10 Steps to Attract Twitterers You Want in Your Network

Twitter makes it easy to meet people you want to meet:

1. EXPRESS GOOD WILL – Following your followers (unless they are truly unsavory) acknowledges their existence and is a good will gesture. You never know whether a stranger is going to turn out to be a great network contact…
2. ACKNOWLEDGE – If you follow somebody on Twitter you would like to develop a relationship with, retweet their good tweets and/or add commentary to them. They will notice.
3. COMMUNICATE – Once your retweets get their attention, start participating in their conversations.
4. SHARE INTIMACY – Be on the lookout for matching interests. Sharing arcane references puts you in a special “club”. I like to share the secret that I know jazz and salsa music, and basketball to those who can appreciate it.
5. MAKE BUSINESS CONTACT – Once you develop a Twitter rapport, make a simple proposition. Tweet with a request for 5 minutes over the phone for introductions. The proposition is best an idea that you’d like feedback on, or a question that your new contact can answer… not a blunt “Can you help me?”
6. PREPARE RELATIONSHIP – When you ask for the 5 minutes, also send/tweet a link to your LinkedIn profile to the contact to show you mean business. LinkedIn works like a resume, and your contact may intuit the reason for your show of interest.
7. DON’T BE PUSHY – Do not create obligations at the beginning of a relationship (a standard social rule) – no asking for retweets, follows, or introductions to others. Let your contacts offer them.
8. BUILD BY ADDING VALUE – Continue offering streams of ideas and links to appropriate, interesting articles to your new contacts. Build the relationship!
9. STAY SOCIAL – The nice thing about Twitter is that interactions only take minutes, phone calls and emails take more thought and time.
10. REALLY MEET! – Be sure to meet face-to-face when a conference, Tweet-Up or other opportunity exists.