I have already shared with you my Top 10 Tips on How to Get More Followers on Social Media and was pleasantly surprised that many of you liked it, learned a lot and found it very useful just as 5 Ways To Get More Blog Post Shares.

This time I would like to respond in length to a reader who recently sent me an email specifically asking How To Get More Followers On Twitter.

Let me share with you how to use Twitter in a more useful and efficient manner. Now I have been having so much fun and tweeting away since 2009 but let me be honest with you. I’ve seen and read many things that have left me speechless! Some users should really take the time to use it correctly and commit some avoidable faux-pas.

Without further ado, here 10 tips on How To Get More Followers on Twitter

1- Curate great content & different subjects 

This is very important to keep an interesting, inspiring, entertaining and educating Twitter feed. That is the best way for you to gain more followers and people who share the same interests as you do!

Where do I find or curate great content in one place, you may ask?

For starters you can use a Social Media Management Tool like my favorite: Hootsuite

You can see everything related to your Twitter, Facebook Page, Instagram profile and other accounts in one single place such as your timeline, mentions, retweets, direct messages and more.

The best thing to find great content is to create specific “streams” by using a hashtag #

For example: I have different streams: travel, photography, SoMe, ttot, hotels, wine etc

 

When it comes time to program tweets (I simply go to 1 or more categories then properly write or edit them in the right order:

Title > shortened link >via >@twitter handle of author/site > 3-4 hashtags max

As my primary focus is on travel or photography, I search for my favorite sites and schedule content to be published.

I normally program tweets for a few days, sometimes an entire week. I do have other work to do and even though it requires for me to be connected (online dictionaries and all), I do take a few moments to update, reply to mentions and stay updated during the day.

2- #do #not #use #hashtags #for #everything

This is something that I find very hard to understand and lately I’ve been seeing quite a few of these in my timeline and ask why?

#Iknow #that #itwill #get #more #attention and #results in #searches but really? You can’t really read the essence of the message and end up ignoring it or probably mark it as spam.

As I just mentioned in point 1, if you add from 1 to 3 hashtags at the end of your tweet it is just fine. If you overcrowd the tweet then it’s a big no-no and I recommend deleting it…immediately!

Trust me, if you don’t you will end up losing some followers in the process…avoid it at all costs.

3- Don’t abuse retweets

This is another extremely important thing to discuss. I see some accounts that retweet everything in sight and clearly it makes me look for the unfollow button ASAP!

If I reply to their mention or if their message is shared by 20 persons they will retweet it. That is just plain wrong!

Have you ever seen or read this awesome presentation by Gary Vaynerchuk where he talks about Birdy Bragging: Retweet abuse and the importance on being human on twitter? If you have not, here it is

It is all quite clear don’t you think?

Personally, I think a few retweets are fine but take the time to write a proper tweet and it is much better than appearing to be too lazy to edit and just abuse the RT button!

Show some respect to your followers, they will appreciate it. Trust me on that one.

4- Reply and say thank you

Now we are all aware that we lead busy lives but it is of utmost importance to stop and take the necessary time to respond to your mentions and shares.

I personally write back to the person who shared my post or sent me a direct message or mention and others I simply hit the “favorite” button which lets them know that I’ve seen their tweet and is greatly appreciated.

A little can go a long way!

Always remember to start your tweet with @nameoftheperson then your message. Some people leave it at the end but it’s recommended to put it 1st.

You know, being grateful for their support is the very least you can do. If it wasn’t for their trust in you, being online would make no sense right?

5- Share your content sparingly

I share my own posts at different intervals during the day. Mostly they are the latest on the blog but sometimes I dig into my archives and find some posts I wrote long ago but still am very proud of having written them.

Some never get old, like the post of 52 of the most inspiring and memorable travel quotes which is still the most popular and remember it was so much fun to prepare.

It also helps improve your writing and photography 🙂 After all we want attention to the site we work hard on right?

There is just one thing I have noticed too that some persons post the exact same photo on different sites but the updates appear on the timeline, which is not really useful.

Yes it is time-saving but do we really need to know every time a photo is posted to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest all at once?

Ah one more thing I forgot to mention. Is it really necessary to publish how many followers you gain or lost during the week? It really is non-sense to me, keep the numbers to yourself. Seeing those statistics on the timeline are like showing off or makes anyone appear desperate. Let things flow as they should!

You let me know what you think of the observations above….

6- Share your followers content

Social Media is all about being sociable and growing through networking. That is why the best way for you to get noticed and build a community is to share other people’s content. They may be your favorite bloggers (from various industries or niches), sites, magazines, channels etc.

Whichever you think your followers will find interesting and useful and will share in return. It all comes full circle, you help them and they help you.

7- Participate in Twitter chats to meet people with similar interests

Twitter chats are definitely THE best places to put yourself out there, be known to others in the community and have fun while answering questions, sharing your stories, experiences, tips etc.

There are quite a lot of them in many industries and you can find them in the World’s Largest List of Twitter chats here Twitter Chat Schedule.

I used to participate in a quite a few  when the time permitted but I highly suggest you check them out and meet awesome people there!

8- Follow up with people, ask them how they are

Again I may sound like I’m repeating the same thing over and over but being social is talking to people.

Ask them how their life is going or what projects they are working on and you will be surprised to see how many people respond back 🙂

Not only it shows your human side, it will make you feel them important and special, which they are!

Be approachable too, it is great to know that it is not a robot or fake person behind your account or online persona.

This leads to the next point.

9- Greet them

As I just mentioned above, do not hesitate to greet or say hello to them!

When I take a few moments during the day to check my account, I will send messages to people who cross my mind or want to know about.

Caring for them and ask them if they need help or if they are doing great makes me happy.

You never know, a few words of encouragement can make their day so do it.

10- Use humor and add some of your personality to the tweets

Adding some humor to your tweets and show your personality will make you stand out!

Instead of appearing as a boring or bland, it will actually make you very interesting.

Making people laugh is very therapeutic and you know it. So tell jokes or funny stories, I’m sure you’ve plenty of to share 🙂

So that is pretty much what I can suggest or recommend. It has worked very well for me in the past few years and the results speak for themselves.

I am constantly looking for ways to improve, grow and be much more fun to whoever reads my multi-lingual tweets.

One thing is for sure; I will always do my best to educate, inspire and entertain you in as many ways as I can!

I hope you enjoyed reading How to get more followers on Twitter.

Now it’s your turn.

Tell me,

 

How has been your experience on Twitter?

What is your handle (so that we can follow you?

What other tips did I miss or would you add?

 

 

Let me know,

Until next time!

Many happy travels and tweet tweet!

K 🙂