So is retweeting the solution to attracting more followers? Is it the holy grail that some “experts” claim it to be?
There are tons and tons of books and tweeter “gurus” who claim that retweeting is the ultimate formula to attracting more followers on Twitter.
Well is it? Yes and No. If you are retweeting things that make sense then yes, by all means do retweet. If the content is engaging and compelling and you are not retweeting just for the sake of it, then retweeting might get you some traction and more than a few followers.
But, and let me repeat: But, if you’re just doing it for the sake of retweeting, then I don’t think it works.
You see, Twitter, like everything else in life worth the trouble, takes time. Building a following takes time AND dedication. People follow you because you’re unique and feel that you can add to the conversation. Why else would they follow you?
Let me give you and example of how I think Twitter works. Imagine you’re invited to a dinner party. It’s a party where most guests know each other and now they want to get to know you. It’s a place where people have gathered to engage and express their ideas. Everyone is sitting at the table and people start talking, giving their points of view on life and their expertise. There’s celebrities, politicians, heads of state, athletes. The heads of the largest corporations and the greatest entrepreneurs of our time are also sitting there. All side by side sharing comments. So now you start interrupting the host and those that have been attending these dinner parties before you, and you start making weird noises, and uttering nonsense, saying blabber. My guess is you’re probably not going to get an invite to attend the next dinner parties again. Guests will start alienating you and you’ll instantly become persona non grata.
But on the other hand if you sit, observe, listen and then come up with good and engaging ideas, things that are of interest to you and the community, and sharing pockets of knowledge from your travels around the world (or the internet) then my bet is that the other guests will start listening and paying attention. Not only that but probably they will start demanding more of you and your interesting ideas. They will make sure they shut-up and listen to what you have to say. Well, if you think about it that’s pretty much the same way that Twitter works! If you start spamming and retweeting noise and nonsense, then most probably people won’t follow you. But if you make sense, have influent or at least engaging and interesting ideas to share then people will start following you. It’s that simple.
Don’t be “that person” no one wants to hang out with. Become the one they all want to be around. So forget about what other “gurus” say. There is no simple formula to attract followers. It just takes common sense, time and dedication.
