Do you tweet? Well, given the fact that Twitter boasts 330 million monthly active users, chances are your prospects do. So, how can you leverage this powerful online tool to reach more potential customers and grow your business? Well, it starts with followers; specifically, getting more followers on a consistent basis. Let’s take a look at some tips that will help you learn how to get more followers on Twitter and become a Twitter master.
First and foremost, it’s important to point out that as with most things, when it comes to Twitter, quality is always better than quantity. There are plenty of services out there that offer to provide you with a certain number of followers in exchange for a fee. What they really do is set up a bunch of fake accounts to follow your company on Twitter and give the appearance that you’re popular. It’s the equivalent of sending yourself flowers on Valentine’s Day. Sad and pointless.
To really benefit from Twitter, you want to focus on finding real, quality followers that will either become customers or expand your network to other people who may be good leads. That said, let’s dive into some ways you can increase your organic Twitter growth.
1. Make it About THEM, Not You – As I mentioned in our free E-Book, nobody likes a “me monster.” In other words, if all you’re doing on Twitter is posting updates about your business or sharing your own content, you won’t be engaging your existing followers and you certainly won’t be winning over any new ones. Know your audience and create and curate content that is valuable to them. And don’t make it all about you, because according to researchers at Rutgers University, those who are considered to be “informers” on Twitter have twice as many followers as those who only talk about themselves.
2. Identify Yourself as an Authority – You may not be a celebrity or famous politician, but you’re good at what you do, or you wouldn’t be in business. Figure out what it is that you’re an expert or leader in, and then let people know. Literally. According to a study conducted by HubSpot’s Dan Zarella, Twitter accounts using certain “authoritative” words in their profiles have an average of 100 more followers. Here are some of the key words to consider using in your bio, in order of effectiveness: Official, Founder, Speaker, Expert, Guru, Author. Now, I’m not saying to make anything up or position yourself as something you’re not, but if you’re good at something, calling yourself a guru isn’t such a big stretch, right?
3. Keep Things Interesting – You may be completely fascinated by the meal you had earlier today, but chances are, unless you’re Gordon Ramsay, nobody else cares. When a prospect looks at your Twitter account and sees that the last several tweets you posted are painfully boring, do you really think they’ll click that “follow” button? Say it with me now….no. If you want more followers, keep the mundane details of your daily life to yourself and instead focus on tweeting about things that are interesting, engaging, funny and valuable to your target audience. And seriously, enough about your lunch.
4. Run Special Offers – A Nielsen study revealed that 52% of consumers follow a brand on Twitter for specials offers and promotions. These can be a number of different things, from discounts and flash sales to giveaways and exclusive content. Promotions can also be great tools for getting retweets from your current followers (i.e. “Retweet to be entered to win a lunch date with Gordon Ramsay”). This instantly increases your exposure and naturally, organically, helps to grow your following.
5. Tweet Often – There is a direct correlation between the number of tweets a user has and the number of followers. Those with 1,000 tweets or fewer fall within the range of 51-100 followers. Why? Because more activity means more visibility for your brand. It also demonstrates that you’re an established presence on social media, which helps to build trust.
6. Use Hashtags – Aaaaah, the lovely hashtag, or as people who grew up before the 2000’s like to call it, the pound sign. This nifty little symbol is used on Twitter (and now other social networks) to tag content and make it searchable. For instance, if I wanted to look up news about startups on Twitter, I could search the hashtag #startup and I’d instantly get a list of tweets that contain that hashtag. You can create your own hashtags, but it’s much more effective to use those that are most popular. This can help get your content found and increase the number of people who follow you.
7. Post Shareable Content – Last but not least, posting content that people not only find valuable, but that they find valuable enough to share it with others is the ultimate goal of using social media. The more your content gets shared, the more exposure your brand will get and the more your follower base will begin to grow. Make sure what you’re tweeting about really knocks it out of the park and don’t be afraid to ask for retweets.
Getting more quality followers on Twitter should be a key component of any business social media marketing plan. The good news is there are proven strategies that you can use to systematically and consistently achieve that goal. Apply the tips listed above and before you know it you’ll be like the Pied Piper of the internet, only without the flute and weird tights.
