What is the importance of having lots of Twitter followers? Debates have raged back and forth on Twitter about quality versus quantity as Twitter has been used to monetize many businesses from Dell, Threadless, and Zappos to the countless number of small businesses using the service to increase their brand around the world.
Here are the 2 reasons why having large numbers make sense and the 2 reasons why it all comes down to quality.
1.
Big is not always better, unless it is perceived as better.
Say what? For me having 20,000 followers is does not matter, except for the extra perceived business value that comes with the statement.
That could be the tipping point for a business deal, partnership, etc.
What I am saying is that it is not important to me, but it could be important to someone else and in the world of business that is important.
For example, you are in marketing and want to bring in a big company as a client.
You have done a great pitch and maybe need one last item to sweeten the deal.
They ask, "What do you know about social media?" Telling them that you have 20,000 followers on Twitter would be a great way to increase your potential with the company versus 1,000.
Whether right or wrong perceived value comes from having these followers.
2.
More eyeballs equals more money.
In reality, most companies have still not fully transitioned from traditional marketing to social media.
The reason this is important is because big business by and large still advertise their services and goods close to the way it was done 10, 15, and even 20 years ago.
They view Twitter as a large free newspaper.
Every post is an ad.
Every tweet is a "special deal".
Going with the ideas of traditional media, if you have an ad that goes out to 100,000 people and.
1% call you back and buy your product then you are happy.
Take that to the next level with social media.
Instead of doing 1 ad that gets you 100 people buying your product, you can do 30 ads to 100,000 people and maybe 1000 people to buy your product that month.
The funny thing is that to an extent that does bring in extra business, because you will always find someone to buy a quality product from an established brand.
At the same time, I know that there are tremendous opportunity costs being lost.
So now that we have the argument for quantity, let us take a look at quality: 1.
The key word here is social media.
In order to get your word out you have to be social by building relationships.
I know for a fact that I have not connected with every person that follows me.
It is physically impossible.
In reality I have probably spoken to about 30-40% of the people that follow me over the past year.
That is still a lot of contact.
When you have 100 followers you can keep track and manage this effectively.
On the flip side, I am writing this article at 5:30 in the morning and according to Twitter, the most recent 20 tweets happened in the last 5 seconds.
Additionally while I am writing this 80 more tweets have just appeared in waiting for me to recycle them in and find out what those people have said.
2.
Twitter was set up to be a place where people could build relationships.
In the walls of the 140 character tweet lies immense power to change people's view of the world and you.
Additionally, one line is all it takes to connect you with someone in Indonesia, Australia, and England.
The more relationships you can establish on these sites the more you will become successful.
Talking to someone as we discussed in the previous argument is great, building a friendship with someone across the ocean that you have never spoken to is a power that transcends imagination.
It is also a power that leads to sales, referrals, and repeat business.
People buy from those they like.
So which is better? That is for everyone reading this article to decide.
In the end it will probably come down to a mixture of quantity and quality for most people.
That is the great fun of Twitter, you decide your fate.
Here are the 2 reasons why having large numbers make sense and the 2 reasons why it all comes down to quality.
1.
Big is not always better, unless it is perceived as better.
Say what? For me having 20,000 followers is does not matter, except for the extra perceived business value that comes with the statement.
That could be the tipping point for a business deal, partnership, etc.
What I am saying is that it is not important to me, but it could be important to someone else and in the world of business that is important.
For example, you are in marketing and want to bring in a big company as a client.
You have done a great pitch and maybe need one last item to sweeten the deal.
They ask, "What do you know about social media?" Telling them that you have 20,000 followers on Twitter would be a great way to increase your potential with the company versus 1,000.
Whether right or wrong perceived value comes from having these followers.
2.
More eyeballs equals more money.
In reality, most companies have still not fully transitioned from traditional marketing to social media.
The reason this is important is because big business by and large still advertise their services and goods close to the way it was done 10, 15, and even 20 years ago.
They view Twitter as a large free newspaper.
Every post is an ad.
Every tweet is a "special deal".
Going with the ideas of traditional media, if you have an ad that goes out to 100,000 people and.
1% call you back and buy your product then you are happy.
Take that to the next level with social media.
Instead of doing 1 ad that gets you 100 people buying your product, you can do 30 ads to 100,000 people and maybe 1000 people to buy your product that month.
The funny thing is that to an extent that does bring in extra business, because you will always find someone to buy a quality product from an established brand.
At the same time, I know that there are tremendous opportunity costs being lost.
So now that we have the argument for quantity, let us take a look at quality: 1.
The key word here is social media.
In order to get your word out you have to be social by building relationships.
I know for a fact that I have not connected with every person that follows me.
It is physically impossible.
In reality I have probably spoken to about 30-40% of the people that follow me over the past year.
That is still a lot of contact.
When you have 100 followers you can keep track and manage this effectively.
On the flip side, I am writing this article at 5:30 in the morning and according to Twitter, the most recent 20 tweets happened in the last 5 seconds.
Additionally while I am writing this 80 more tweets have just appeared in waiting for me to recycle them in and find out what those people have said.
2.
Twitter was set up to be a place where people could build relationships.
In the walls of the 140 character tweet lies immense power to change people's view of the world and you.
Additionally, one line is all it takes to connect you with someone in Indonesia, Australia, and England.
The more relationships you can establish on these sites the more you will become successful.
Talking to someone as we discussed in the previous argument is great, building a friendship with someone across the ocean that you have never spoken to is a power that transcends imagination.
It is also a power that leads to sales, referrals, and repeat business.
People buy from those they like.
So which is better? That is for everyone reading this article to decide.
In the end it will probably come down to a mixture of quantity and quality for most people.
That is the great fun of Twitter, you decide your fate.