W2.1 The First 50 Twitter Followers

The First 50 Twitter Followers

GOAL: Get 50 non-spam followers on Twitter by the end of the first unit. If you already have an active Twitter account, your challenge is to get 100 new non-spam followers.

Getting to that first 50 followers may seem like a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem. You have to be saying and sharing interesting things to get followed, but it’s hard to stay motivated to share interesting things if nobody is listening to or reading what you say. The first month on Twitter is the hardest. It’s the month where you have to have a little faith and a little coaching.  The first few months I spent on Twitter, I made a tweet for every hour I spent working on my dissertation. It turned out to be a great way to both find and share resources, develop a personal learning network, and get that pesky dissertation finished.  You can read a record of those 500+ dissertation tweets here Links to an external site..

How often will you need to tweet to gather 50 followers? 

As much as it takes. While that might seem flip, it really depends on what kinds of things you tweet, who you start following, and how much you get retweeted by the followers you DO get. This can really be different for everyone.

What should you tweet?

• Tweet about what you are reading, watching, and thinking about as it pertains to your focus area.
• Tweet about what you’re learning about regarding social media (and include the class hashtag when you do).  As you read articles for class, watch documentaries, etc – share your thoughts & comments.
• Reply to people who tweet interesting things, who comment on your tweets, and who retweet you.
• Actively seek out new people to follow who will provide you with good content in your focus area.  When you follow them, they might go to check you out, and follow you.