It’s the eternal question, isn’t it? You may have great content to share, funny memes to post, witty comments to make – but if you don’t have any followers, none of it matters. If no one sees it, none of it will help your business grow. So how do you get those coveted Twitter followers?
First of all, relax a little. Yes, having a good-sized group of followers is important. Numbers do matter on Twitter, because the more followers you have, the more people you reach. But you also want to make sure that they are quality followers. It’s better to have hundreds of followers you’ve actually connected with at some point than to have thousands you’ve never interacted with – and probably never will.
So how do you get those quality followers? Here’s your guide to attracting a big crowd on Twitter:
1. Don’t be boring. Here’s a secret: No one should ever actually answer the question Twitter asks (“What are you doing?”). Or at least, no one who wants people to care what they have to say. Would you follow someone who was always updating you on the errands she was running or the TV shows he was watching? Of course not! Your Twitter posts need to be interesting for anyone to want to follow you.
2. Be useful. You might be tempted to tell the world that you’re heading out to pick up your kids from school. But that would be boring! (See Tip #1.) So instead, convert your bland update into useful information. For example, you could tweet that you are on the way to pick up your kids, but that traffic is awful at the nearby intersection – thus allowing other drivers to choose a different route.
3. Share valuable content. If you find a helpful article or website, tweet about it! And share your own website content, as well, as long as it’s really useful. You can let people know about your latest blog posts or even a sale you have going on. If you do tweet about someone else’s content, be sure to mention the creator’s Twitter handle in your tweet. That way, they have a better chance of seeing your tweet – and they just might retweet it to their own followers, which will extend your reach even further!
4. Ask genuine questions and interact with followers. People can smell a fake, sales-y kind of question a mile away. Engage with your Twitter followers as a real person, not as a business obviously trying to get an artificial discussion going. Ask for help or advice when you need it, and then thank people for their thoughtful responses. Start real conversations, and people will see you as a real person they’d be glad to do business with.
5. Follow at least two new people per day. Not just any people, but experts in your industry, or people you find interesting: basically, the type of people you want to follow you. As you follow them, write them a quick note telling them how much you enjoy or value their tweets. They just might follow you back!
By following these 5 easy tips, you should start getting quality Twitter followers in no time flat. Keep posting interesting, useful, valuable information and interacting with your followers, and you’ll continue to grow your Twitter audience.
