When I first joined Twitter, I thought I would eventually become one of those people with 100,000 followers and end up following only 100 people. I was able to get as far as 1,667 followers while only following 12 people. However, the number 1,667 didn’t change for months. On some days, I would gain a follower and have 1,668 followers. It always seemed as I would lose one follower the very next day.
This is the path I took for months. It seemed as if no matter what I did, I would remain stuck with only 1,667 followers forever without any signs of improvement. I tried everything I could to get more followers except what I was very reluctant to do: follow others. One day, all of the frustration piled on until I made my move: I started following others.
Following others also led me to following back. As my following count soared, I started to get more followers. All of a sudden, I got almost 100 followers. Then I got 194 followers in one day. Then I settled at a consistent 30 followers every day. Getting 30 followers every day was a lot better than being stuck at 1,667.
As my following continues to grow, I decided to ask myself how I was able to get the big following by following others and why I wasn’t able to get the big following by only following 100 people. After some thought, the answer became clear, and it applies for a lot of people on Twitter right now.
The reason I was stuck at 1,667 followers for a long time was because people did not know me. The best way to get people to know who you are is by following them and hoping for a follow back. As more people get to know you, your will build a bigger following. That’s how I went from being stuck to gaining 30 followers a day to gaining hundreds of followers every day.
People need to know about you. By following people on Twitter, you are telling them that you are on the web. When enough people follow you back, and you continue to tweet consistently, your presence on the web becomes powerful and extraordinary.