Blogathon 2009 – Top 7 Solutions for New Twitter Users

Post #22 of #49 – Over the next 24 hours I will be raising funds for the Union Gospel Mission during Blogathon 2009 by writing a blog post every 30 minutes. Please consider donating to my cause to keep my going until 6am PT July 26th.

The following is a guest post, contributed by Brian Wong of Followformation.

The boomerang effect of Twitter is the phenomena of new users signing up for Twitter, getting completely lost in the service, leaving it, only to come back a few short months later. But what’s causing these new Twitter users (we call them “chirpers”) to leave? Here are the top problems and solutions that we hope will help break the boomerang trend.

1) I don’t know who to follow.

A clever solution to this problem comes in the form of a couple “network” discovery tools. The first is Followformation. Followformation allows you to quickly follow the top people on Twitter by interest or category. You choose people from different categories, like news, sports and gossip, and you automatically follow everyone in just a few clicks.

Another more advanced tool is called Mr. Tweet. If you’re a more savvy tweeter, Mr. Tweet takes some time to analyze your following lists, what you tweet about, and makes recommendations personalized to you based on who you should follow. It’s a great way to build your network’s relevancy through discovery.

2) My friends aren’t on Twitter

They will be, and may be already. In Twitter, check through your email addresses to see who in your network is already tweeting.

3) Twitter is just too much of everything, and I can’t make sense of it all

That’s called ‘clutter’. Break through this by finding the most important or relevant topics being talked about in real-time, try Tweetmeme, which tracks the popularity of stories by retweeting (or reposting a link), or Twitscoop, which literally allows you to see “the buzz” in real-time.

4) I like Facebook better

A lot of people use them for different reasons, but there’s a Facebook app that allows you to post your tweets to your Facebook status, or vice versa. Also, integration tools like Tweetdeck.com and Ping.fm allow you to manage both accounts without losing your sanity.

5) I’m following too many people and I don’t want to miss all their tweets

If you’re a busy person, just pay attention to the important people! Tweetdeck.com allows you to create groups to track certain individuals (as well as the upcoming Hootsuite 2.0), but if you want a more simple solution, try Twitter for Busy People. This tool is literally named for you; it shows a one page summary of who’s been tweeting in past predetermined time periods, and allows you to skim through to find out what they’ve been up to.

6) People don’t follow me back

Friendorfollow allows you to figure out whether or not someone has “betrayed” you, by not following you back. You can’t force someone to follow you back, but you sure can stop following someone who is refusing to follow you back. Friendorfollow is a great way to prowl through your network to find these people.

7) Celebrities and important people don’t talk to me

Usually it’s because they’re busy, so don’t take it personally. Although celebs say that Twitter has allowed them to connect with their fans directly, so if you’re fixed on talking to Shaq or Ashton Kutcher, give them a reason to reply. Send something they’d be interested in. Stick out from the masses and a response may surprise you.

About Brian: Brian is the Co-Founder of Aer Marketing Inc., a fringe marketing agency.

Post #22 of #49 – Over the next 24 hours I will be raising funds for the Union Gospel Mission during Blogathon 2009 by writing a blog post every 30 minutes. Please consider donating to my cause to keep my going until 6am PT July 26th.