Attracting Better Quality Connections by Making One Change on Twitter
Posted by Melody Campbell on June 21, 2009 · 12 Comments
I am sitting hear listening to Blog Talk Radio Host, Sandra Lee Schubert, interview with Rick Butts who just released his program Stardust Factor, a social media workshop about how to create an authentic, attractive, persona for your and your business and I am reminded of something that I heard Rick Butts talk about last summer.
Here’s the idea as I understand it:
Everyday I “evesdrop” on Twitter conversations. I see one Twitter friend tweeting with someone I am unfamiliar with, but the conversation looks interesting so I click on their Twitter handle to open their profile, but it doesn’t end there. First thing I look at to decide whether or not I want to follow this person is if their Twitter background suggests that he or she fits the kind of person I want to follow. The very next thing I look at is whether or not this person has a url in their profile.
Here is one important thing – if he or she does not have a URL in his or her profile – I never, ever follow that person, but more about this at another time.
One of the things that Rick Butts suggested is to intentionally put a url that invites and encourages connection. So rather than just sending visitors to the home page of your blog why not create a landing page designed especially for those that discover you on Twitter?
I love this idea and I don’t know why it took me a year to decide to implement it. Okay, but realize I am not suggesting that I will, or should you create a landing page that is an email sign up – that is exactly the wrong approach, in my opinion.
I also just listened to The Fulcrum Effect by Rajesh Setty – where he defines your “personal brand” as the promise you make to the world and to the market. As Rick Butts so aptly put it on his interview with Sandra Lee Shubert, “a personal brand is a whole lot easier to pull off if it is authentic.
So with this interview and seminar processing in my brain, I am wondering how to present a friendlier invitation to connect and expand my circle of influence with Rick’s idea of a Twitter specific landing page. Here are some of my ideas:
- A video of me welcoming them as they arrive as a result of finding my Twitter profile.
- A short summary of some of the projects that I am involved in.
- A list of the books I am reading or listening too.
- A list of the different ways to connect with me including other social media & Get More Business Show
The only invitation is not to subscribe to my newsletter but rather to connect with me in my social setting if they believe I will add value to their circle of influence. What do you think? Do you have any other ideas?
Not sure exactly what I will do on this landing page for new Twitter friends but as you can see I have a couple of ideas. I will experiment with different things to see what will encourage quality connections. I need your help and would love to hear your ideas.
If you were to visit my, or someone elses Twitter profile, and click on the link in the URL – what would make you smile and encourage you to follow? What would encourage you to connect and not send you clicking on the back button like retreating from a snake pit?
![[Post to Twitter]](http://thesmallbusinessguru.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png){kind=icon}
Welcome back! Would you like to be updated in Google Feed Reader when I update my blog? Please subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks again for visiting my blog! Did you leave a comment? I'd love to know what's on your mind...
Related posts:
Hi, Melody,
When I first joined Twitter, I made a bee-line for the person’s “About” page. Some of them are pretty dismal, lacking even the basics such as a picture and basic contact info. It was the rare few that contained those bits of info with deeper answers to what motivates them, what they want visitors to remember about them, and other things that indicate they are 1.) Real people that 2.) I might actually *enjoy* following.
I have seen landing pages that are like directories…their handle for every known social media outlet. Frankly, I find those unappealing.
I like your idea of a welcoming video. I suggest adding direct links to your latest blog post, any upcoming events you have planned, your radio show schedule, and your About page.
Have fun with this!
Many blessings,
Nancy
@AffirmingSpirit
I love your feedback. Yeah I’ve been to pages that look more like a telephone directory with everywhere possible to find them. I just wan to create a few juicy morsels of the places where I shine the most. I am not looking so much to increase my numbers as I am trying to improve the value that offer and in turn improving the quality of connections that end up following me – that more of them are either ideal prospects or ideal partners in some other life purpose or business context, ideally suited for both of us. The Twitter profile just doesn’t tell enough of my story to suit me.
Thank you for your great ideas!
Hey Melody, some awesome ideas there. Ok one of the raddest welcome auto DM’s (and the only one I even clicked on) was this girl who had a video of herself smiling & holding up placards with tib-bits about herself with some cool music in the background.
I liked her INSTANTLY! It was on her website, so that made it easy to go through the rest of her site. I’m not a big fan of landing pages, I’d rather visit someone’s website and check their about me page but that’s just me. Others may feel differently.
Something humorous, positive and fun would make me want to follow and engage with you! Doubt if anything you did or said could send people scurrying away
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with, no doubt it will be awesomely cool like you!!
@TiaSparkles
ooooo, I love that idea – the one where the girl was holding up placards about herself with music in the background.
You also made me think about the whole concept of a landing pages which in some cases is kind of a barrier because a landing page is typically a limit of a single or a few options of interaction. I really do want people to read my blog and discover what I have to offer but I don’t want them to miss out on a friendly introduction if that would help personalize the visit.
