As of now, Ashton Kutcher has over 2.4 million followers on Twitter and counting. He has the most followers out of any Twitter account, outpacing the next person (Ellen DeGeneres) by almost 300,000. If this is news to you, you’re probably wondering how Ashton Kutcher, a so-so actor, became the most popular twitter personality. Yes he is a famous celebrity, but plenty of famous celebs have twitter accounts. Why has his grown exponentially; how, and what has he done to take advantage of this?
Ashton has only started Tweeting five months ago, so let’s briefly explain what a significant human being he is to help us all understand why he is the most followed person on twitter. The first noteworthy emergence of Mr. Kutcher was on “That 70s Show”, in which he played a dimwitted teenager from Wisconsin. He then made it big with the movie “Dude, Where’s my Car?” in which he played another dimwitted 20-something who lost his car. Are you starting to get the trend? He then created and executive produced a show on MTV called “Punk’d” in which he played practical jokes on celebrities. He went on to star in many other films, producing some, and even producing some television shows along the way. This doesn’t sound too unordinary for a young successful person within show business. So, why all the twype (twitter hype) around Ashton?
Like all celebrities on twitter, he naturally had a large following due to his celeb status. Unlike other celebrities, he went about tweeting in an entirely different way. Not to just promote his movies or his random thoughts so the world can see him as a uniquely funny and intelligent individual, but as a provider. He started providing his followers with content, and not just any content; content that was actually interesting. This got him some twitter-cred, and thus he was able to gain more followers. Compound this with the frequency in which he tweeted and the fact that he is an entrepreneur in a very visible industry (communications), his Twitter following just took off. He then started a competition with CNN and Oprah to see who could reach 1 million followers first; at the time all of them were pretty even in that department. He was the first to reach a million five weeks ago, and he has already more than doubled that amount since then.
Ashton Kutcher has made himself into an online authority, potentially one of the most powerful individuals on the internet. He is a news source, a judge on popular culture, he deems what is cool or not, what is important and worth reading / viewing. He is the voice for over 2.4 million people and counting, he deems what is significant via Twitter. This is the point where you should ask yourself, how did a college drop-out who once donated his own blood for extra cash become such an online force. If you are upset about this, don’t blame him; blame yourself and the others who follow him.
Before Ashton suddenly delete’s his Twitter account with his last tweet being “You all just got Punk’d,” what can we learn and take away from his massive growth and achievement? We can learn that there is always room for growth and improvement. Sure he was already a celebrity, but he made himself larger than life by just using the free tools that Twitter provides. All he has to do now is send out one tweet and it will have a Butterfly Effect all throughout the internet (shout to his movie). Imagine he Tweeted “Follow JoelleAyala.” I am pretty sure that instantly the number of my followers would multiply by 10, just because Ashton said so. Think about how he can use this as an advantage in marketing and advertising. He can charge companies and businesses per tweet to shout out their products and or services (but of course not in a spammy way). This would not only gain the exposure of these businesses, but put even more cash in his already over stuffed wallet.
Bottom line: Ashton Kutcher used great content and got involved. He has been a “giver” and didn’t overtly look to receive back. This is a great lesson for those in online marketing, SEO, Social Media; it’s always about content, giving and contributing to the benefit of individuals with the understanding that you will always get more in return.
We may not have the potential to be the King of All Twitter, but we do have the potential to build something similar to Ashton. With the tools that are provided online for twitter, dedication, and a smart marketing strategy, you too can reap the benefits. Just try not to spam, twitter might Punk you.
