20 Great People That Taught Me The Power Of Twitter

Nov 1, 2011 8 min readSocial Media Marketing

There are so many people who continue to support and shout for us wherever we go on the internet. This is just amazing! So I thought, it’s time to give back.

The thing is, it’s not just that they are supporting us, they are actually teaching us, what it really means to create a lasting presence on Twitter. I tried to think hard about what that one thing is I appreciate the most, that I want to tell you about them

So here are the top 25 people that continue to teach and remind me, what it means to be awesome on Twitter.

These folks are a mix of top notch marketers, bloggers and just super nice people. I highly suggest you go and meet them:

Peg Fitzpatrick (@PegFitzpatrick)

Peggy is one of the most positive people you will find on the web. She is the Director of Marketing and Social Media for #MyBookClub, which I highly recommend to check out.

What have I learnt from Peggy: When Peggy firstly discovered us she taught me what it means to be a true connector. A few shouts were enough to attract dozens of people and most importantly conversations. Be natural and vocal, the attention will come.

Kelly Kim (@Twylah)

Kelly is the co-founder of Twylah, a beautifully and self-branded page of your Tweets. It’s a tool on the rise, that also gives you significant SEO benefits for your Tweets.

What have I learnt from Kelly: You just have to watch how Kelly treats and cares for her followers and Twylah users. Reminding me what community management really means was one of the most valuable lessons for me.

Dave Larson (@TweetSmarter)

Dave is the founder of @TweetSmarter, one of the most engaged and quoted Twitter accounts in the world with well over 300,000 followers.

What have I learnt from Dave: Dave continues to amazes me for many reasons. One I want to pick out is that no matter which type of person approaches him on Twitter for help, he is there to respond. This is the behavior I aspire to achieve with @bufferapp too.

Jeff Bullas (@JeffBullas)

Jeff Bullas is one of the most well known Social Media bloggers and marketers. He runs his amazing Social Media blog alongside an outstanding Twitter presence with helpful tips and  tricks.

What have I learnt from Jeff: A quick glance over Jeff’s Twitter profile will show you that he uses it largely for broadcasting. To me Jeff is one of the very few amazing examples of combining automation with quality.

Daniel Sharkov (@DanielSharkov)

Daniel is a great blogger posting over at ReviewznTips. Every week he posts and Tweets great quotes, blogging tips and Social Media insights.

What have I learnt from Daniel: From the beginning of my Twitter presence Daniel has continued to not let one day pass by of not Tweeting outstanding content every day. A large part of success on Twitter comes from showing up and being persistent, if you need some motivation on how it’s done – follow Daniel.

Michael Q Todd (@MQTodd)

Michael is one of the top connectors on Twitter, also writing a great Social Media blog. You can find him engaging on nearly every Social Network there is, always showing up in the top user leaderboards.

What have I learnt from Michael: Michael, without anyone knowing how he manages it, runs 4 different Twitter chats per week, together with over 10 Social Media presences on different Social Networks. If you need inspiration to which effort you can go to build connections, Michael is the perfect example.

Jure Klepic (@JKCallas)

Jure is one of the raising stars on the Social Media Marketing horizon. He runs a great blog talking and debating the latest changes in Social Media and can be found Tweeting 24/7.

What have I learnt from Jure: What has had a strong impact on me was Jure’s no BS approach when it comes having a real impact with Social Media. His ideas on influence, Klout and Tools are the most well thought-through ones out there.

Gretchen Vaughn (@TwittarrPirate)

Gretchen is a Social Media coach, Twitter and Tumblr addict and one of our most valuable contributors to #ToolsChat. Her blog is a fantastic resource of videos and posts on writing and Social Media.

What have I learnt from Gretchen: When @MQTodd, @Twylah and I through running the weekly #ToolsChat struggled to come up with a topic, Gretchen jumped in and took the lead. She provided both questions and organized it all by herself. Taking initiative if you are part of a community can pay of greatly.

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Brankica Underwood (@liveurlove)

Brankica is a Social Media Sharp Shooter and runs a widely recognized blog about all things blogging, writing and WP. She is always up for a chat and super helpful via Twitter and in the comments of her blog.

What have I learnt from Brankica: Brankica is one of the smartest thinkers when it comes to Twitter strategies. I watched her explain how she switched from automation to no automation and her reasoning is always spot on. Well worth the follow!

Jay Baer (@JayBaer)

Jay runs the #3 Social Media Marketing blog in the world. He landed a major hit with his recent book The Now Revolution. As a sidenote, Jay was also one of first supporters of Buffer when we got started nearly a year ago.

What have I learnt from Jay: What can I say? Jay is not only the smartest Social Media speaker and mentor out there, despite all his success he remains approachable and humble. This right there is what greatness means to me and I aspire to work towards.

