Twitter is a powerful social network for business. And the more followers you have – meaningful ones – the more exposure you will gain from tweeting. (If you’re new to Twitter, I suggest reading Twitter 101 first.)
Here are 10 tips for getting more people to click “Follow” on your Twitter account:
1. Write interesting tweets.
Add something to the conversation. Did you find a great article other people might want to read? Do you have something to say that might make people think – or laugh ? Do you have expertise to share?
Give people a feel for what your future tweets will be like. That will help them decide whether they want to follow you.
Posting great tweets makes people more likely to:
- retweet you. This means your tweet is re-broadcast to the followers of whoever retweets you.
“Follow Friday” you. On Fridays, some people will post a tweet recommending people they think their followers should check out and follow. The tweet will usually include a #FollowFriday or #FF hashtag.- find your tweets when they search Twitter, and maybe follow you. When you’re writing tweets, include keywords people may be searching for.
2. Complete your Twitter profile: Add a bio and portrait.
Would you rather follow someone with a smiling face, or the default egg icon? How do you feel about following someone whose bio shows their interests are similar to yours, or who’s in your industry, compared to someone whose bio shares no personal information?
An incomplete Twitter profile doesn’t give people a reason to follow you. It can also make people think you’re a Twitter spammer, because many spam accounts don’t have a portrait or bio.
3. Start following people you know.
After you’ve posted at least a few tweets and filled in your profile, start following people.
Look for your customers and business partners on Twitter, and then follow them. They’ll hopefully notice that you’ve followed them, and then follow you in return because they recognize you.
4. Follow people in your industry and people who tweet about things you care about.
Search Twitter for people and tweets that interest you. When you search, you can click for “Tweets” with that word or phrase, or “People” who match your search. Twitter’s advanced searched is also handy.
Follow people you want to listen to, and who you think may want to follow you back if they look at your bio and recent tweets.
5. Once you’ve followed people, interact with them!
Look at the stream of tweets from people you’re following (click “Home” at the top of your Twitter page), reply to people and retweet their best tweets. These interactions will make the recipients more likely to follow you back and listen to what you have to say.
If you have limited time, focus on interacting with the people who aren’t following you yet. Remember to be genuinely yourself when you engage on Twitter. People recognize an authentic voice, and they also recognize an artificial one. No one wants to engage with a phony.
6. Include prominent links to your Twitter account on your website.
Ideally, your website should have an easy-to-notice link to your Twitter account “above the fold” (visible without scrolling down) on each page of your website. This makes it easy for people to follow you if they choose.
It’s more effective to give people a reason to follow you on Twitter instead of just saying “Follow us.” Are you going to offer them coupon codes, expert information about your industry, funny pictures of cats, or…?
7. Include a link to your Twitter page in your email signature.
This makes it so much easier for people you’re already talking with. I don’t know about you, but I’m lazy. When I see a Twitter link in someone’s email signature I’m much more likely to follow them. It’s a lot easier for me to click right now than to search for them.
8. Include a link to your Twitter page in your email newsletters.
If you send out email newsletters or email blasts, try including a link to your Twitter page and suggest that people follow you. Remember, give them a reason!
9. Include your Twitter handle on your business cards.
Your business card isn’t just for your name, company, and contact info. It’s an opportunity to offer a Twitter connection to people you meet in real life.
10. Ask your employees, friends and family to follow you.
These won’t be very meaningful followers, but getting them to follow you can help you gain momentum and get a few more “real” followers.
When someone looks at your profile, Twitter will show them if one of their own followers is also following you (pictured at right).
* Don’t buy Twitter followers.
It’s a waste of money, as these will be very low-value followers who won’t retweet you or recommend you to others. Even worse, too many “junk” followers can turn off potential “real” followers.
Do you have any other tips for gaining followers on Twitter? Comment below.
This article was written by Kristina Weis of AboutUs.
Kristina is customer service and social media lead for AboutUs. She helps website owners who are trying to promote their businesses online. Her personal blog is at KristinaWeis.com and she tweets at @KristinaWeis.
Very nice list of how to get Twitter followers. I really dislike having people follow me and the majority of their tweets say follow me. I also try very hard to RT people who have RT my material on Twitter. What always surprises me is when legitimate tweeters from an unrelated profession or discipline RT my material. I also send a thank you tweet to my RTs. I will tweet this article which has a broad base of interest.
Has many followers sometimes just be entertainment only, for the pride that we seemed to be popular or important people. Hehe …. but for many people who are intelligent, can be used for business purposes and marketing
Glad the article was useful. Sounds like you’re on the right track!
I really didn’t know all about this and thank you very much because i have been followed with people who do not even tweet for quite some time thank you again.
Great tips, the picture really ads too it. I will definitively try to utilize Twitter more.
Thanks for the nice post. It will helps a lot for online brand communications.
A good article Kristina. Additionally to tweet several times a day will increase our chance to be advised to person by Twitter.
Sounds like you’re on the right track!
But what If i start sending private messages to the people asking them to follow me?
Asking my friends to re tweet my tweets
Just the information I was looking for at the moment. Thanks :)
Thanks for the useful tips. Another tip is be consistent with your comments and subject matter. Tweet about something you actually find enjoyable related to the business you’re trying to promote. For example, I have a marriage/dating site for Muslims, but since I am passionate about writing, my tweets are literary related to life and love.
Also, another tip is not to message people about visiting your site or buying your product. Just make it visible in your profile and tweet.
One other tip I read by a blogger who wrote a book about…ah, Blogging, he said to be respectful and follow people who follow you. I mention this for people who don’t know what to do with followers who follow them who are not in their field of discussion. I don’t have a lot of followers on Twitter yet, but it seems I have attracted a broad spectrum of followers from Christian to Muslim to Jewish in the field of religion and writing and government.
Another tip worth mentioning is try to have as many followers as you are followed, or at least close. In other words, do not follow for the sake of following because people tend to be turned off by people who are following hundreds, but only have 20 followers.
Great article and simple enough to do and follow. Now I’m going out to get more twitter followers. I’ll let you know how it goes :).
But what If i start sending private messages to the people asking them to follow me?
Asking my friends to re tweet my tweets
Bert – On Twitter you can only send private messages (call DMs, for direct message) to people who follow you on Twitter. Asking friends to retweet you can be good, and you’ll be able to DM them if they follow you.
so if i start sending private messages to the people yust ask them to follow me?
and Ask all my friends to re tweet my tweets
Great article appreciate the insight!! I have been using Twitter for about 2 years now and have amassed about 113,000 organic followers, meaning I have not purchased a single one.
I have found that looking at a users follow to follower ratio really makes a difference in the amount of followbacks you get. With such limited time and a need to get followers this strategy has paid dividends, anyway I posted an article about my findings here http://socialmediasites101.com/?p=45 hope everyone enjoys this, any questions drop me a comment.