Wonderful food for thought, as always. Thank you Tia! You’re awesomely cool yourself! I read your recent post on why you had a headache yesterday. The more I am learning about law of attraction – I don’t doubt it.
Melody: One of the things which distract me completely is a person’s customised Twitter page (the background design). Some are horrible. I wished they’d stuck to the default background! That said, I always look at their profile first and then their tweets. Some tweets make no sense. In the beginning, I used to follow just about anyone who followed me. Then I realized this wasn’t working because some people annoyed me. So I began to select who I wanted to follow. This is a better strategy for me now. It’s like real relationships. There are people whom I’d love to have coffee with and then there are those whom I really don’t connect with. But through this post of yours, I’ve picked up some useful tips too. Thanks. Well, I keep learning every day!
Good point. I ALWAYS look at the person’s tweets. Sometimes their conversation doesn’t go where I want to go. Most of the time I love to look at Twitter backgrounds but you’re right some are hard to look at and poorly done. Lot’s of (or lack of) personality comes through. Important to not be distracting with one’s Twitter background.
Thank you, I value your input.
O Melody. What a wonderful post and to further the discussion, thanks for tweeting me specifically to ask me to comment. I am going to use that tool.
One of the first things I teach my clients is that authenticity creates a tension within you. If you are not asking yourself, “Is this authentic? Is this really me?” then you are not creating tension within yourself and you are not thinking enough about your issues. Not a bad tension but enough tension to further your thinking which you have obviously done here.
I never thought about it but I am definitely going to implement some of your suggestions. I am going to do it exclusively for Twitter as @AffirmingSpirit said. I would probably do a short video and ask them to poke around my blog and check out the radio show.
So many people have told me that they like how I come across on video so I will use that mechanism.
This is such a great blog post. I have felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of of followers on Twitter and I have not really paid much attention as to how I can improve this issue.
For instance when you introduce me to someone, I pay them particular attention so that is how I have been deepening those relationships.
Now, as far as landing pages go, I have never known what to do about this. I have one at http://www.InnerGeniusCoach.com but my main website/blog is http://www.Authenticchangecoach.com. It is not really me to have just a landing page. But it has been successful in getting people to sign up for my ezine. So what can I say?
Ok, I will tweet when my video is ready!
Thanks Melody.
Iyabo
When most IM people use the term “landing page” they’re using it as a “squeeze” page – like yours http://www.InnerGeniusCoach.com and mine http://www.BuildingYourCoachingBusiness.com – which I direct the readers of my articles to connect with me for more information on this topic. However. that would probably not attract many of my ideal connections in social media.
Twitter doesn’t offer much in the way of a profile – unless you add contact details to your Twitter background and even then it is static and not dynamic. My idea (coming off of Rick Butts idea last summer) is to create what might be better called a “welcome” page or a “let’s be friends” page with some representation of who an ideal connection would be for me AND more importantly what value I bring to them as a contact.
Lots to think about.
Hi Melody:
Great post. Now I have to go and find that audio to listen to myself!
Here is my take on this “without” first listening to the Rick Butt’s interview.
Recently I took a class with Perry Lawrence / @AskMrVideo and Carey Wilkerson / @Barefoot_Exec on Video Magnetism.
After being with them for four classes I came away with the idea of creating short, to-the-point, interesting, fun videos. Videos that are too long and focus on too many things make ones eyes glaze over no matter how much they like the person they are listening to. They may, as I have done, hang tuff and listen/watch all the way through, but it is shear torture. Those who do not know us will run and we have lost them forever!
So my idea would be to pick a subject and do a video not more than 2-3 minutes OR LESS. Try it out and see how it works. I plan to do that myself. I am working on a series idea!
I did a video that was under a minute for a cute holiday focusing on Barack Obama and Michelle Obama and the now famous Fist Bump they did. I believe the video may have been under a minute, but I don’t remember now.
I LOVE the idea of WELCOMING Twitter visitors via video. I may try that one myself! Having links to your other Social Networking profiles is a nice touch as well. Perhaps have the links below the video and mention the links to them in the video. Something like: Follow the links below to connect with me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Etc. ~ Please let me know if I can help you in any way… I would love to get to know you better! Something like that. This is off the cuff!
Another idea… You can have an opt in link and give THEM the choice. You can say, sign up for my ……. below, and/or connect with me on FB, LinkedIn, etc. Would love to get to know you better!
See you later.
Roz
http://www.RozOnTwitter.com
I like the video welcome idea. I have not done many videos, but people have told me I come across authentic and real! It makes me feel that I am on the right track, but I am sure I have a great deal more to learn.
Someone also sugged that I have the welcome video in a Twitter Welcome DM.
Just some thoughts.
Roz
http://www.RozOnTwitter.com
Excellent idea. I think the video idea is a fun possibility but anything personalized as a “welcome here” page is great.
Hi Melody –
You are a highly intelligent and hyper-perceptive person – who clearly posesses an intensely sharp mind and ability to see a good idea when you hear it – even on Blog Talk Radio!
Good to meet you – I’m gonna crawl around on your blog a bit.
RB