Ashton Kutcher is a Genius! He should get IM of the Year Award!

[Mark Kaye]

Last week Ashton Kutcher made history when he became the first Twitter user to have 1,000,000 followers. He did it by openly challenging media giant CNN, who held the Top spot until Ashton came along, to a "Twitter Race to 1,000,000 followers."

When Ashton began his quest on Monday he had about 880,000 followers. Four days later he was over 1 Million. That is an increase of 120,000 in just a few days! Incredible!

Since Entertainment Reporting is what I do for a living, I followed the story very closely. By the end of the week I realized that the Kutcher/CNN Twitter battle was not just a fun human interest story, it was also an amazing lesson in Internet Marketing.

As I followed the story I learned a TON about my own Twitter account and how to boost my own numbers. By reading about Ashton and CNN I also found some FANTASTIC Twitter tools to help build my following.

For example:

Top Twitter User Rankings & Stats | Twitterholic.com ranks all of the twitter users by number of followers.

1. Ashton Kutcher
2. CNN
3. Britney Spears...and so on!

However, you can also search for your own statistics and see where you rank in your local area. For example, In Jacksonville, FL I am currently ranked #40 among all Twitter users: Who has the most Followers on Twitter? (Top 100) (Jacksonville, FL Edition) | Twitterholic.com

This is useful if you have a local business. You can find out who is your area has a ton of followers and start following back. I have found that most of the time if you choose to follow someone they will also follow you and you can seriously build your following.

Tools to Boost Your Productivity on Twitter TweetLater.com is a program that automates a ton of functions for Twitter including "Auto-Following" and "Auto Messaging." When someone follows you it will automatically follow them back. Also, when you get a new follower Tweetlater will send them whatever pre-written message you choose. It's a fantastic way to open up a dialogue.

The Most Important lesson I learned is, that if you really want to BOOST your Twitter Following then you have to get some GREAT exposure. Ashton was all over CNN and every other TV network when he threw down the gauntlet. On Friday he appeared on Oprah and helped her make her first "tweet."

You can easily do the same! Start with your local media. People love a competition and are very eager to help when they know that something is on the line. START YOUR OWN TWITTER BATTLE AND WATCH YOUR FOLLOWERS SOAR!!!

I challenged the local News Station in Jacksonville (also on Twitter) to an Ashton/CNN style battle. We both are very Twitter-literate and are always looking for cross-promotional ideas. So, I stole Ashton Kutsher's model and posted my own TWITTER CHALLENGE (Scaled-down for Jacksonville, FL)

YouTube - Twitter Challenge - WAPE's Mark Kaye vs. WJXT The Local Station

In just 2 days my following has increased from just over 100 to 637!!! That's a 500% increase! And, I have every intention of winning this battle so I will be over 1000 in the next few days!

Also, the News has accepted my challenge and I will be a guest on their morning newscast this coming Monday. More exposure for me!!

YOU CAN DO IT TO:

1) Challenge a local radio station, news station, or newspaper to a Man vs. Media Ashton Kutcher/CNN battle. Offer to come on their program or be interviewed by one of there hosts/writers about Twitter. become a local Twitter expert!

2) Challenge a fellow Blogger or Business Competitor in your niche to a Twitter Battle. You with both be blogging about each other and, therefore, you will both increase your followings!

3) Challenge your friends. Make a "Twitter League" or a "Fantasy Twitter Competition. Set a goal and come up with some kind of prize. The winner gets a night on the town paid for by the losers. (I'm not suggesting you gamble on something like this because that would be illegal

Competition gets you moving. It gets your butt in gear and gets you firing all cylinders toward a specific goal. I have had a Twitter account for months, but it has only been in the last few days that I did anything with it...why? Because I want to win. I have zeroed in on building my Twitter following and my attention to it has led to results!

"What you focus on the most, becomes the most."

[Andyhenry]

He's not a genius - he's just a guy who's built a big following and is working hard to use his popularity to help good causes.

He's not out doing this to make a name for himself - he already has that.

He's a great example of someone who's worked hard for a long time to be successful and now that he is - he's taken the next step and is using that success to leverage his popularity to help others.

