By Nathan Hangen, follow him @nhangen.
Once upon a time, Twitter was an innocent and casual place to hang out. Everyone was positive and was nearly over-interested in what everyone had to say. However, now that the initial “buzz has worn off and people are realizing how difficult it can be to manage thousands of follows and followers, the interaction has been reduced to tightly knit groups of key players and in turn leaves many people without the friends they once had. Sure, everyone has a base of friends, followers, and fans that they can rely on to spur conversation and reply to their requests, but overall it has become increasingly difficult to stand out in the crowd. Since getting noticed is one of the crucial aspects of getting more “legit” followers and building a following that converts into blog readers, buyers, and fans, finding ways to get noticed is extremely important.
The simple methods, like RT’ing, offering contests, quoting, and recommending friends for #followfriday no longer have the power they once did. Although those staples are still great ways to increase your influence, if you really want to get noticed on Twitter you’ll have to find other ways to create buzz and show up on the radar.
One such way to do this is to start or take a leadership role in local Twitter Mashups and Tweetups. Use a site like Twitter Grader (http://twittergrader.com) to find local Twitterers in your area to contact and ask for their help in creating a group and notifying others. When you do this, the following events will take place:
1. You will be looked to as a creator, leader, and as a key player in the market. Even if you don’t know what you are doing, you are taking on the responsibility that most don’t feel comfortable with. This gives you a great position of leverage within your local market, which can spread to other markets.
2. You will have the opportunity to create a local brand that can expand based on your effort. Start a website for your Tweetup group and post pics, notes, and blogs about the people involved. They’ll be happy to get noticed online and in turn will help you get noticed too. Over time, you’ll have the opportunity to gain traction as you travel or start groups for others.
If Tweetups are not your thing, then why not host an online mentorship group for people new to Twitter? Most of the Twitter pro’s already have their schedules booked and their feeds filled, so showing new people the ropes can help you share your knowledge and establish a very dedicated base of fans.
Lastly, if you really want to become a Twitter Rockstar, you will need to get noticed by the big dogs. Yeah, I know…bidding on popularity sounds juvenile, but I consider it a marketing effort suited to a specific audience. Spend time being responsive on the blogs and websites of the big dogs on Twitter and work to let them know you are there. If you are the most consistent fan in their feed, they can’t help but to notice your dedication. Once you’ve proven that you are an action taker, they’ll start to notice your work as well, especially if you turn your fans into fans of theirs. The same rules work for blogging and other content promotion methods.
Getting noticed on Twitter really isn’t that difficult if you create the time and dedicate the energy to doing so. If Twitter isn’t your main effort, then trying to become one of the gurus might be tough. However, if you simply implement a few key strategies and continue to offer great content, then you should have no trouble breaking away from the pack. Just like everywhere else, Twitter rewards creativity, originality, and honesty. Make that your creed and eventually you will become a leader in your niche.
[image credit: stephenpoff]
@emmaboon
A fantastic article – all so true. Reading back over the blogs older articles about how to ‘get noticed’ or ‘get more followers’ on Twitter simply aren’t applicable anymore. It’s a very different experience for those joining now to what it was when I first tweeted, and it is a lot more difficult to stand out. I have definitely notices tribes and cliques and I pick up followers much more slowly now than I used to. Good advice, thanks Nathan.
@SurfNicaragua
Thanks on the tips toward becoming a twitter Rockstar!
@siyab
Great tips.
I’ve heard about bloggers forming social media groups to help each other out, but the idea of a Twitter group is totally new, and potentially brilliant
@nick1123
Great post Nathan.
Getting noticed on twitter is getting harder and harder since a lot of people have jumped on the band wagon. Follow Fridays have become an excuse to recommend people without any explanation.
Hey I went to twitter grader and scored a 98.8 for nick1123!
@nhangen
You are absolutely correct. Add to that the fact that anyone can claim expert status without having to back it up and you’ve got a lot of competition that wouldn’t exist anywhere else. Still, taking the long road and building relationships will work 99.9% of the time.
Good job on the Twitter Grader…not bad!
@bjmendelson
Great article. The only thing I want to stress here is that it is important to be yourself. In particular, if you want to hold tweet-ups (which are a great strategy), people need to get to know you and not whatever persona you’re putting out there. Otherwise, you could run into some problems when the time comes to meet-up.
@nhangen
Great point Brandon. In fact, I might write up a post about that. Unifying your brand with your own personality is crucial, otherwise a conflict could occur. Sending a message that is not in sync with who you are at the core will eventually catch up to you.
@philipnowak
Solid information. It’s really all about common sense. Twitter is no different from reality. If you don’t do anything to stand out in real life, nobody will notice you. Why would you think anything is different online?
Life lesson: Don’t talk. Do. You will always have critics, but it is the ability to believe in yourself that will enable you to prevail. Lead and others will follow, but not without bumps along the way.
@DigitallyUnltd
Sensible tips. When you think about it, getting attention on twitter is not all that different to gaining a following on a website/blog — it’s all about creating useful content and pushing it a little bit to the yearning market!
@joshasbury
Great post and great information. As Twitter becomes more crowded, it is more difficult to get noticed. The other side of that coin, though, is that Twitter is more crowded and there are more opportunities to actually get noticed.
@1stwebdesigner
ah, starts like good old story – once upon the time..;d
huh..one way or another..it takes a lot of time and efforts to be noticed..but articles is really good
@joannarobbins
Hi Nathan,
Very interesting post and you make great points. I have purchased Twitter Rock Star and really, really enjoyed your tips and guidance. I’ve thought about putting people’s profile on my blog along with their picture on a special Recognition Page for Twitter Subscribers. Of course they get to put their web site link. What do you think?
Joanna
@semfunny
Use hashtags. Many users and brands are looking for keywords that Twitter users type with Twitter search and then they follow those Twitter profiles.
@shravanmishra04
I thought i reached a stagnet stage on twitter but now I am gonna try these tips for sure. Thans for the post.
@scottbradley77
Nathan,
What a great post. I had not really thought about getting a group together for a Tweetup or socializing in person, however after reading this, I am definitely going to get the ball rolling. I was really surprised with my grade… 99.97% so I am looking forward to seeing how others will take to the idea of meeting in person.
Thanks
Scott
Hi Nathan, great blog post, my twitter account is so much better since I used your twitter rockstar guide
@nhangen
@JoannaRobbins I think that is a great idea…it allows others to be a part of your experience and creates a mini-tribe in the process.
Thanks everyone else for the great feedback and excellent comments. Several great ideas listed here!
@felipecerda
Great tips, i’m actually doing the second idea.
@ValenciaRay
Thanks Nathan for the tips. Being a new Tweeter, I find it quite useful!
@shahabonline
Great article …thanks for sharing!
@super_computer
Hi Nathan, Thanks for this article. I’m totally new to twitter and all what you have said is very helpful! regards.
@doncesarblogs
Great, this article is awesome, it will help me a lot. Thanks
@jscott528
Seems there is no magic pill that will get thousands of followers. Would something like twittergrader.com work for people living outside the US? Don’t know why the submit button there needs scripting but that gave me pause.