How to get 428.983 followers on Twitter*
I meet a lot of people who want to build an audience on social media. But how do you do that? I don’t have a definite answer, but yesterday I felt that I received a glimpse of it. It arrived in my mailbox and it looked like this:
However, the story doesn’t begin here, so let’s back up a bit. Two weeks ago Brian Quinn, a friend and currently leading special projects at CreativeMornings, , told me me that because their events sell out so fast, each month they end up with a long wait list. So what do they do? They invite members of the community to host what they call FieldTrips and send people from the waitlist there. Brian asked me if I could be interested in hosting one and sharing my Think Clearly practice. I said yes, and so it went. The following Friday 17 lovely creatives showed up to share croissants and coffee and to draw their lives, dreams and challenges with pen and paper.
It was a lovely experience, and I really enjoyed hosting it.
Two weeks later I got that letter in the mail. I opened it and inside was a lovely, short and genuinely warm and appreciative little note signed Tina, and a stick-on tattoo that says “awesome”:
Tina is of course Tina Roth-Eisenberg, better known as @swissmiss/swiss-miss.com. I have never actually met Tina. She never asked me for my address. But I have heard about her from a lot of people. We have friends in common. I have heard about her generosity of spirit. Her warmness and genuine nature. And with this card, with this simple yet extremely generous gesture, she has made me feel truly special. Truly valued. Valued in a different way than any $5000 keynote check. Valued as a friend. I’m moved to tears.
I personally think that this is the real secret. Tina is not “building an audience.” She is not “leveraging her network.” She is not just “sharing cool stuff.” Although she does share a lot of cool stuff, it’s not why she is successful. I think Tina is successful because she knows how to make people around her — the people she meets, the people that support her in projects — feel absolutely valued.
This is not a task you can delegate to an assistant. This is not an add-on. Not an afterthought. This is the real project. This is what Swiss Miss really DOES. She doesn’t take you for granted, even if you are just one of 428.983 Twitter followers.
You might be thinking: “But it takes a long time to find someone’s address, to write them a nice card, put on a stamp and mail it to them… especially if you are a person who meets a lot of people.” And it does! That’s the whole point. That’s how it shows that you value someone. Let’s look at the math: it probably took 10 minutes to ask a few people to find my address and about 8 minutes to actually compose the message and write the card, and to be safe, let’s add another 12 minutes of procrastination prior to the actual doing. That’s 30 minutes of precious time. What will she get in return? I have been turned from someone who knew about her, her work, CreativeMornings etc. to a full on fan. A supporter. If she ever asks me for help, I will be there!
So, how can you do like Tina does? Or perhaps more importantly: how can you BE more like Tina IS? Should you send handwritten cards to everyone you ever meet? No, of course not! That would not be appropriate. Here’s what I see:
— Do something that is bigger than you, and that truly matters to you. This will allow others to get involved and help you. — Be honest, open and real.
— Appreciate everyone and push yourself to come up with creative ways of showing this in order to make others feel valued.
If you do that with everyone you meet. Everyone you touch. Every person who’s hand you shake. Every person who helps you. And you keep doing it consistently for ten years (swiss-miss.com launched in 2005), you will very likely also have a large audience. Will you have 428.983 direct followers on Twitter? Maybe. Maybe not. But at that point I don’t think it will matter to you, because you will be surrounded by people who love you for who you are.
* Results not guaranteed.
Mathias Jakobsen is the creator of Think Clearly. Born in Denmark, he founded his first company at age 15, building digital solutions for companies. He currently works as a Learning Designer at Hyper Island.
