When I saw that Paris Hilton has a Twitter account I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for us to have some BFF time. We have a lot in common: she’s named Paris and I changed planes in Paris last summer, she goes clubbing in Hollywood and I used to go clubbing in Hollywood (shhhh, she doesn’t need to know that was when she was in diapers), and we both have dogs – hers fits in a handbag and mine wouldn’t fit in a mailbag!
Paris has over a million and a half Twitter follows. Following Paris Hilton on Twitter is likely a one-way relationship since she only follows 271 tweeters—that’s significantly less than 1% of her followers. My chances of having Paris share Tweets with me are pretty slim. Alas, it seems that our mutual tweeting just isn’t going to happen.
So if you aren’t going to develop a following of the latest celebrity tweeters, is following a celebrity tweeter a one-way proposition? The answer is yes… and no.
You can follow as many celebrities as you like, however it’s about as likely as me and Paris going on a shopping spree at Fred Segal that the celebrity will return the favor and follow you. Celebrities use Twitter to manage their public image and to keep fans informed of their activities on their own terms. Many celebrities tweet as part of sponsorship deals… they tweet to sell you something.
Assuming you’re tweeting to have your product or service seen by celebrity movers and shakers, with careful mining you can get some sweet tweet time from your favorite celebs.
- Mention a celebrity in your tweet (@ParisHilton) and the celebrity’s followers will see your tweet.
- Who does the celebrity follow? These people and businesses are sometimes more interesting than the celebrity. Mention these “followable” people and businesses in your tweets.
- Follow who celebrities follow. It’s like the underdog team peaking at the other team’s handbook. You can learn their winning Twitter strategies from their Tweets and following.
Ride the twitter wave to create new relationships and generate interest in your business. Celebrities with large followings are in “the know” about tweeting so we recommend leveraging their social networking knowledge and fan base.
