I spend way more time thinking about Twitter than I should. I try out most of the free (and some paid) analytics tools. I A/B accounts profile descriptions for clients to see which resonates most.
But a lot of my insights come from just doing. I spend over 20 hours a week on Twitter and at least another ten doing related projects. The strategy I am going to present is largely born out of understanding how Twitter works through my main personal account , and then taking that experience and applying it to client accounts. Sometimes an idea turns out to have some usefulness, many times not.
This strategy is just one of several techniques and filters I use, but I do feel that it is a highly effective criteria which should be a starting point for targeting potential followers.
Here is the strategy.
Target accounts whose following and follower numbers both fall between 200 and 700.
Try to incorporate that when thinking about who to follow, who to follow-back, who to reward, and who to add to lists.
Here is a break-down of why this targeting strategy captures number of different criteria by using this particular range of following/follower numbers.
Following less than 700
These accounts haven't got into the numbers game and likely aren't an automated or mass follow account. Additionally, their Twitter Timeline is likely still meaningful to them. They haven't had to use lists to filter out who they view. This is the most important aspect of the criteria. Getting someone to follow your account who follows less than 700 people makes it much more likely that they will actually view some of your tweets.
Following more than 200
They are less likely to be an account that only follows a select few people. This isn't to say that they will follow any account, but if you provide something of value you have a fair shot. You also are avoiding people who are totally new to Twitter or who didn't find the service compelling enough to stick with it. It is a cue that they are open to following accounts that are new to them.
Less than 700 Followers
This criteria avoids people who already have so many people paying attention to what they post that they are less likely to act on a new follower that they don't know.
More than 200 Followers
They have put the time into Twitter to build an audience. It might not be a large audience, but I have found accounts in the 200-700 range tend to have more engagement.
By combining the criteria you avoid accounts that follow 2000 but only are followed by 300 or vice versa. Obviously if you can get a high follower account that achieved that without many follows, that is a good land, but at the same time, those accounts are unlikely to follow a new account based on past history. You can work toward getting those "influencers", but you better deliver amazing content as well as established a reputation for doing so.
I want to be clear; I am not saying people who follow more than 700 people are cheating the system or aren't worth following. A couple of my favorite people on Twitter follow over 700 accounts (as well as the converse of under 200). My position is that if you know nothing about the account or person, then looking at their following/follower numbers and using the 200-700 criteria makes sense.
Also, it should be noted that Twitter isn't just about being heard. I follow close to 100 accounts where I have no expectation that they will ever follow me. I follow them because they provide useful or interesting information.
I know this topic doesn't have universal appeal, but if you find yourself researching Twitter accounts, give the 200-700 criteria a try. I would enjoy hearing your thoughts. All of us who use Twitter have experience in this area, and your feedback is appreciated.