Wading Through the Noise on Twitter

One of the reasons why we all love Twitter is the ability to have instantaneous one-on-one conversations with like-minded folks.  Until recently Twitter was like a closed community to marketing and tech geeks but as more businesses, celebrities and mainstream media pick up on it, Twitter is seeing growth of mind-blowing rates.  Unique visitors grew from 7.9 million in February 2009 to 14 million in March 2009.  So, as Twitter becomes more mainstream, how do you wade through all of the noise and find people to follow and interact with who provide value to you or your business?

First, remember that Twitter is 100% opt-in.  Only those people that you choose to follow will show up in your stream.  If you don’t find value in that interaction, there is no rule saying that you must follow anyone.

Second, use Twellow and Twitter Grader to search the bios of Twitter users.  You can use these services to search for people with similar careers, interests, etc.  Of course, Twitter does not standardize the bio area so it is based on whatever users type in.  Therefore make sure you search different variations, especially if you’re searching job titles.  For instance, a search for “Director of Marketing” will yield different results than a search for “Dir. of Marketing”, “Dir. of Mkt” or any other similar searches.

Third, use Twitter Search to find conversations that are taking place around subjects that interest you.  From there you can see who is talking about those subjects and what else they generally have to say.  Interested?  Follow them and start engaging.  Want to really become a pro?  Try using Advanced Search…

These tools will help you to find those people or businesses that are talking about subjects that are interesting to you.  But remember that it’s up to ensure that you’re engaging in meaningful conversations.

What other ways do you use to find people to follow on Twitter?

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