Must Read: How to become a Twitter celebrity...

Just as in the real world, not every person becomes a brand that everyone would reckon with on Twitter. This piece is on ways Twitter users can gain popularity on the site

Though newsmakers such as hip hop stars, politicians and actors/actresses easily gather thousands  of followers by virtue of  name recognition, you do not need to be one before becoming a Twitter celebrity.

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The man behind the Twitter handle, @Gidi_Traffic, Kaptin Idoko, shot himself to stardom with his tweets on on-the-go traffic updates which help residents of Lagos avoid traffic jam, troubled areas and enable them to make appointments on time.

Idoko’s intiative on Twitter, got him a nomination for the Life-Saving Hero award at the Shortys Awards  in the United States in 2012 and became the first African to be nominated in that award category.

For emphasis sake, social networking platforms including Twitter, provides users with equal opportunities to shoot themselves to greater heights of fame and become a social media superstar of some sorts.

However, gaining such popularity on Twitter does not happen overnight as it takes a conscious and carefully thought out effort to achieving such a feat. Here are some tips you can take to heart to get everybody screaming your name and Twitter handle.

 Specialise

As soon as you set out to carve that niche for yourself on Twitter, choose a particular field you want to engage your audience in. Focus on this field by figuring out what you are capable of achieving, giving it the best of your time and effort and build your reputation and brand around it.

 Interact

One of the best ways to gain popularity on Twitter is to interact and add value to trending discussions. You need to be proactive by monitoring trends and what people have preoccupied themselves with and improve upon such trending topics. Those people on your followers’ list will notice this and on the long run sell your brand to other people on their followers’ list.

Also, endeavour to interact with Twitter users who have gained appreciable level of popularity. If they notice you and like what they see, they’ll help you in your “social media climbing” by sharing your information with their followers, and hopefully recommending you as well.

 Post breaking news

Add Twitter handles of major news organisations in your locality and retweet their breaking news updates from their handles. Also, read news from websites of both local and international media houses and update your Twitter handle with fresh and fascinating updates.  Many people don’t have the luxury of time of visiting these websites and putting it on your Twitter handle will earn you a lot of respect as people view you as an authority who knows everything before anybody else.

 Live-tweet events

When major social events or natural disasters happen in your locality, it’s an ample opportunity for you to gain attention and establish yourself as a celebrity. Create hashtags and live tweet such events. In cases of emergency situations, post updates and useful tips and information such that emergency officials can easily locate such places. With this you are not only being a responsible citizen but you are building your brand as people will readily share this information with your name on it.

 Be responsive

After growing a huge fan base with much following, it’s imperative that you maintain the relationship that you have successfully built over time. In this regard, you should place a lot of premium on replying all direct messages sent to you and whenever your name is mentioned in tweets, it’s polite that  you acknowledge this by replying them. Also, basic courtesy demands that  you retweet enriching posts of your followers that have helped you rise to stardom regularly.

As a general rule, always keep your posts as short as possible to enable your followers to retweet or reply  them.  Also to become popular requires that you are active on the Twitter community such that you use the micro-blogging site on a consistent basis. In this regard, your fans will be rest assured that you are always there to give them a string of valuable information.

As more people follow you, you are getting your presence established as a trusted and interesting Twitter user. This could lead you to start the promotion of your products or services in your own little way.

-Temitayo Famutimi

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