Kip Ferguson

Recently I have been sending out a tweet asking for folks to reply if they actually follow me. You may be wondering why I would do that. The reason is that over the past couple of days I have had at least a couple of hundred spammers start "following" me. I am not sure what triggered this recent attention, but it makes it difficult to determine which individuals have some value to offer or if they are just trying to sell me on some affiliate product of the moment.

That being said, just because someone does reply to me, doesn't mean they will automatically be followed. A reply at least indicates that you are paying some attention to my posts. However, if you are paying attention but all of your posts are not engaging, there is no reason for me to follow. If I am going to follow you, call me selfish, but I am looking for value in return. I am NOT talking about the value of your product. I am talking about the value you offer as a thinking individual.

The problem with Twitter is that people think it is about followers and following. Twitter isn't about the numbers. Twitter is about engagement. Twitter is about how you interact with others. If I am at a meeting with you and I see you going from person to person and all you do is shake their hand and say "I have this great product/service that you really have to buy. Here is my card." then just walk away...I am going to avoid you. It is the same on Twitter. Engage me. Show me you have something to offer beyond what you are selling. Let me know that you are a living breathing human being and not just some automated script looking to get followers in awkward attempt to boost your follower numbers.

If you just build followers, chances are your ROI is going to be small no matter what you are selling. You will see a small percentage in your response rate. If you take the time to cultivate your relationships and engage your audience you will see that your ROI increases and your response rate will increase because you have built trust between yourself and the individual following you.

So, reply and engage me and I will follow you.