8 Ways To Build Your Community On Twitter

Social media is now mainstream. People are more comfortable communicating and sharing their thoughts, opinions and life via social media networks like Facebook and Twitter and even on niche platforms like Path and Pinterest. We are both happy to have friends from all over the world. It is awesome to be able to connect with people 24/7.

We are often asked the question, how are you able to engage with everyone who follows you on Twitter. Believe us it is not easy and we are sure that a lot of you experience the same thing, but we do try our best. We are just happy we have PodJam.tv as one of the vehicles that help us express our thoughts and ideas with our ever growing community. If you want to grow in social media, especially on Twitter, we believe that the only way to do so is to build your community.

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1.   Introduce people to your followers – It is always good to introduce new followers to your network.  We would have not met so many amazing people if we were never given that opportunity.   People like @2morrowKnight, @Mayhemstudios, @Zaibatsu, @AnnTran_, @JessicaNorthey, @LoriMoreno and @GlenGilmore to name a few people who have 75,000 to well over 300,000 followers yet you see them sharing and introducing people to their networks all the time.

 2.   Follow people from different niches -  One thing we have learned is that the only way to grow our community and have the benefit of learning new and varied things is to reach out and follow people from different niches. One person we follow is @earthXplorer. He is a world traveller and we have seen the world through his eyes and photography lens. Another awesome person is @JoyceCherrier who is a fitness expert that inspires us to eat right and exercise more.

3. Learn to reciprocate – The best way to build your community on Twitter is to learn to reciprocate. Retweet and share information that your followers tweet. We make it a point to not just share our own articles but also share the ones that we find our followers would find informative and useful. As our friend @iconic88 would say, “sharing is caring” and there is so much truth in that. Some of the people we are so blessed to know and embody the true meaning of sharing are: @gupshupblog, @leaderswest, @yb2012, @terrinakamura, @ellies58, @ShiCooks, @SociallyGenius, @GWPStudio, @Bittymom, @myniffie, @YouKnowSteve.  These awesome people truly embody the spirit of “sharing is caring.”

4.  Make it a point to connect with your Twitter friends offline – This is something that we both enjoy. If you get the chance to meet your Twitter friends offline, do it. Whether it be at a conference or a Tweet-up, make it a point to contact each other and make plans to meet up. Not only is it fun but the bond you will make will be priceless.

5.  Build up rather than put down – It is so sad to see people fight or put people down on Twitter. Concentrate on building each other up rather than creating drama or putting someone down for the sake of getting attention. Nothing good will ever come out of it. We are inspired by people like @Flipbooks, @MamaBritt, @arkarthick, @CharityIdeas and @Lotay. These are just some of the people who always make it a point to share information and positive encouragement that build people up.

6.  Never think that Twitter is a popularity contest -  Never think that Twitter is a numbers game. It is not the number of followers that matter, it is the quality of sharing and interaction that is really important. We are not saying that having a lot of followers is not good, it’s the placing of so much importance on it to the point of feeling invaluable because of the lack of it.

7.  Use tools available to you to connect, share and interact -  There are so many Twitter tools available for you to build your community.  One is the DM or Direct Message function on Twitter. Use it to say hello if you feel intimidated to do it on the public stream. There is also @bufferapp that will allow you to share information or retweet posts from your friends by scheduling them so that you don’t over crowd your stream.

8.  Be helpful -  We saved the best for last, the ultimate way you can build your community is by being open to help your Twitter friends. How do you do that? It is by being available to answer questions that your followers may have when it comes to learning to use the platform. Twitter has evolved so much the past few years and those people new to Twitter may have a hard time navigating their way. We encourage you to follow @TweetSmarter and @adamsconsulting as they are both great resources regarding anything and everything about Twitter.

There you go our eight ways to build your community on Twitter.  Did we miss anything?  Please let us know your thoughts. We would love to hear from you.
Image credit: Marty McPadden Misty Belardo

About the authors:

Marty McPadden founder and host of PodJamTv is a professional photographer, videographer, blogger, apple geek and a Production Supervisor at ESPN one of the largest sports network in the world. His vast knowledge in the above mentioned field will allow you our readers to tap into tools, apps, reviews and tips that he has learned and mastered over the years. How to’s and hacks that will allow you to have a richer online experience.

Misty Belardo co host and co writer of PodJamTv is an experienced blogger, designer and a self proclaimed Twitter-holic and an avid Facebook user is a Senior Production Manager at Barefoot Proximity, one of the most awarded advertising agencies across the globe. Her experience with writing, designing, SEO and brand and advertising strategy will give readers a point of view of what happens behind the scenes in the digital sphere.

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