Darren Rowse (@ProBlogger)

Darren, similar to Jay above doesn’t actually need an introduction. He runs one of the most well known blogs out there with Problogger and continues to set the bar on how to make money blogging.

What have I learnt from Darren: Darren has recently launched his own Twitter chat and has also changed around his Tweeting habits multiple times. He is always a great example for me to keep looking for the best ways to use Twitter.

Mike Stenger (@MikeStenger)

I have only recently been in touch with Mike. He is a Social Media specialist who digs all things awesome. I can also assure you he is definitely the coolest redhead online. Check is blog for some great insights.

What have I learnt from Mike: One of the things, that stood out for me from the very start is that Mike always speaks up and stands by his opinion. I followed some great conversations he had on  Twitter and G+, where he isn’t afraid to take the opposite stance to many. Be who you are, don’t hide it, the least on Twitter.

Karthick Appiya (@Arkarthick)

As an entrepreneur, blogger and power Tweeter, Karthick has gained some amazing insights into the world of Twitter and Social Media. He blogs and Tweets great tips and insights every day on all things Social Media, Photography and Blogging.

What have I learnt from Karthick: The one thing I’d like to pick out is that no matter what, he always promotes his friends and followers and puts himself last. The number of reshares and support we received over here at Buffer too was incredible. Help others – it’s that simple.

Misty Belardo (@mistygirlph)

Misty is a graphics and avatar designer. She loves  art, self expression and social media. She is also a blogger for BitRebels and a Co-host of an amazing Social Media show called PodJam.Tv.

What have I learnt from Misty: When some people mention Twitter limits you, because it’s only text and 140 characters Misty has shown time and again how creative you can be with Twitter. She made blogposts and even videos solely based on interactions with Twitter.

Mike Stelzner (@Mike_Stelzner)

Mike is the founder of one of the most amazing Social Media blogs out there at SocialMediaExaminer.  He is also the author of Launch and Writing White Papers, which I highly recommend checking out.

What have I learnt from Mike: Not only have I had the chance to contribute to Mike’s blog a few times, but he has continually helped us build our own blog here too. No matter how big you get, continuing to help others gain exposure is what makes Twitter such an amazing place to be.

Marty McPadden (@MartyMcPadden)

Marty is a great guy, I have met on Twitter several months ago. He is the awesome founder and host of PodJam.Tv together with @MistyGirlph. He loves all things Apple and gadget and is a working for ESPN.

What have I learnt from Marty: This is a very simple one. Saying thanks. Yes, Marty has reminded my time and again, that on Twitter, saying thanks, similar to many other life situations, is one of the most powerful actions you can take. Whenever I mention or retweet, Marty is there and connects, I try to keep that up as good as I can.

Guy Kawasaki (@GuyKawasaki)

Full disclosure: Guy is an advisor to Buffer

Guy certainly doesn’t need an introduction. He is an author, most recently of Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Co-Founder of AllTop and former chief Evangelist at Apple.

What have I learnt from Guy: Amongst many things Guy is leader in thinking on Twitter, his argument for Tweeting every post 3 times, is a very interesting and useful approach, we examined too. On top of this, his focus on writing outstanding and catchy headlines is something I aspire to reach at some point too.

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Kristi Hines (@Kikolani)

Kirsti does a great job best describing herself: “I am an online marketing consultant, freelance writer, blogger, and social media enthusiast who loves photography (@kristihines), tennis, and salsa dancing!” Her blog Kikolani is also a fantastic resource.

What have I learnt from Kirsti: Although mentioned before, when Kirsti turned off Twitterfeed to be more alive on Twitter again, I felt this was a great example to make a point what Twitter is about for her. Her establishing of a second, photography Twitter account @kristihines is also a great example for growing horizontally on Twitter.

Michael Gray (@graywolf)

Michael is a well known Social Media and SEO blogger. Michael also runs AtlasWebService.com and works as a consultant and speaker.

What have I learnt from Michael: Michael has some great thoughts on Twitter efficiency and automatisation, as we profiled in The Great Automatisation Debate. More than anyone else, he found the perfect match between engaging and posting great content at the same time.

Ann Smarty (@SEOsmarty)

Ann runs one of the most useful services on the web if you are starting out as a blogger. It is called MyBlogGuest and I have used it dozens of time in the past, when we got started with Buffer.

What have I learnt from Ann: Connecting others is at the very heart of what Ann does with her job. Through Twitter she helped me get multiple blogposts out there and continually supports other up and coming writers.

Of course, there a lot more people that I am able to interact with day in day out. Here was just one snapshot, where I could write down one particular point for each of these 20 awesome people above.

Over to you now. Who are the people you are learning from on Twitter? I would love to learn more and get connected.

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