4 Useful Tools For Finding People to Follow on Twitter

So you’ve got the hang of tweeting and branded your twitter profile, but how do you find more people to follow? This post is the third part in our series of ‘Guides to Twitter’, written by Alisha Ramos, a volunteer with Bright One. You can follow Alisha on Twitter at @alishalisha and Bright One at @brightonecomms.

Finding relevant people to follow on Twitter can seem like a daunting process. There are millions of people on Twitter, so how do you find the right ones to follow? Below is a list of useful tools to help you find people to follow.

1. The Twitter Search Engine
The Twitter search engine (search.twitter.com) is a powerful tool. Type in any general search term that is related to your company, nonprofit, or interests, and you can see a live feed of everyone who is tweeting on that topic. It may take some patience to weed through all the spammy, irrelevant mentions of the keyword, but you might be able to find some interesting people through the Twitter Search Engine.

2. Other Twitter Accounts
Looking at who other people are following is also an easy step in following relevant people on Twitter. Many Twitter accounts have “lists” that sort accounts in categories, which can be useful for browsing.

It might be best to start off with an influential person or website in your industry. For example, if I were a nonprofit, I would probably look at a Twitter profile like Idealist (@Idealist) and see who they are following and who they are talking about and do the same with those people and so on.

3. Online Twitter Directories
There are many new websites popping up now that serve as directories for Twitter accounts and groups. Here are some you may find useful:

1. WeFollow – WeFollow is probably the best, and is easy to use. Simply sign in with your Twitter account, add yourself to the directory, and see who else has added themselves in that directory. You can also see who the biggest “influencers” are in that category and who has the most followers
2. Twibes – Similarly, Twibes acts as a directory for Twitter accounts
3. Mr. Tweet – A service that recommends users you should follow
4. Twellow – Another comprehensive directory for Twitter accounts

4. “Find People” Function on Twitter
If you click “Find People” at the top of your Twitter page, you can click on “Browse Interests” and select the relevant category to see accounts that are recommended by Twitter.

Twitter now also has a function on some user profiles which presents recommended accounts to follow on the sidebar.