He's a great guy and an amazing person - but he's still just a normal guy doing what he can to keep the cheese moving.

I agree that it's also something others can do though. He success comes from dedication and a success mindset - which are things anyone can cultivate.

Andy

[Always-A-Warrior]

I bet his wife Demi Moore aka mrskutcher had a lot to do with it too but nonetheless a great accomplishment.

[Mark Kaye]

Originally Posted by Always-A-Warrior

I bet his wife Demi Moore aka mrskutcher had a lot to do with it too but nonetheless a great accomplishment.

You are very right! I wonder if my wife would let me post a picture of her butt on my Twitter feed???

[IM Headlines]

1 mil followers? lol that's really incredible. A lot of money can be made with his profile that's for sure...

[Wade Watson]

Please don't use "Aston Kutcher" and "genius" in the same sentence again. It might cause a snowstorm in the summertime or something.

[valerieSONORA]

I also agree he's no genius. He's a celebrity. A celebrity who had nationwide TV coverage on this. Any celebrity who tells the whole nation on TV to follow him/her on twitter can easily get a million followers.

[Jason Pereira]

He didn't do anything exceptional considering the following he already has, hardly a genius.

I do like your idea of a miniaturized version of the challenge though, you verses a large ish company in your local city... everyone's heard of the challenge, so might as well indirectly capitalize on its popularity. Going to see if there's anyone I can bait locally here...

[Kurt]

While he likely isn't a genius, Kutcher's actually a pretty smart guy, if anyone's heard him do an interview.

[Michael Francis]

Brand recognition leverage... Brand being his name! I would be really impressed if someone can start from nothing and match cnn. That would be impressive and wildly viral. Although it shows smaller brands can match million dollar corps if they have the celebrety appeal. Periz hilton for example shows how big the entertainment niche is. Hence there is a ton of traffic in gossip, entertainment, and celebrities. If you are a celebrity you get a ton of free traffic from many stations whereas if you are a brand like cnn you have a couple stations dedicated to yourself but you dont have as many youths watching you as many youths dont watch cnn. But many youths twitter as its there generation to do so. Also youths follow entertainment i have 3 daughters so i know so. So Ashton is in the same niche demographics as twitter and has the mass appeal to youths across the board through multiple media outlets.... So its a no brainer.... how this can be achieved.

[talfighel]

Yeah, Ashton has the most but I see that Ellen Degeneres will pass him anytime sooner or later.

I am so happy for Ashton for his dedication.

I am now myself near 1300 and my goal until the summer to have 10,000.

Tal

[Rus Sells]

Dude that is really sweet! I hope many great things happen to you after you become a local celeb!

Ashton a genius? Probably not but I am willing to bet he has a pretty high IQ, well above average. I read somewhere that the level of income people make is directly related to their IQ's. I'll have to research and find it, as I read that a year or two ago.
I fully expect my IQ to increase this year! hehe

Ashton created Welcome to the Blahgirls, an interactive, animated web video series and celebrity gossip blog - Blahgirls and oversees every piece of content that goes on the site, so he seems to have some IM savvy as well.

Anyways Mark, I hope you get a huge following on Twitter!

[MarkWrites]

I think it should be a round trip race.
Kutcher and CNN should race back to zero now.


While I would never call Ashton Kutcher a genius, he is however very creative which I think is a trait that leads more people to be successful than straight intelligence or IQ.

[dave stahly]

How about offering a prize for the millionth person that follows you? Doesn't necessarily need to be the millionth person, maybe the 10,000th person. Something to think about?

dave

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Originally Posted by Mark Kaye

When Ashton began his quest on Monday he had about 880,000 followers. Four days later he was over 1 Million. That is an increase of 120,000 in just a few days! Incredible!

Since Entertainment Reporting is what I do for a living, I followed the story very closely. By the end of the week I realized that the Kutcher/CNN Twitter battle was not just a fun human interest story, it was also an amazing lesson in Internet Marketing.

The 1,133 billboards he had nationwide probably helped too! It wasn't all just Internet marketing.

