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How to extract Twitter followers: strategies, tools and ethics!

. 7 min read

Ever peeked behind the curtain of a booming account and wondered, "How'd they build such a loyal following?" As a marketer or Twitter enthusiast, you might need to extract your Twitter followers (or followers of any other account) for numerous reasons.

Today, we're going to talk about why and how to extract Twitter followers with the help of a powerful tool called "Circleboom" for understanding your audience and refining your marketing magic. ⬇️

Export List of Followers on Twitter | Export Twitter Followers
Do you wonder how to export list of followers on Twitter? A few clicks are enough to export the list of followers on Twitter via Circleboom Twitter.

Why extract Twitter followers?

Before diving into the extraction process, it’s crucial to understand why you’re doing it. Your followers are not just numbers; they represent potential customers, brand advocates, and valuable sources of feedback. So, it is quite understandable for you to extract value from your Twitter followers! The reasons are plentiful!

Uncover Audience Details

Analyze the details of the followers to tailor your content like a laser. This data is gold for crafting targeted content that resonates.


Identify Influencers

Look for followers with high engagement rates and a significant following of their own. These folks could be brand advocates waiting to be discovered! If you know who your followers exactly are, you can find influencers for any niche!


Competitive Analysis

Peek behind the curtain, see who your competitors' followers are, and work on your rivals' data!


Campaign Targeting

Craft laser-focused Twitter ad campaigns based on first-party follower data (or turn the follower data of any other account into yours!)

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There are many other benefits to listing and extracting the followers of any Twitter account, such as analyzing anybody's Twitter network in depth, segmenting the accounts exported for marketing efforts, and finding thought leaders to follow and get inspired from.

Extract Twitter Following List

Twitter offers a built-in treasure: your own data of followers and followings! Here's how to unearth it:

  1. Head to Settings & Privacy > Your Account > Download an archive of your data.
  2. Twitter will compile a zip file containing a goldmine of info, including your follower list.

You will receive an email telling you that your zipped archive is ready to download. Once you download it, you'll see your followers put together in a "js" file, and your following list will also be in another file.

However, this has two downsides: First, you can only do this for your own account. And second, you'll only get the profile links and Twitter IDs within these files. So if you're after a comprehensive file, or you want to extract Twitter followers of others, then you might want to use a third-party tool, namely Circleboom.

Extract Twitter followers to Excel

Personalized ads, competitive research, forming new partnerships, and so on... If you want to extract the full list of your or someone’s Twitter followers, Circleboom is the tool to go, and your imagination is the limit on how to benefit from it.

You can export any Twitter account list or extract Twitter followers with Circleboom through the steps below:

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As an official and verified Twitter partner, Circleboom follows all Twitter rules and policies!

Step #1: Go to Circleboom Twitter and log in.

Register now if you don't have a Circleboom account yet.

Step #2: Authorize your Twitter account to connect with Circleboom.

It's only needed if this is your first time, and it only takes a few seconds.

Step #3: With Circleboom, you can extract Twitter followers or Twitter following list of your own

You can even pick different categories among them, including influencers, verified ones, or all of them. Simply navigate to the left menu and pick whatever you want under "Followers" or "Friends" tabs.

Step #4: If you want to extract Twitter followers of another account, you can conduct searches to find them. Simply hover over the "Search" tab on the left menu and pick from several alternatives.

You can use smart search to find accounts that

Step #5: During any of these, you can apply several different filters to increase your accuracy.

You can filter Twitter accounts by

Step #6: Eventually, you will see a list of Twitter accounts before you.

You can pick among them to add to your Twitter lists or export them (in other words, "extract" them).


How to extract Twitter followers with Python!

Extracting Twitter followers involves accessing Twitter's API, which provides a way to programmatically interact with Twitter data, including followers. To do this with Python, you'll typically use a library like Tweepy, which simplifies working with the Twitter API. Below is a basic guide on how to set up a Python script to extract Twitter followers using Tweepy. Note that this guide assumes you're extracting public data and complying with Twitter's terms of use and user privacy.

