Earlier this month, an anonymous former member of Newt Gingrich's fledgling campaign for the Republic Presidential nomination told Gawker that the 68 year old paid agencies to boost the number of followers he had on Twitter. Perhaps the unnamed staffer has been reading the ClareMackenzie.com blog, as the allegation relates to our recent look at social media's position in politics.
Gingrich has over 1.3 million followers, which is even more than the total followers of all the other Republican Presidential candidates combined, but analysis of his Twitter account by PeekYou suggests that only 8% of these are real individuals. The rest, it is argued, are fake accounts that Gingrich got companies to create in order to boost his statistics.
Gingrich's team vehemently deny the allegation and say that his high follower total is due to his account being older than other candidates and having been featured as a 'recommended follow' by Twitter.
In truth, it doesn't really matter whether the claim is true or not. Gingrich is almost certainly not going to be the Republican nominee for President, and if proved the story would just be yet another case of an electioneering PR disaster.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart's take on the story
But what is important about the story is that it brings to the forefront the commonly held mistaken belief that running a successful Twitter account is all about getting as many followers as possible, and nothing more. It's a view shared by countless political groups, companies, and businesses alike, but it's one that misses perhaps the most important ingredient for Twitter success - interaction.
Whether you're a successful global manufacturer with thousands of followers or a new start-up business in IT with a hundred, communication is key. It doesn't matter how many people can see your tweets if they're all on irrelevant topics that they couldn't care less about.
The best way to use Twitter to the benefit of your organisation is to identify the people you need to communicate with, develop the tone of voice you want to use and initiate personal but professional 2-way conversations. This will maintain relationships with current customers or clients, and demonstrate good service that can only help to attract new business.
It's also important to use Twitter frequently and proactively, rather than merely composing the occasional tweet and logging off, as it's a unique platform that enables companies to respond to online public criticism and positively influence opinion.
Unfortunately for them, lots of businesses don't recognise the importance of Twitter or understand how to use it successfully. That's why now is the time to get a jump on competitors and develop a strong social media strategy, not just try and get more followers than anyone else like Newt Gingrich.