You Have More Influence Than Ashton

  • 1 min read

The debate over quality vs. quantity is one to consider when using Twitter. The amount of influence a user has on Twitter is not direct reflection of the amount of followers. So the debate favors quality.

According to Mashable a study done by Northwestern indicates that celebrities with millions of followers are mostly ignored on social media sites, which results in little influence, if any at all. Social media isn’t a popularity contest and reach does not equal influence, engagement or action. What creates influence is amount of quality content. Popularity doesn’t do anything but allow for bragging rights.

The researchers from Northwestern applied their mathematical algorithm to the countless tweets that appear on Twitter each day, they found that experts in certain fields were much more likely to cause topics of discussion to become trends. Thus meaning the quality of content shared on Twitter is what matters.

Social media enthusiasts turn to Twitter for substance and to engage with other users who share the same insight. Therefore, a big named celebrity may have millions of followers but they are not necessarily reaching their audience in a meaningful way. Numbers mean nothing in the big spectrum of Twitter influence.

Influence and prominence

However, celebrities can have great influence with the advantage of being a prominent figure.  A case of celebrity and influence done right is in the case of LeBron James. He has hundreds of thousands of followers as well as influence. He tweets about basketball, what he knows, what people following him want to know. If he chose to tweet about politics, he may not generate as much influence as a politician would tweeting on the subject. James’ influence is a direct result of him tweeting quality content related to what he is well known and respected for.

Next time you get discouraged when thinking about how few followers have. Don’t. Keep tweeting quality content and with your loyal following. In the end it doesn’t matter how popular you are…what matters are the relationships you’ve built….and the discussions of substance you’ve had.

Picture of Kyle Lacy

Kyle Lacy

Kyle Lacy writes a regular blog at KyleLacy.com and is founder and CEO of Brandswag, a social media strategy and training company. His blog has been featured on Wall Street Journal’s website and Read Write Web’s daily blog journal. Recently, Kyle was voted as one of the top 150 social media blogs in the world (on two websites), and produces regular keynote speeches across the Midwest. He also just finished writing Twitter Marketing for Dummies by Wiley Publishing.

TRENDING AROUND THE WEB

Psychologists explain that the reason comparing yourself to others feels so toxic as you get older isn’t increased insecurity — it’s that you finally have enough life data to see that the people you envied were often miserable in ways you never witnessed

Psychologists explain that the reason comparing yourself to others feels so toxic as you get older isn’t increased insecurity — it’s that you finally have enough life data to see that the people you envied were often miserable in ways you never witnessed

Global English Editing
People who sing loudly in their car, dance in their kitchen, and have full conversations with their pet aren’t eccentric — they’re in contact with a version of themselves that only exists when no one is measuring it

People who sing loudly in their car, dance in their kitchen, and have full conversations with their pet aren’t eccentric — they’re in contact with a version of themselves that only exists when no one is measuring it

The Vessel
Psychology says children raised between 1950 and 1965 were taught that love and duty were the same thing, and most of them honored that belief so completely that they built entire lives around obligation without ever asking whether they were happy — and the question finally arrives in their 60s like a guest who’s decades late and no longer welcome

Psychology says children raised between 1950 and 1965 were taught that love and duty were the same thing, and most of them honored that belief so completely that they built entire lives around obligation without ever asking whether they were happy — and the question finally arrives in their 60s like a guest who’s decades late and no longer welcome

Global English Editing
Psychology says people who are a mass of contradictions aren’t confused about who they are — they’ve simply refused to flatten themselves into a single coherent story that makes other people comfortable

Psychology says people who are a mass of contradictions aren’t confused about who they are — they’ve simply refused to flatten themselves into a single coherent story that makes other people comfortable

Global English Editing
Psychology says the deepest loneliness widowed retirees face isn’t about missing a spouse. It’s the sudden loss of what researchers call ambient companionship, the passive presence of another human that gave every room a reason to be occupied.

Psychology says the deepest loneliness widowed retirees face isn’t about missing a spouse. It’s the sudden loss of what researchers call ambient companionship, the passive presence of another human that gave every room a reason to be occupied.

Global English Editing
I’m 65 and nobody warned me that the hardest part of retirement wouldn’t be the boredom, it would be the silence at 9am on a Monday when every cell in my body is still wired to be needed somewhere and the realization that I’m not hits with the same force every single week even though I’ve technically known it for months

I’m 65 and nobody warned me that the hardest part of retirement wouldn’t be the boredom, it would be the silence at 9am on a Monday when every cell in my body is still wired to be needed somewhere and the realization that I’m not hits with the same force every single week even though I’ve technically known it for months

Global English Editing
Load more
CATEGORIES
Explore