I recommend using promotional gifts on Twitter after you pass that 2000 limit
You need more followers than you follow to get past the 2000 limit.
Almost everyone on Twitter will have been followed by people who are following exactly 2001 people. These people usually only have a couple hundred followers of their own. Most don’t last long on Twitter when they realise that simply following as many people as possible just doesn’t work.
Twitter set a follow limit of 2001 people to stop spammers and those who are more interested in gaining thousands of followers than they are in participating on Twitter. Unfortunately for the Twitter novice who really wants to be successful and enjoy Twitter, this 2001 follow limit could negatively affect them too.
This is why I recommend starting your Twitter campaign slowly and really getting into it. Follow a few hundred people and see who follows you back. Then follow a couple hundred more and really interact with those who follow you. If you notice a few people along the way who are only trying to sell to you or perhaps aren’t people at all, unfollow them.
Do this for about five days and then stop your pro-active following. Get to know those who follow you. Try to follow people back who follow you too if they look interesting.
Once you are following about 1000 people, it’s time to do some house cleaning. You will probably notice that you are being followed by substantially fewer people than you are following. You’ve got to unfollow those who don’t follow back so that you can add more who might follow you back.
When it comes to branding on Twitter, you need to have a lot of followers.
Don’t let anyone tell you any differently!
Unfollowing those people who haven’t followed you back is the only way to get past that 2000 follow limit quickly.
There are several good ways to easily identify those who are not following you back. Some services you have to pay for while others are free of charge. One of the free options is Twitter Karma which can be found right here. Using this simple – but sometimes slow – app will help you unfollow everyone who has not returned the favour of following you back.
So let’s say that you have 250 followers but you’re following 1000. If you use Twitter Karma, you can unfollow 750 non-followers and then follow another 750. Do this. Then after a few days, it’s time to do the same again.
I know it sounds a bit time consuming and it is. But if you do this boring but essential job you should be able to get in excess of 2000 followers before you hit that 2000 follow limit. I’ve done this on many occasions and have never had a problem getting over the 2000 barrier.
In my next blog post we will be looking at using lists to keep an eye on your competitors and keeping up to date with anyone who interests you who doesn’t follow back. We’re getting close to using promotional gifts now to build your Twitter brand. Just a few more steps to go first.
