How many followers is too many on Twitter? A new study by HubSpot suggests the answer is trickier than one might imagine. According to an article based on its State of Inbound Lead Generation - a report that covers the statistical analysis of 1,400 customers' inbound marketing activities - the largest jump in leads took place once customers garnered several hundred followers. But 500 appears to be the cut off point as "leads may not continue to rise with Twitter reach beyond multiple hundreds of followers."

Perhaps this is due to the challenge of growing engaged followers, HubSpot speculated. "These more engaged individuals are those who will retweet content to their own followers, visit the company web site when enticed to do so, and/or post updates on topics related to the customer's areas of interest. Leads are more likely to come directly and indirectly through these more engaged individuals."

But how to cut off potential followers - who may be customers? While HubSpot looked at B2B and B2C companies’ experience, a recent interview in the New York Review of Books with author Margaret Atwood shows how difficult it can be for truly popular brands - or personalities - to stop at 500. Last year Atwood established her Twitter account to promote her latest book, The Year of the Flood. "I soon had a few thousand people I didn’t know sending me messages like "OMG! Is it really you?" …One follower led to another, quite literally. The numbers snowballed in an alarming way, as I scrambled to keep up with the growing horde. Soon there were 32,000 - no, wait, 33,000 - no, 33,500… And before you could say LMAO…I was sucked into the Twittersphere like Alice down the rabbit hole.”