How to get more followers on Twitter
Part One of a Three-Part Series
Twitter is back in the press after Elon Musk, is he, isn’t he, has now formally confirmed his intent to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share (which equates to approximately $44 billion).
Twitter isn’t necessarily the most popular social media platform for businesses, although many are on it “just because”. And yet, Elon Musk must be onto something and know something we don’t, after he confirmed his willingness to drop 44 bills on the platform!
Twitter is the go-to platform for audience engagement, so if you are looking to get closer to your audience of would-be customers, this is the place to be. Follower metrics are more important here than on any other platform, as the higher your follower count, the more influence you are likely to have in your industry.
Being that Twitter is probably the easiest of all social media platforms to use, you’d be foolish not to consider it for your business, as it could really help boost your brand appeal and potentially generate more sales and leads for you.
But to get noticed, you’ll need to grow your followers.
In this three-part series, I offer ten top actionable tips on ways you can increase your Twitter followers. In part one, we discuss the first three top tips:
1. Commit to regular and consistent tweets
Unlike other social media platforms, you need to be super committed to tweeting often on your profile. In fact, way more frequently than you do on other platforms.
According to research from RivalIQ, the top 25% of top-performing accounts on Twitter post 12 times per week. That’s roughly twice per day. So if you want to get noticed, you are going to need to commit fully to generating A LOT of content.
But don’t let this figure put you off dipping your toe into Twitterland – you can still enjoy engagement if you post a little less frequently, but you’d probably be aiming to post one tweet, every working day to get noticed; so keep that in mind.
But what can I tweet about?
Okay, posting on a daily basis, Monday to Friday can seem like a daunting task, but the ideas for content are endless. You could tweet about tweets related to your brand or industry. You could tweet and retweet relevant industry articles. Maybe you’ve seen some interesting stats posted on Twitter – why not retweet those? Is there some breaking news or are you launching a new product or service? What are your people up to right now? New hires, exam success, team building fun?
We’re not saying you should copy what they are doing, but if you find that your competitor is getting the most attention from a how-to blog, then look into what kind of value-added content you could generate and share on your profile.
So, if read our last marketing masterclass series article, you now have ten top tips to help you increase your Instagram followership. We’re not expecting you to follow all ten, but if you try a few, you should start to see your audience grow.
Image credit: follows.com
Posting frequently shows you are alive and open for business. One way to help you manage all your tweets is to invest in a good social media scheduler, which will tweet your content on your behalf. SocialBee, is a great social media scheduling tool overall. It uses content libraries and post recycling to keep things organised and to help save time.
2. Make sure your tweets include a visual
It goes without saying that tweets that include either an image or a video are more likely to receive engagement on Twitter. The same can in fact be said for any social media channel.
Due to the sheer volume of tweets displayed in any one user’s newsfeed, it’s very easy for them to simply scroll and scroll and miss your tweet. By adding either an engaging image or video to your tweet, they are more likely to stop the scroll and digest your content.
Canva is an amazing free tool that offers beautiful Twitter-sized image templates, where you can simply drag and drop your chosen image into the template. It can make your images look professional and engaging, so if you are not yet on this tool, I urge you to get acquainted. You’ll be so glad you did.
Infographics are another great way to convey complicated messaging, so consider creating one. Yes, Canva also offers some beautiful infographic templates where you simply change out the text to suit your needs.
Whether you’re looking to inform or entertain your audience (or both), filling your feed with visual content can help bring you new Twitter followers.
Image credit: lightscap3s.com
3. Get discovered by using hashtags
Tweets that use #hashtags are more like to receive greater engagement than those that don’t. Why? Because hashtags enable your tweets to be seen by more than just your followers.
If you think of hashtags like search terms for SEO, Twitter users will often add search terms to Twitter’s search bar to find engaging tweets on topics they are interested in, because they are keen to engage with like-minded users about topics they love. So by adding popular hashtags to your tweets you are allowing users to find your tweets.
Image credit: sproutsocial.com
But don’t go overboard…
Adding a few hashtags to your tweet is good practice, but don’t overuse them as your tweet will come off as spammy.
If you add your hashtags to tweets, carefully and consciously, you can start to see which hashtags are generating the most engagement for you. Then you can reuse these hashtags on other posts to, hopefully, generate more engagement.
Twitter Analytics can also help you to identify which of your tags are performing the best, so make sure to check out the tool on a periodic basis.
Like what you’ve read?
Jo Buchanan, the author of this blog, is the Founder and Director of TwitTwooYou Limited, a business growth strategic consultancy centred on getting brands noticed. TwitTwooYou offers a range of smart services to help businesses grow and achieve their aspirations and goals. Want to get your brand noticed? Get in touch for a free, no-obligation chat.
