Getting followers on Twitter is essential if you want your content to reach an audience. The most engaging Twitter users command followings of thousands, if not millions, of followers. Your Twitter bio is one of the first impressions people get to see the type of person or business you are. So always ensure that it is catchy, creates interest, and is correctly edited.

 

It is crucial to have a good profile picture of yourself or something that captures what you are about. Include a location in your bio, especially if you are close to a city. Often, celebrities, journalists, businesses, and other influencers in your area might engage with you, increasing your Twitter profile’s prominence. It also allows people to find you in the real world and increases your credibility. It is a good idea to use keywords in your bio, especially if they are relevant, as this can help you appear in search results. Ensure that your profile is complete, as an incomplete Twitter profile can make others distrustful of you.

 

Encourage friends, fans, and followers on other social media platforms to follow you on Twitter – You can also include a link to your Twitter profile in your email signature. Embedding your Twitter feed on your website or blog can help you reach new potential followers. Uploading your email contacts to Twitter allows you to find and connect with them, as well as any followers they have. Signing up for Twitter directories is free and a great way to be listed so people can find you or your business easier.

 

Post content that is relevant and interesting – It should be something that elicits a user to like, share, or reply. Researchers have found that social media accounts that share information rather than self-promotion have twice as many followers on average. So an ideal balance would be to post 80% content about your business and only 20% self-promotion. If you want more engagement, share the relevant news for both your business and your audience.

 

Tweet more often – Tweeting in bursts in short timespans floods your followers’ timelines and can have the negative effect of them unfollowing you, no matter how interesting the tweets may be. There is no exact number of times you should tweet, but a good rule of thumb is to post three to seven tweets a day, though some brands post as many as fifteen. If you are unable to maintain this schedule, Twitter offers automation tools that allow you to schedule tweets weeks in advance. Consistent tweeting helps keep you near the top of most Twitter timelines, which leads to more opportunities for engagement with your target audience. In fact, even tweeting on weekends is beneficial. It has been shown by Dan Zarella’s research that “brands get 17% more engagement on weekends as compared to weekdays.”

 

Although Twitter now allows up to 280 characters in a tweet, it has been shown that tweets that are between 70 and 100 characters are most likely to be liked and retweeted. To connect with your followers, tweet inspirational or motivational quotes, as those have a tendency to be liked and retweeted and can help in getting more people to follow you. Being funny encourages retweets, but one has to be careful to avoid vitriol, which can backfire and result in people unfollowing you. Being original in your tweets makes them stand out and encourages user interaction, compared to posting tweets that they may have seen elsewhere before. Explicitly ask your followers to retweet in your post, as this has an exponentially higher retweet rate. Pin your best tweet to the top of your profile so that visitors immediately see one of the best reasons to follow you.

 

When people reply to your tweets or mention you in theirs, respond to their questions and feedback. Reply in a time-conscious manner and mention each user by their name; since it increases the likelihood of getting responses. Use @mentions as often as you can. Ask a question, or add a question to your tweets, as this is one of the best ways to grow engagement. Interaction retains current followers and even encourages new ones.

 

Visual content grabs a user’s attention more readily than text – Research indicates that an image or a video accompanying your tweet results in 18% higher interaction than tweets without images. Be active and try different ideas, like running contests for example, and reward your followers with prizes related to your business.

 

Take advantage of hashtags to reach a larger audience – especially if your tweet is relevant to a topic that is trending. When people search the hashtag of a trending topic, your tweets will show up in their results. However, using too many hashtags may lead to your profile looking like a spamming account, so it is advisable to limit their usage to perhaps three per tweet. Using promoted tweets requires you to spend but allows your tweets to reach a bigger audience of potential followers. Tweets can quickly be lost in a feed, so try posting your promoted tweets at different times of the day. Twitter analytics is a useful tool that allows you to measure the content that your audience responds to so that you can replicate it keep user engagement high.

 

You can also tag people or brands – especially if they are influential if they are relevant to your post. This is a good strategy if your tweet is beneficial to you and the tagged person; however, it can be bothersome if you abuse it. If you are tactful, then industry leaders might find you interesting enough to follow you, which in turn gives you access to their legions of followers. Participating in Twitter chats is another way to popularize your account and engage more followers. To generate buzz about each chat, prepare a list of topics covered, and share it in advance, then send reminders before the event. Follow the people who replied to your answers in the Twitter chat, and they may follow you in return. You can even use live video streams as Twitter evolves into more of a video platform.

 

There are many ways to increase your Twitter followers, but the best way is through constant engagement and interaction.