When I started my first standalone blog in 2006 (I began blogging in 2005 as writer/editor for an advertising recruitment firm in Atlanta), one of the first things I did was create a list of marketing blogs that I read daily. This was in the days before Twitter and Facebook hadn’t really broken past campuses at this point. I created a list of marketing blogs to read because I wanted to keep up to date on the space, but I also wanted to help develop community on my own blog.
At first, I started out with the big names at the time like Seth Godin, Kathy Sierra and Guy Kawasaki. But I quickly discovered dozens of really good, but lesser-known marketing blogs. My list of favorite marketing blogs grew longer and longer, and over time I realized that I was spending more time reading the ‘lesser known’ blogs than I was the ‘popular’ ones.
And this began to irritate me. It began to irritate me because I knew that so many people would just read the ‘popular’ blogs and wouldn’t make an effort to find the really good blogs that weren’t quite as popular, but that were often just as good, sometimes even better! I began to think about ways that I could help these lesser-known blogs build awareness.
Around this same time, the college football season was about to start. I noticed the polls started releasing there Preseason Top 25 polls. An idea hit me: What if I did my own poll of the Top 25 marketing blogs? That would be a great way to drive exposure to many lesser known marketing blogs, and it would also be a fun way to keep up with the space and build engagement with my readers.
So a few days later, The Viral Garden’s Top 25 Marketing Blogs was born.
The Top 25 Marketing Blogs went on for several years and became quite popular, driving a lot of traffic and awareness to a lot of deserving blogs.
I wanted to try something similar now with Twitter accounts. There are four main industries I write about here: Technology, Retail, Tourism and Restaurant. I also keep up with professionals in these 4 industries on Twitter. If you regularly use Twitter, you know how hard it is to build a following. If you also work in the corporate world, it’s doubly hard because you have even less time to devote to building a brand and following on Twitter.
I wanted to see if I could help with that, and at the same time give others a good list of solid professionals to follow in each of those 4 industries.
So starting next week, I will start the Twitter Power Lists for each of those four industries; Technology, Retail, Tourism and Restaurant. Each week there will be a different industry, and I will rank the Top 10 Twitter accounts in each space. Technology will be first, and it will debut next Tuesday.
Over time, the methodology for who is or is not included will be altered, and it’s very possible that I will expand the list to a Top 20 or maybe even Top 25. The goal of each list is to drive exposure and followers for the people on the list, and to give people that want to follow those industries a good list of professionals to keep up with.
If You Work in the Technology, Retail, Tourism or Restaurant Industries and Want to Be on the Twitter Power List, Here’s What You Do:
1 – First, follow me on Twitter.
2 – Please clearly list in your Twitter bio the position you hold and the company you work for. That lets me know which list you should be on.
3 – If you don’t have that info in your Twitter bio, after you follow me, please tweet me and let me know your position.
That’s it! If you work in one of those 4 industries, you will be added to the appropriate Twitter list for your industry. Here’s the lists so you can go ahead and start subbing to them now:
So please, follow me on Twitter so I can get you added to the appropriate Twitter Power List. Even if you don’t make the Power List here, simply being on those lists on Twitter will bring more exposure to your Twitter account, and will help you build your following.
So What’s the Criteria for Being Ranked on the Power List for My Industry?
Good question! So the rankings, at least at first, will most be a judgment call on my part. As the lists grow, I may move to a more formal ranking system.
For now, here’s some of the areas I will look at:
- How active are you on Twitter? If your last tweet is from December 2022, you probably won’t make the list.
- How ‘interesting’ is your content? Mix it up a bit, don’t use your Twitter account to simply reblast press releases
- When you promote your work, are you giving us unique content we can’t get anywhere else? For instance I just saw a tweet from one of the members of one of the above lists who tweeted out a picture of their work desk. I like seeing content like that, and so do others.
- The Twitter Power lists are only for professionals working IN these industries. If you work in media or consulting and cover or service these industries, you won’t be on these lists. Only people who are working for companies and organizations in these industries.
Now there is one important caveat to these lists: Insanely popular accounts will NOT be included in the rankings. For instance, Elon Musk will never make the technology list. There’s a couple of reasons why: First, if he was added, he would start at #1 and stay there for as long as I did the list. Second, the goal of these lists is to drive exposure to accounts that need to build awareness. Everyone is already following Elon, he doesn’t need any more exposure. Many people would suggest he needs less!
Each industry Power List will be updated once a month. Any changes in rankings from the previous list will be noted (For example, if an account moves up or down 2 spots on the list, that will be noted). The main goal is to drive exposure to professionals that make the list. But along the way, everyone will be able to pick up some tips and strategies for building their own following on Twitter.
So if you want to be considered for the Twitter Power Lists, please follow me on Twitter! Then let me know which industry you work in, and your position. Good luck!
