average 17 tweets each.

Not surprisingly, many of those Tweeps are no longer on Twitter.  (It couldn't be for spamming, could it?)  I've been on Twitter for a year and I'm still not following 1,541 people.  I'm meandering along.  The 27 I followed were more determined to build a quick following.

Then I looked at 26 other Tweeps, who had been on Twitter for 8-30 days and the result is;

A 71.2% follow rate! (average 2,026 following & 1,455 followers)  I can't believe they got their followers from content as they averaged making just 44 tweets.

I'm not sure why tweeps who have been on Twitter longer have a higher follow rate - perhaps it's just a matter of time.  Or maybe they have something more interesting to say than more overt spammers that prompts a follow.  But it seems clear to me that just about anybody should be able to build a following by simply following other Tweeters.

What's your best strategy for increasing your Twitter followers?

-- Kurt Scholle, dedicated to helping you boost website ROI!

Image: Alex Eben Meyer

Comments

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