An Effective Twitter Strategy...

[dusman]

I just wanted to share a strategy I've deployed with several of my clients on Twitter. This strategy has helped them target their locations and gain a fair amount of following.

I'm retooling it to fit our support base.

Goal: 2,000 followers x 1000 supporters = 2,000,000 second-tier followers

Twitter limits the amount of people you can follow up until you reach 2,000 followers. The strategy becomes a little more tedious afterwards; however, reaching 2,000 followers is extremely easy and everyone here can do this.

Step-by-Step to 2,000 Followers. So easy, Grandma could do it!

1) Setup a Twitter account if you don't have one. Avoid including in your account name anything that might make you appear "marketing-like" or might make someone think you are just another spammer. This would also include not putting Ron Paul in your name. Be sure to upload a profile image and description. This becomes twice as difficult if those points aren't considered.
2) If you want to target localities, start by going to your state capitol's newspaper (for example, mine is the Indianapolis Star on Twitter). Click on their following. Go down that list and simply follow EVERYONE, up until you reach about 400-500 you are following.
3) Limit how many you follow each day to about 400 or Twitter will suspend your account, as you will send a red flag in their system.
4) If you follow 400 per day, you will reach your 2,000 limit in 5 days. Do not follow more than 500 per day or you will likely get your Twitter account suspended.
5) Once you max out, wait for about 2 days and do absolutely nothing with your Twitter, except tweeting of course.
6) After a few days, go to http://manageflitter.com and login. This tool allows you to manage your Twitter account. In this case, we are concerned with those who aren't following you back.

7) Click and drag across all the thumbnails that become exposed when you expand that menu. Unfollow all these people.
8) Go back to Twitter and repeat steps 4 and 5, until you reach 2,000 followers!

The benefit of Twitter is that most people will automatically follow you back, so there is really no way you CAN'T reach 2,000 followers.

With 1,000 supporters doing this, we'd technically have a 200,000 following. If it's 10,000 that jumps to 2 Million. 100,000 would be 20 Million. Etc. Etc.

My account @brettdusek I reached 2,000 followers in about a week and a half.

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Update: Also, be engaged! You will naturally encourage followers outside of this strategy if you are actually communicating. I try to have one-on-one conversations as often as I can when I'm on Twitter. When you @ someone, they see it and usually respond. When someone responds to you, it shows up in their followers feed, with a link back to your profile. So the more people are talking to YOU, the more people you are exposed to.

Be Natural! Get extroverted and if you have to, reply to everything you see coming into your feed.

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Include #rpfs hashtag into some of your tweets, so we can track everyone's progress and follow each other.

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Follow @rptweeps so we can track results.

[dusman]

I forgot to mention one thing. Find someone that is our "Target Audience" like a GOP representative and go through their following list and follow up to 400 per day. Doing this, you'll tend to draw follows from Republicans. You could do this with any group in particular, but that is just an example.. similar to how I used the Indianapolis Star to target Tweeps around Indy.

If you all like this, suggest a stickie!

[sailingaway]

good strategy!

[dusman]

good strategy!

When my clients took it seriously and actually took action, it has always worked. It's easier than most people would think.

[mport1]

Great stuff.

[ShowMeLiberty]

Will definitely work on this. Great strategy!

[dusman]

Try to encourage supporters to do this and we'll be able to make headway on this front.

[roughridersten]

Just setup an account and added 400 Michele Bachmann followers. Lets see how this goes.

[angelatc]

I did a variation of this, and it works. I also go through periodically and unfollow accounts that aren't active. (No tweets in 3 months? Buh bye) Most of the time, those folks don't unfollow back, so I end up with more people following me than vice versa.

[Bergie Bergeron]

Just setup an account and added 400 Michele Bachmann followers. Lets see how this goes.

Poste the video about Bachmann praising Ron

[rich34]

If we can get 10,000 to 15,000 donating we'll have a GREAT day tomorrow! :-) Anymore than that will be gravy..

[eduardo89]

Just removed over 600 follows today!

[dusman]

I did a variation of this, and it works. I also go through periodically and unfollow accounts that aren't active. (No tweets in 3 months? Buh bye) Most of the time, those folks don't unfollow back, so I end up with more people following me than vice versa.

