Tag Archives: followers

12 ways to increase your Twitter followers

There’s plenty of Social Media Consultants who state that when if comes to Twitter followers, it is quality that is important and not quantity. The truth is that both quality and quantity are important. If all your followers are prospective clients and useful sources of news and information then you have quality but if you only have 5 of them then your traction and rewards from Twitter are going to be minimal.

So here are twelve ideas to help you obtain quality followers on Twitter:

1. Engage with everyone who interacts with you - Twitter is about building relationships so when someone proffers their digital hand to you, make sure that you shake it. That is, if someone favourites one of your tweets, retweets you or mentions you then reply with a “hi” or “thanks” and start talking but most important of all, follow them. If they’ve not already followed you they are now very likely to do so.

2. Schedule multiple posts for a particular tweet - If you have a tweet that has performed well ie it’s received plenty of retweets, replies and/or clicks, then schedule it for further tweeting. You can use Tweet Deck or Buffer to do this.

3. tweets on your website - An embedded tweet gives your the opportunity to display a ‘live tweet’ on your website or blog. By posting an engaging tweet which can now be accompanied by up to 4 photos  you can attract acquire new followers without the need for them to visit twitter.com or a phone app.

4. Put Follow button onto website - An obvious one this but a surprising omission from many websites and blogs. Twitter provide a follow button that can easily be placed on your About Us, Contact Us page or blog. It looks like this:

Follow @intranetfuture  Please click for daily social media news and tips. You’ll find all you need to add this and other Twitter buttons in the Twitter resources section.

5. Publicise Twitter id online and offline - Make sure to tell people that you’re on Twitter. Use your website, social networks and emails to do this online, and offline be sure to mention in brochures, on leaflets and business cards and if you run a venue on signage and staff clothing. Here are the official Twitter logo plus advice on its use.

6. Twitter exclusive content and promotions - Give me a reason to follow you. For example, make Twitter the source of exclusive content such as tips and ebooks and/or promotions and discounts.

7. Retweet - Be generous with your retweets. If you help spread the word for others they are likely to do the same for you. Make sure you focus on relevant tweets and influential people. The beauty of Twitter is that you can put yourself in front of someone by retweeting or mentioning them, no matter how high profile they are.

8. Ask for retweets - Evidence from a number of studies shows that if you ask for retweets you’re more likely to get them. This helps put you in front of a new audience who may well follow you. Pro-tip: If you have space when composing your tweet, write out ‘retweet’ in full rather than RT.

9. Join the conversation - Increase your visibility by putting yourself into Twitter conversations by using popular or trending hashtags. You should regularly use hashtags relating to your industry sector, join in during #<location>hour eg #cotswoldshour conversations, tweet using relevant event hashtags and keep on eye on relevant trending hashtags. Pro-tip: There is a huge volume of Twitter chat around TV programmes so study the TV schedules each week for programmes related to your goods or services.

10. Favourite tweets to get noticed - When you favourite a tweet, it shows up under the tweeter’s Notifications so put yourself on influential people’s radars by favouriting their tweets.

11. Search email contacts who are on Twitter - Your contacts are likely candidates for new followers. This tip works particularly well if you have a contacts list for you customers. See if they are on Twitter by using Discover/ Find Friends. Pro-tip: If you aren’t on Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail or AOL then create a Gmail (or one of the other options). Then export your contacts list as a .csv file and import into your new Gmail account.

12. Display your Twitter account on LinkedIn - Connect your Twitter account with LinkedIn so it’s displayed in your Contact Info by going to Edit Contact Info/Manage Twitter Settings. Pro-tip: If you have more than one Twitter account you can display this too.

For more advice on growing a quality audience on Twitter book a call with me, Jonathan Pollinger.

Robotic response to Twitter followers a bad idea

Social media is about conversation and your potential and existing customers or clients don’t want to talk to a robot; they want to talk to a real person. So providing the same response to new followers is a bad idea. Below is the standard response from @StrategyIntMark to new followers:

@bjcbranding Hi, Thanks for following us, we hope you find something interesting here and do join in the conversation!

— Strategy Marketing (@StrategyIntMark) March 26, 2013

If you visit the profile and check tweets you’ll see the identical response to a number of new followers. It’s a variation on the auto direct message approach although at least with an @message the recipient knows they’ll be able to respond in the same manner. With an auto direct message unless the business or brand has followed you too you won’t be able to direct message them back.

Whilst it’s nice to say thank you surely the act of following is part and parcel of Twitter use? Does each new follower really need a thank you? If you must then it should be personalised but of course this takes time. Perhaps better thank someone when they’ve made the effort to retweet or mention you.

