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In social media circles, the word is quality connections. How do you know if you are connecting to someone of quality. I think this idea can vary somewhat depending on your own initiatives. I will talk from a personal aspect and company aspect.
Personally Speaking
I like to check out articles in different trade magazines like Inc., Direct Marketing and FastCompany and connect with great business writers.
Also, I check out conference and if there is a particular topic I am interested in I try and connect with that person on Twitter.
While on Tweetdeck, I like to search using hashtags and look for people who post quality links to “their own” sites. Anyone can post information from other locations.
Conduct some searches using hashtag keywords and try connecting with some interesting people.
Company Speaking
I like to follow others who connect with our company brand. I do a quick check and look at their most recent activity and see if there is a good fit or not.
In addition, I like to search out vendors and other clients and potential clients. Do your homework here. If there is a lot of sales talk, don’t follow. If the company posts links from a blog site or posts information about their company, follow them.
Some Cautions
Look out for people who have more than 30,000 followers – Do you want to be another number? Do you really expect to connect. Let these people connect with you first. If they are really quality people, they will reach out first.
If someone posts 4 or more tweets at the same time, don’t bother they are way too busy to connect and generally they are about as close to spamming as they can get.
Be selective. Some of the best people on Twitter post information less than 2- 3 times a day. They have a life outside Twitter and are much more credible. (Sorry, just my opinion)
Check out online twitter chats. Participate, check out the participants and connect with a few of them and see if they post quality information outside of the chats.
What other tips would you add with respect to a “good” twitter connection? Go ahead and send me a note on Twitter.
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