A client recently called me in a panic, asking me to help boost her number of Twitter followers as quickly as possible. She was attending a major professional conference in a month, and being in a public occupation, she was embarrassed by her low number of 90.
By using the list of “tricks” below, we helped her numbers jump organically to 600 in just over two weeks — she’s now on track to have several thousand in a few months.
During this push she’s done more than just increase numbers: she’s made new business contacts, gained the attention of a few leaders in her field, secured a interesting contract — and with very few people Unfollowing her.
It’s quality, not quantity
As you build your Twitter followers and your Twitter community, keep in mind that what matters most of all is not your numbers – it’s really quality of engagement and sharing, and being a valuable member of your community, just like in “real life.” Twitter is a tool to help you market yourself. It helps position you as an authority in your field. It helps create your professional reputation and persona.
There are ways to “carpet bomb” in an authentic way to bump numbers up fast. And what’s great about not “cheating” and instead building a community carefully using tips below, is you build yourself a network of lasting value: which is what Twitter is all about.
You can find content to share by reTweeting other people’s material or putting your own spin on the Tweet. You can share your opinions (in a few words!) on a recent article you read, on an item you saw on the news, or a discussion you overheard. Comment on other people’s Tweets and ask questions.
Don’t buy fake followers
Some people feel under such pressure to increase their numbers they buy hundreds or thousands of fake followers. Be aware: These are mostly computer generated and will all just sit there, not interact, and look obvious as fakes to anyone who scans your followers list. And you will know you’re a fraud even if no one else does. Not a great feeling.
So what’s your best “Follow bait” to up your numbers quickly? Most important of all, share interesting and thought provoking content relevant to your industry, and do it in a personal voice.
REMEMBER: it’s about being of value to others that you’ll create success for yourself on Twitter.
Here’s our list:
1) Make sure you have a compelling Twitter profile description that positions you as someone of value and interest
2) Make sure your Twitter handle is on all your social media: Linked In, Facebook, your website
3) Add your Twitter handle to your email sign off
4) Post interesting content that will be of value to other people (find content links on other people’s Twitter feeds)
5) Follow Tweets with hashtag (#) topics that have value to you: interact with these people — this is your community
6) Post about trending # topics as well as the # of your community
7) Use bitly.com link shortener to shorten links you post to save character space and to track clickbacks
8) When you reTweet (RT), use the edit function (available if you use a platform like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite) to add a personalized comment in a few words up front before the RT. You will likely need to shorten the Tweet you’re reTweeting to make room for this. Adding this comment make a Tweet “yours” and gives you an editorial voice.
9) Remove extraneous words or create contractions in other people’s Tweets when you reTweet to make them shorter (for example American can become US) and easier for people to share.
10) Use images: They make your Tweets stand out in a feed and make them more likely to be ReTweeted
11) Your Tweets should ideally: 1) tell people something they don’t know 2) help them solve a problem or 3) entertain them
12) Try to leave 5 or 6 characters free when you write a Tweet to leave room for others to comment when they reTweet
13) Use the Twitter “Who to Follow” feed that appears on your page to find people to Follow who might follow you back
14) Remember that when people do the same and click on your profile, you are selling them on 1) your description and 2) your last two Tweets: make them good!
15) For the time being, keep your Twitter Following numbers higher than your Follow numbers: people will think you’ll Follow back
16) Only Follow back people of value to you (in your industry or who post great content)
17) Follow people who ReTweet you
18) Favorite people who @mention you in their Tweets
19) Pay attention to which of your Tweets get reTweeted the most, and post more like them
20) Use Tweetdeck or HootSuite to be able to quickly monitor mentions, reTweets etc
21) Tweet once an hour and rotate types of content you post: a Tweet only lasts 18 mins. Use Tweetdeck, Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule your Tweets in advance so you don’t have to actually post each hour.
22) Repeat your Tweets that have impact, that people ReTweet
23) Always be polite and supportive in your Tweets and responses
24) Be a “happy” Tweeter in general: people respond more to positive Tweeting
25) Send a message to people who reTweet you more than once to thank them
26) Send a mention to people whose content you like and they might follow you back
27) Initiate conversation with people whose opinions or Tweets you like
28) When you retweet, change the # topic to something relevant to your target audience so it is fresh material for a new audience of potential followers
29) Always add a # topic to reach new followers eg for me this is #contentmarketing
30) Follow people who are following more people than they have followers: they are more likely to follow you
31) Follow people who are posting using the # of your business/ community: they will be interested in what you have to say and this is your community
32) Don’t Follow people who aren’t active on Twitter – they wont’ be logging on to Follow you
33) Tweet content related to current events like the Oscars: find an angle that works for your audience/ who you are doing outreach to
34) Follow people like crazy, give them 48 hours to follow you back and if they don’t, Unfollow them
35) If someone you’re following hasn’t followed you back (and has a lot of people they’re following) ReTweet them to let them know you are of value to them
36) Be aggressive about Unfollowing if they don’t reciprocate to keep your Following numbers down to about 60 above your Followers numbers
37) If you about to Unfollow someone because they aren’t following you back, but want their Tweets in your feed, put them in a Twitter List, then unfollow them.
38) Make a Twitter List of your new followers and make an effort to reTweet them
39) Make a list of people who ReTweet you and return the favor
40) Tweet quotes and use #quotes: people love them. Find them at #quotes
41) Save any personal messaging for private “direct messages” as they will not clutter your feed and turn off potential followers who are only interested in real content you are sharing
42) Create Tweets that will make an impact read together when people scroll down your page to check you out: vary your topics and always be entertaining
43) Research which # topics are ranking higher and have more impact and join in if you can
44) Follow Tweets with a # topic that have value to you
45) If you are desperate to up your number, follow people you find at #followback. Remember they will add no value to your feed and will be spammy – and they’ll look bad to anyone looking at your feed to learn about you. This is only marginally better than buying Followers.
46) Never buy followers, especially if you work in the social media or communications industry. Any social media professional will spot them instantly if they are considering hiring you and discredit you professionally. You will also have to live with the knowledge guilt that your numbers are fake.
47) Make sure you keep your life going and don’t get sucked into Twitter-World: you’ll need to be out in the world to have interesting things to share on Tweeter.
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