Unfortunately, this scenario is quite common for new Twitter users. Many got excited about the hype without understanding what to do once signing up. Then, they quit. In April, Neisen reported that 60 percent of twitter users quit after the first month.
How do you avoid becoming a Twitter quitter? Get engaged and find some people to follow. Following others is a large part of what makes Twitter so valuable and enjoyable. By following others, you can discover fascinating articles and interesting blogs, learn about local restaurants to try, and keep up with the news in your area, and much, much more.
However, finding people to follow can be a bit overwhelming if you don’t know where to look. Here are some suggestions for discovering people to follow:
1. Use the ‘Find People’ tool. Using the “Find People” link at the top of your Twitter page, you can search for people by user name (i.e. mine is @lauraclick) or by their listed name (i.e. Laura Click). Look for your family, friends and other people you might find interesting. The second tab on the “Find People” page allows you to see if any of your e-mail contacts are on Twitter. This is a great way to find people you already know.
2. Try the Twitter search. Visit http://search.twitter.com to do a key word search or go to http://search.twitter.com/advanced for an advanced search. The advanced search page gives you the ability to search by location, date range, person, etc. Use these tools to look for people tweeting about topics that you find interesting, and then start following!
3. Search the Twitter directories. There are a handful of Twitter directories that you can use to search for people by location or industry. The most popular ones are Twellow and WeFollow, but there are several other options that you can find here. The directories can help you find people or companies with similar interests.
4. Follow news organizations. Many news organizations are on Twitter, such as CNN, MSNBC and the New York Times. Chances are good that your local news organizations are too. In addition to delivering the news, news organizations may also point to other good people or companies to follow.
5. See who your friends are following. Found some friends or other people you like on Twitter? See who they are following. It’s likely you might like following some of the same people.
6. Check out your favorite Web sites and blogs. With more companies joining Twitter, you’re likely to see the Twitter icon on your favorite sites. Check out your favorite businesses and blogs and you’ll likely find that many have provided links to their Twitter page.
7. Use recommendation services. Services such as Twubble, Who Should Follow and Mr. Tweet look at who you currently follow and make suggestions of other Tweeps to consider. These tools are only useful once you are already following some folks.
Still looking for more people to follow? Follow some pros who really know how to use Twitter well. Here are some that I recommend:
How do you find people to follow? What other tools do you use?
2 replies on “Seven Suggestions for Finding People to Follow on Twitter”
Great suggestions! I found you using suggestion number two.
In addition to news organizations, a lot of TV programs (and radio) are tweeting. You might find some of them by using a regular old search engine like so:
site:twitter.com official The Tonight Show
Twitter is just starting to verify celebrity accounts (which is important because there are PLENTY of impostors out there).
(Side note: I didn’t test all of your links, but the last directories link on number 3 is bad. It has a http colon backslash twice.)
Thanks for the thoughts! Your example proves that you can find great content and people to follow by using some of these tactics.
Also, I appreciate the heads up on the link. It should be fixed now.