[romeoicq]

Keep up the good work Ashton

[Nathan Hangen]

I think this thread is going to make me puke

[Mark Kaye]

Originally Posted by Nathan Hangen

I think this thread is going to make me puke

Glad that I was able to inspire emotion...or rather, regurgitation.

[nzdealer]

Is any one up for a twitter battle with me? Conditions apply ofcourse

[Nathan Hangen]

Originally Posted by Mark Kaye

Glad that I was able to inspire emotion...or rather, regurgitation.

I just don't see they big deal about a celebrity leveraging his brand on Twitter.

#1 - I have no idea why 1 million people are interested in him

#2 - I question his "sincerity"

#3 - Some random dude on the street getting to 1 million would be a feat...the host of Punk'd/stoner dude from 70's show...not so much

[Richnana]

The great thing about the accomplishment is that it gets "all eyes" on twitter.. more people want to use, more people will use it. You become a twitter expert in your town and increase your own visibility... at least now people will KNOW what twitter is and not look at you as if you are speaking in Tweety bird language.

[Mark Kaye]

Originally Posted by Nathan Hangen

I just don't see they big deal about a celebrity leveraging his brand on Twitter.

It's always easy to get GREAT media and drive traffic to your website when you tie-in to HOT TOPICS. Stoner or not he is headline news. Piggy-backing on the story in your own special way is something that can help build your business.

I don't know why so many people are interested in him either...but I'm going to try to get that many fans/followers on my Twitter feed. If I could convert 1% of them I would never have to twitter again!

[Ricky Parker]

omg AsHtEn is fUr sHuRe DA bEzT HEz t0ta11y HOTTIE MaTeRialz
i CaNt BeliEfz He SO PoPLar On TWITTERZ hez 4 SUR ThE IMerz OFs DA YeAR
WiF DaT MEnnIes PEEPZ foLLoWiN hE KaN MaKeZ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 4 SUR lolz

[MarkWrites]

Originally Posted by Nathan Hangen

I just don't see they big deal about a celebrity leveraging his brand on Twitter.

#1 - I have no idea why 1 million people are interested in him

#2 - I question his "sincerity"

#3 - Some random dude on the street getting to 1 million would be a feat...the host of Punk'd/stoner dude from 70's show...not so much

I don't think the guy is anything too special myself, but as a celebrity he is his own brand and looking at it that way... this is great marketing. Anyone who knows the value of something like Twitter would have to see how much something like this would mean to corporations that would like to pay Mr. Kutcher to be a spokesman or endorser of their products. All he has to do is post about the new Nikon camera he bought with a link to the site where someone else could purchase one and you can imagine what would happen with at least a percentage of his one million plus followers.

[Dmitry]

I like what Andy said - Ashton did not get 1,000,000 Twitter followers over the course of a week or a month or even a year... This all started way back - I don't know for sure when - but it was even before he met Demi! (LOL)

Seriously though - find your thing, stick with it, then once you "do it" and become "that guy" you'll be able to leverage "your unique thing" into all kinds of other areas.

As they say the first million is always the hardest - that's when you have absolutely no leverage except for your dedication (I guess that's another reason why it's important to find "your thing" - it'll keep you dedicated and motivated).

After that first million (or whatever it is for you) you just start leveraging money (or anything else) and putting IT to work for you.

So I'd speculate that Ashton's success was a result of an event that goes WAY back.

[James Schramko]

Originally Posted by Rus Sells

Ashton a genius? Probably not but I am willing to bet he has a pretty high IQ, well above average. I read somewhere that the level of income people make is directly related to their IQ's. I'll have to research and find it, as I read that a year or two ago.
I fully expect my IQ to increase this year! hehe

This sounds unlikely. There are plenty of broke smart people.

I would work on Marketing and EQ before IQ

[DonDavis]

Originally Posted by Rus Sells

I read somewhere that the level of income people make is directly related to their IQ's.

Yeah, I am also very confident that this statement is not accurate

[Mark Kaye]

Originally Posted by DonDavis

Yeah, I am also very confident that this statement is not accurate

have you ever seen the show "The Millionaire Matchmaker" on BRAVO? The Millionaire bachelors on that show are proof that IQ has nothing to do with Financial Success...

