Joined the Twitterverse, but not sure your voice is being heard? Here are some sure-fire ideas for attracting Followers!
1. Optimize your Twitter Profile
If your profile doesn’t include an engaging picture (usually your smiling face), banner and bio, you’ll struggle to attract a big following. Sprinkle (don’t cram!) your bio with keywords that are relevant to your target audience, and don’t be afraid to mix in a bit of personality. You can even customize a background or add a location. Don’t forget to link your website!
2. Tweet Regularly
Twitter moves fast, developing a reputation for knowing the news before it happens. If you’re not a regular participant, be prepared to be left behind. Your followers want regular content, and if you’re not supplying it, they’ll go elsewhere.
Try to tweet at least once per day. Worried about time management? Why not try a prescheduling tool like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck? And don’t be afraid to retweet popular tweets (yours and others’) or share content from your website and other social media channels.
3. Provide Good Content
Not only should you tweet regularly, you should tweet positively. Start by knowing your audience, then queue up a layout of entertaining or informative tweets guaranteed to catch their interest. Include links, images and videos. You can also scare up good content by retweeting subject matter experts. Just remember: no one really wants to know what your cat had for breakfast, so keep your tweets on target.
4. Hashtag Wisely
Pro-tweeters navigate via hashtag. Hashtags organize tweets by subject, and many industries have their own. An educator might use #edchat; a social media guru might use #facebook. A quick Google search will uncover hashtags relevant to your business. Identifying your tweets with a particular industry, organization, event or idea allows new visitors to discover your Twitter prowess.
For instance, at AWEBthatWORKS we use the hashtag #SMB2013 to organize tweets from our Social Media Bootcamps.
5. Follow Like-Minded or Industry-Relevant Folks
And hashtags work both ways. Why not use hashtags to connect with other members of your industry or audience? Typically, 1 in 3 people you follow will follow you back, especially if you have things in common. Searching for new users to follow is a sure-fire way to boost your own following.
6. Show up on #FollowFriday (#FF)
In the Twitterverse, Friday is the best day to follow new folks. Just search for the hashtag #FollowFriday or #FF to find lists of your contacts favourite connections. Don’t forget to repay the favour by putting out an #FF of your own!
7. Talk It Up
Once you’ve found connections, communicate! Reply to tweets to show you’re open to conversation. Retweet good content to show you’re a good source of industry information.
8. Don’t Overpromote
Stop right there! Nothing is more fatal to Twitter success than a constant stream of “Buy my products.” By all means, announce your own events and news, but set some limits. Try to send at least 5-10 informational / entertaining tweets for every piece of promotional content. Nothing turns off a potential Follower more than a spamming, self-absorbed Tweeter.
9. Run a Twitter Contest
Think up a good hashtag, come up with a prize, and run a contest. Everyone loves a good game and the chance to win a prize. Invite the Twitterverse to play (reply to one of your tweets, use a hashtag, mention your handle, answer a question) and you’ll be surprised who comes out of the woodwork.
10. Blog about Twitter
Cross-promote your Twitter account. You’ve already got social media buttons on your website (right?), but why not mention your Twitter persona in blog posts? Post a link to your Twitter profile via Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.
11. Join or Host Twitter Chats
Sometimes, Twitter communities meets live to discuss shared issues, organizing their tweets via hashtag. A Google search will help you uncover existing chats. Feel free to join in, or just follow the participants. Not finding a relevant Twitter chat? Why not host your own?
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