What do you think? Please let me know in the comments below.

Hat tip to @SueKelsoRyan for spotting this example.

5 secret ways to increase Twitter followers

In a previous article I provided 10 tips for getting more Twitter followers and here are another 5 secret ways to increase your Twitter followers you might not have heard about. They will make other tweeters aware you’re on Twitter and help get you noticed.

It’s important to build your audience on Twitter so that you have a large group of people you can talk with about your business and your interests. Of course, your tweets are public and can be found via Twitter Search and Bing but your followers are the most likely to see your tweets as they’ll appear on their Homepage. So here they are along with instructions on how to achieve.

1) Add your Twitter id as a hyperlink eg http://twitter.com/intranetfuture to your personal profile on Facebook. Select About on your Timeline then Edit to the right of the About You section. Great way of raising awareness to friends, followers (yes, Facebook has followers now too) and visitors to your profile.

2) Add your Twitter id to your YouTube channel. Go to your YouTube channel then select Edit to the right of the About <channel name>. You can then add a title eg Twitter and your Twitter URL in the customised URL field. Select Add and your done. Informs your YouTube viewers that you’re on Twitter and makes it easy for them to connect.

3) Follow your competitors followers. A bit cheeky but why not? Chances are they are going to be interested in what you tweet about and you might provide more value than your competitor. You can find your competitors using Twitter’s Advanced Search - (view video on how to use) or you can find and follow them using ManageFlitter (subscription for this feature is required).

4) Give! Provide free tips, services and if possible products. This will get your tweets shared and help you get noticed.

5) Send @messages to people who aren’t following you. Even a simple approach of just saying ‘hi’ - see @earlsandco - flags up your presence on Twitter.

If you have any good suggestions for obtaining followers please add them to the Comments below. Thank you.

How many of your followers are fake?

A free new tool from @statuspeople shows how many of your followers are fake or to put it another way how many are spammers. Spam accounts could have followed you in the hope that they’ll be able to spam you with direct messages should you follow them back. Followers could also have been bought; a counter productive activity but one that’s increasing.

After connecting to your Twitter account, Fake Follower Check will analyse your followers and display number of fake followers, number of inactive followers and number of good followers.

The tool has a certain curiosity value but has two important business benefits:

1) It’s important for you to know that your followers are legitimate and active so you can engage them in conversation and provide them with valuable content. You also want them to be active so they can retweet your content.

2) It’s useful for checking the authenticity of a Twitter account and by extension the person behind so can be used as a ‘red flag indicator’. A high percentage of fake followers could indicate that followers have been purchased. Try running the tool against a few politicians, celebrities and social media consultants. If the results are interesting let me know the results in the comments below.

Checking the tool’s results against other analytical tools confirms that results are reasonably accurate although there were one or two anomalies. However, a sample of up to 1000 followers is used so results for those with above 1000 followers won’t be as accurate as those with less than a 1000.

@statuspeople are now working on integrating Fake Follower Check into their main tool and creating a fake follower removal tool.

10 tips for getting more Twitter followers

A question I’m often asked is how to get more followers on Twitter. A large audience on Twitter can give you more impact for the same amount of effort. It takes the same amount of time to craft and send a tweet for 5 followers as it does to 5000. Quality is also important as you want to attract an audience that’s receptive to your tweets. Follow the following 10 tips to attract quality followers:

1. Quality content - tweets that are valued get noticed. They’ll be retweeted which will bring you more followers.
2. Key words - include key words relating to your business and sector in your tweets. This will help you show up more in search results.
3. Optimised profile - use your Bio to give people reasons to follow you. Tell people what you tweet about.
4. Twitter id on other social networks - for example, ensure your Twitter URL is listed on your Facebook Page. All fields in the About section on Facebook support hyperlinks.
5. Twitter button on your LinkedIn profile - Once added a Follow button is displayed on your LinkedIn profile. This makes it easy for visitors to your profile to follow you.
6. A reason to follow you - don’t just say ‘Follow us on Twitter’. Say follow us on Twitter for great tips, fun competitions, special offers etc - describe the benefits to your audience.
7. Mention popular accounts  - make your tweets more visible by tagging influential users in your tweets.
8. Embed tweets on your website or blog - embedded tweets can add value to your website or blog - see 4 great ideas for embedded tweets. All buttons are live so if you embed your own tweets visitors can easily select the Follow button without having to visit your profile on Twitter.
9. URL on business cards - ensure that your Twitter id is published on your business card.
10. Promoted Ads - all the above are free but if you have budget then you can pay Twitter to have your account suggested to potential followers using promoted accounts.

To learn more about using Twitter for marketing your business give me a call on 01242 639032.