[askloz]

Cool... I've not been with twitter very long, but my stats are pretty good.

Joined Twitter on 2009-03-21 21:34:21
is ranked 19,120th on twitterholic! (by followers)
is ranked 25th in their location on twitterholic! (by followers in 'England')
http://twitterholic.com/lozlawn

[Sam Rodrigo]

Kutcher's accomplishment reminds me of the old saying...

How do you become a millionaire very fast?

Start with $990,000!

I thought Mr. Kutcher had around 700,000 followers when he started. The question is How did he get all of those people? The CNN "bet" I think just took him over the top.

Sam

[James Schramko]

Originally Posted by Sam Rodrigo

Kutcher's accomplishment reminds me of the old saying...

How do you become a millionaire very fast?

Start with $990,000!

I thought Mr. Kutcher had around 700,000 followers when he started. The question is How did he get all of those people? The CNN "bet" I think just took him over the top.

Sam

That reminds me of a saying

- How to make a small fortune fast?

- Start with a large fortune

[J Elizabeth Dize]

Ashton is a very savvy businessman. I've been watching him for a while. Even though he used to "play dumb on TV," he's not

It's neat that he donated so much money for the Malaria cause. And, having over 1 million Twitter followers won't hurt his business either

[valerieSONORA]

Originally Posted by Nathan Hangen

I just don't see they big deal about a celebrity leveraging his brand on Twitter.

#1 - I have no idea why 1 million people are interested in him

#2 - I question his "sincerity"

#3 - Some random dude on the street getting to 1 million would be a feat...the host of Punk'd/stoner dude from 70's show...not so much

Totally agree. Average Joe, it would be something. All his TV shows and movies and marriage to Demi Moore and teens who have crushes on him probably had something to do with it.

Lindsay Lohan, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, could also get a million followers, easily and quickly. Smart or not has nothing to do with it.

[Trader54]

Originally Posted by Jenn Dize

Ashton is a very savvy businessman.

Thanks for the laugh. LOL

[jasonl70]

I'm trying to figure out how he's an IM genius by this.

It seems the most critical piece of the puzzle, in fact the only piece that matters, is missing - sales. THAT is how you keep score - everything else is merely a supporting role.

[jasonl70]

where's the money?

Let's wait until he actually comes out with a new show/movie/book, and it's a blockbuster success due to tweeting, before we bestow any sort of MARKETING crown on the guy.

Having a ton of twitter followers doesn't mean jack on it's own. People should not confuse a tool with the end game. Heck - anyone here could could get an email list of a million easily by whipping out there credit cards and buying one, but it's junk if it won't make any money.

Now, in defense of Ashton:
Judging the guy's intelligence by his roles, makes about as much sense as going to Hugh Laurie for medical advise (from House), or saying we should sick Keifer Sutherland after Osama..

[marcust2]

It's official!!!! I have Challenged Chris_ChoI to reach 10,000 followers in 30 days! Please add me to your following! Lets see what non celebrities can do!

[anth.elias]

Originally Posted by valerieSONORA

I also agree he's no genius. He's a celebrity. A celebrity who had nationwide TV coverage on this. Any celebrity who tells the whole nation on TV to follow him/her on twitter can easily get a million followers.

Master business man IM genius--Not. The above statement sums it up, why doesn't he try picking in someone his on size, CNN who? But, I do understand the cause and that's really- what's it was all about.

[terrapin719]

Genius? Maybe, maybe not. Smart guy that knows how to get things moving, heck yeah! Business wise he's taken many things that you might not even realize he was affiliated with and sent them soaring off like little birds out of a nest. He has the smarts and the money to take risks, and he's been using that knowledge to do good things.

So, in my opinion he doesn't need to be a genius, he just needs to keep on being a good guy! OF course he's more popular than CNN.... they bring us mostly bad news and he brings us.... pictures of his wife's butt! Hello? That's a no brainer

[Simon Ashari]

I think the point of this post may have been lost on many people.

Its a quality post with a few helpful hints. No Ashton isnt a genius... but he's done well for himself in twitter land.

I myself followed him just before he reached 1 million (On recomendation of John Reese).

regards

Simon

[MarkWrites]

Master businessman? No
Internet Marketing Genius? No.