Prerequisites

  • A Twitter Developer account and a project/app created within it to get your API keys and tokens.
  • Python installed on your computer.
  • Tweepy library installed. You can install it using pip:
pip install tweepy

Steps

  1. Import Tweepy and Authenticate: First, you'll need to authenticate with the Twitter API using the credentials from your Twitter Developer account.
import tweepy # Replace these with your own API key, API secret key, Access token, Access token secret consumer_key = 'YOUR_CONSUMER_KEY' consumer_secret = 'YOUR_CONSUMER_SECRET' access_token = 'YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN' access_token_secret = 'YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET' auth = tweepy.OAuthHandler(consumer_key, consumer_secret) auth.set_access_token(access_token, access_token_secret) api = tweepy.API(auth)

Extract Followers: Use the followers method to fetch followers. By default, it retrieves up to 20 followers. You can use the count parameter to specify the number (up to 200 per call). For more than 200, you'll need to handle pagination with the cursor method.

# Replace 'twitter_user' with the username whose followers you want to extract username = 'twitter_user' followers = [] for follower in tweepy.Cursor(api.followers, screen_name=username, count=200).items(): followers.append(follower.screen_name) print(followers)

This code lists the usernames of the followers for the specified Twitter account and prints them.

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If you don't want to use this long and coding-knowledge-demanding method, you can always utilize Circleboom to extract Twitter followers!

Important Considerations

  • Rate Limits: Twitter's API has rate limits. If you hit these limits, you'll temporarily be unable to make further requests. Tweepy handles this with rate limit notifications, but be mindful of how often you're calling the API.
  • Privacy and Compliance: Ensure you're only extracting data for analysis or features in ways that comply with Twitter's guidelines and respect user privacy.
  • Data Handling: Be responsible with the data you collect. Store it securely and use it ethically.

This guide provides a foundation for extracting Twitter followers with Python, but remember to explore Tweepy's documentation and Twitter's API documentation for more advanced features and best practices.


Is it possible to extract emails from Twitter followers?

Extracting email addresses from Twitter followers directly violates Twitter's privacy policies and terms of service. Twitter users' email addresses are considered private information, and Twitter does not provide a feature or allow third-party tools to extract such personal data without the explicit consent of the users.

The ethical and legal way to obtain email addresses from your followers or any Twitter users is through voluntary means. This includes:

  • Encouraging followers to sign up for newsletters or email updates via a link to your website or a landing page.
  • Hosting contests, webinars, or offering free resources that require email registration, ensuring you disclose how you plan to use their email.
  • Directly asking followers to share their contact information for specific reasons, ensuring transparency about the use of their data.

Always respect privacy laws and regulations, such as GDPR in Europe, which require clear consent from individual users before collecting and using their personal information. Collecting emails or any personal data without consent can lead to serious legal consequences and damage to your brand's reputation.


Ethical Guidelines for Gathering Twitter Follower Information

When collecting information from Twitter followers, respecting user privacy and adhering to ethical standards is paramount. Privacy should be the cornerstone of any data extraction effort, meaning personal information such as email addresses should only be gathered with explicit consent from the individuals involved. Transparency about why you're collecting data and how it will be used is crucial for building trust. This openness, coupled with ensuring users have actively agreed to share their information, aligns with legal requirements like the GDPR and reinforces the ethical foundation of your actions.

Moreover, it's essential to limit the scope of collected data to what is necessary for your specified purpose, ensuring the security of the data against unauthorized access. Complying with Twitter's policies and respecting users' decisions to disengage are also critical components of ethical conduct. By focusing on these principles, you not only adhere to legal and platform-specific guidelines but also foster a respectful and trustworthy relationship with your audience. This approach ensures that your methods for extracting information from Twitter followers remain responsible, ethical, and beneficial for all parties involved.


What Circleboom Twitter can do is not limited to searching and exporting Twitter accounts. You can also;


Final Words

Extracting your Twitter followers isn’t just about gathering data; it’s about gaining actionable insights that can drive your marketing efforts forward. With the right approach and the help of Circleboom, you can unlock the full potential of your Twitter community and elevate your digital marketing strategy.

Remember, the key to success is not just in the extraction but in how you use the data to connect with your audience and grow your brand. Stay genuine, stay engaged, and keep learning from your followers.


Fatih Kemal Oksuzoglu

Passionate about the latest trends and developments in the digital world, all the way from social media marketing to cybersecurity, and enjoys sharing his insights and tips.

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