That is exactly what I do and the non-reciprocated unfollow is exactly why this works so well.

[dusman]

Just setup an account and added 400 Michele Bachmann followers. Lets see how this goes.

Great to hear! Be sure to follow up tomorrow to do the same thing!

[roughridersten]

Poste the video about Bachmann praising Ron

Do you have a link to it? And if you guys have any other suggestions for what might appeal to Bachmann followers let me know.

Btw, after a few hours I've got about 20 followers.

[The Free Hornet]

I am still a stranger to twitter despite knowing what it is technically (you can't help but see tweets even without an account). *If* I were to setup an account, who ought I to follow? That sounds bad, I mean

#1 Notifications of when to vote in an online poll

#2 Moneybomb reminders (1 week, 1 day, That day!)

#3 Heads-up about Ron Paul being on a show

#4 Great articles or opinion pieces about Ron Paul

#5 Perhaps stuff relevant to my state (Illinois)

That might be all I want, and it would be everything I'm inclined to retweet. Unless there are better ideas on what to tweet...

Also, if I activate an account and link it to my phone (receive tweets as SMS messages) can I limit when Twitter sends me messages? I don't turn off text at night because I will get important SMS messages when asleep (work stuff). Or should I just get a prepaid phone and paint it red? So I can turn it off and tell people it is connected DIRECTLY to the Ron Paul campaign.

[Justinfrom1776]

Awesome idea, I'm setting up a separate account to do this on to avoid the spam.. Also, just got a tweet from @revpac, trying to get #RonPaulBday trending for the bomb.. Social media is a great way to spread the word and Facebook and Twitter are so much more effective than Myspace was last go around, it could mean the difference in this election for us.

Anyone is welcome to follow my normal account it's @JustinFrom1776

[dusman]

There really is no bounds on "who" to follow. What I usually will do is pick a person on Twitter that I like and go through their following and follow those people. Chances are they will be similarly minded.

I liked someone's initiative to follow just Michele Bachmann supporters. That's a great idea. Perhaps, follow Rick Perry supporters. Check http://twitter.com/#!/governorperry.

Doesn't that puppy picture just make you wanna vote for him? lol

As for notifications... I just setup a folder in my catch all e-mail account. However, I rarely review them and will usually just jump on Twitter to check messages.

[roughridersten]

Although this is sort of a separate issue than using twitter to reach new people, if someone knows of a twitter account that sends updates about polls that would be very useful (especially during work hours when I can't constantly monitor the forum).

[gerryb]

Convinced me to start a twitter account; This is a really good way to counter-act the media blackout. I won't be posting too much direct RP info, but lots of the policies he is strong on

[dusman]

Convinced me to start a twitter account; This is a really good way to counter-act the media blackout. I won't be posting too much direct RP info, but lots of the policies he is strong on

Every little bit helps. All it takes is duplication among thousands to reach millions.

[gerryb]

Every little bit helps. All it takes is duplication among thousands to reach millions.

Soft sell.

Everyone on the board should be doing this, and re-tweeting the good news from organizations they like.

Is there any way to filter your feed to put your "favorite" follows tweets on the top?

[dusman]

Soft sell.

Everyone on the board should be doing this, and re-tweeting the good news from organizations they like.

Is there any way to filter your feed to put your "favorite" follows tweets on the top?

Kind of, you can group followers you want to pay attention to with "Lists".

I agree, everyone really should be doing this. It's just too easy and expands each person's outreach 1-to-2000.

[dusman]

I'd hate to suggest this for my own post, but could we sticky this?

[gerryb]

I'd hate to suggest this for my own post, but could we sticky this?

second the motion

[dusman]

Just trying to remind supporters to keep plugging this strategy. Bump.

[Buchananite]

second the motion

Here Here

[PEnemy]

Could one suggest a list of attractive national twitter accounts, and accounts relevant to Iowa/NH?

It would be much appreciated. I'm new to the twitter.

[Buchananite]

Just to be clear on this: I can unfollow and they will still follow me? I am new to this.

FYI I am going through the AJC followers list

[JoshLowry]

Yea, that sounds like a low brow tactic.

We don't want to promote this.