Was this a smart move? Yes.

Ashton Kutcher is not the biggest star or celebrity in the world, in fact many people think he is overrated, but you didn't see other celebrities bigger than him being the first to one million either. Somewhere along the line he and/or his advisors made the right decision to pursue this. And he has now developed a huge pipeline that he may or may not choose to exploit in the future.

And it isn't all about the money either, something tells me he is doing financially fine without Twitter. Many of us participate in or contribute to charitable causes and the only thing Kutcher has done so far with these million twitter followers is publicize and promote the mosquito netting/anti-malaria charity which has seen a huge escalation in donations through his promotion.

Was it a genius move? No. But it also is way too early to call it a failure... it just happened. What he and others do with this in the future will be interesting.

Much of the benefit to these celebrity twitter accounts will be in ways that the general public won't even realize. The next time a celebrity negotiates to do a commercial for any product or corporation, their agent will also be able to say that part of that person's value is that they have x amount of followers on twitter who they can communicate with at any time and about anything they want. A company looking to market themselves will see the value in that and it could be a contributing factor on which celebrity to hire as their new pitchman. For a celebrity... they themselves are the product and this can only add to their value.

[Mark Kaye]

The real point of the original post was to stress the importance of BUILDING on current events to get yourself some exposure for your own business - Online or Offline.

Whether Ashton is technically a genius is questionable, I admit. But, everyone is talking about TWITTER and I imagine the people on this forum know more about Twitter than the average Joe. So...use your Twitter knowledge to your own advantage...

Also, having 1,000,000 followers is something everyone here would love to have! Am I wrong? Anyone?

[Christie Love]

I think Ashton had a great idea. But, most of all... his idea worked!

He set his intention, put it out to the world, and his vision came true. Absolutely awesome. I'd like to see even more people follow in his footsteps.

[Barbara Eyre]

I agree that having the competition against CNN was not the best of choices. What was the point?

Now, Ashton vs another celebrity - THAT would have been better.

First thought that came to mind was Ashton vs Greg Grunnberg (Hereos)
They both support important charities.
Use their then followers to support their charities ... win-win

[Terri LC]

I'd like to see Ashton against Susan Boyle from British Idol....an unknown with 29 million views in a matter of days on Youtube! That's re-markable!!

Terri

[Trader54]

Originally Posted by Terri LC

I'd like to see Ashton against Susan Boyle from British Idol....an unknown with 29 million views in a matter of days on Youtube! That's re-markable!!

Terri

There you go ..... then we would see who the genius really is.

[Harvey Affcash]

Oh my god! You mean the secret to getting thousands upon thousands of twitter followers is to simply already be an amazingly rich, well known celebrity that's starred in numerous movies, a massively popular TV series that spanned a decade, and produced my own TV shows that have other really well known celebrities?

Geez, that sounds like anyone could do it.

[valerieSONORA]

Originally Posted by Harvey Affcash

Oh my god! You mean the secret to getting thousands upon thousands of twitter followers is to simply already be an amazingly rich, well known celebrity that's starred in numerous movies, a massively popular TV series that spanned a decade, and produced my own TV shows that have other really well known celebrities?

Yes, you've figured out the secret. Now you just need to write an ebook on it and sell it.

[jasonl70]

Originally Posted by Mark Kaye

Also, having 1,000,000 followers is something everyone here would love to have! Am I wrong? Anyone?

well, first of all the guy is a huge celebrity. So that's not really relevant... Plus, if I didn't make any oney from those followers, then I could care less about having it - it would be nothing more then an ego boost.

It's like my list example. Most people would love a list of 1 million.. but if that 1 million never buys anything, then what's the point? There's plenty of places you could buy a list that big - but most people here understand that they are worthless if they generate any sales.

This is all in the context of Internet Marketing of course.. and I simply see no marketing in this story, nor anything really ingenius considering the guys celebrity status.

[Black Hat Cat]

Originally Posted by Wade Watson

Please don't use "Aston Kutcher" and "genius" in the same sentence again. It might cause a snowstorm in the summertime or something.

No, that would be global warming.