The goal of your business on Twitter should always be to get more Twitter followers that are relevant and engaged. Let’s cut right to the chase as we look at the 10 ways you can get more Twitter followers naturally, with plenty of rich examples taken right from Twitter for you to learn from.
1. Schedule your tweets
Choosing the perfect timing for your tweets to take place is very important. Your followers are going to be in different time zones, and you don’t want your best content to receive low engagement just because you chose the wrong time to publish. This is where tools like Hootsuite and Buffer App come into play.
After learning when your tweets perform the best, you can use tools to schedule the tweets and publish them at the best times. Timing your tweets to achieve optimal visibility will make your tweets more successful in terms of engagement.
2. Use analytic tools to study your audience
It is important that you learn the nature of your target audience. You’ll know how to adjust your content better when you learn the demographics of your target audience:
- Who do you appeal to the most?
- When is your target audience most active on Twitter?
- Is your audience made up mostly of teenagers or adults?
- What is the geographic location of your target audience?
These are all questions you must have an answer to. The best way to study your target audience is to use tools for analytics. You can use Twitter’s native Twitter Audience Insights, or you can invest in a different analytics tool. Either way, you should study your target audience and use the information to alter your content strategy.
Some additional insights from Twitter estimates.
-51% of our followers are female
-74% of our audience is between 18-34
-61% of you have Verizon
-51% of you like beer pic.twitter.com/WHoSLEhksm— MeanStreets Omaha (@MeanStreetsOMA) January 28, 2018
By measuring engagements, exploring interests, location, and other key demographic information; an analytics tool can help you widen the reach of your tweets by analyzing how your tweets are performing at different times.
3. Create Twitter exclusive content
This is another tactic for increasing the relevancy of your Twitter account. When you routinely make some content exclusively to Twitter and relay this across all your other social channels, those last few stubborn fans on Facebook will make the trek over to your Twitter account.
The first in a new series of Twitter exclusive Combo Videos. March towards Infinity, Eliza. pic.twitter.com/meCUBBbQuY
— tmd02 (@tmd_combos) July 23, 2018
If your Twitter exclusive content is contests, you’ll not only be making your Twitter account more relevant, but you’ll be adding great value. A secret to getting more retweets, and getting more Twitter followers organically, is maximizing your value by adding marketing tactics.
4. Follow those who follow you
The Beatles once famously sang, “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” Nowhere online is this saying truer than on Twitter. You have to start showing appreciation to your followers, to industry leaders, and to those who follow you. Do this by:
- Retweeting the content of your followers
- Giving @mentions of influencers that you tweet out
- Follow those who follow you
- Actively commenting on posts
- Regularly engaging in conversations and making them richer
Engaging on Twitter helps builds your community further, and starts building an alliance online. You can’t get more Twitter followers naturally all on your own. We have reviewed some excellent Twitter services that will put you in the best possible position, but in the end your success will come down to you.
5. Build anticipation for upcoming events or releases
This strategy keeps your content fresh, increases awareness of upcoming events, and gives your Twitter account more relevance. Whether you’re releasing a new song, a new e-book, or a new vlog; you need to capitalize on building hype. Create a long-term marketing scheme and space out your tweets in a balanced way so that you can keep your followers well-informed about your upcoming event.
Tune in this Sunday for our updated version of “Apologize”. pic.twitter.com/Y1TW7CGZi9
— Boyce Avenue (@BoyceAvenue) July 26, 2018
So excited to release an updated version of “Apologize” tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/MsXSKX0l5Q
— Boyce Avenue (@BoyceAvenue) July 28, 2018
Building anticipation for upcoming events leads to a better release. A better release means more engagements for your content, which in return leads to a boost of social proof. As we all know, social proof is a key for Twitter growth. That’s why don’t forget to hype your next big project by uploading teasers and other reminders regarding the big event.
6. Twitter advanced search can help you find conversations
Too many users on Twitter are unaware of Twitter advanced search. It is perfect for helping you find conversations, find conversations from specific people, and find conversations of varying degrees of emotion.
https://twitter.com/ThomasWictor/status/953723688746020864
Add that up with geo-location specific abilities and you’ve got yourself a tool that you need to use now.
7. Collaborate with top Twitter creators
Collaborations are very popular on social media, and Twitter is no exception. Every niche on Twitter has creators that stand out from the crowd with their dazzling success. A great way to grow your following on Twitter is to simply reach out to influencers in your own niche and offer a collaboration. You can collaborate on Twitter in multiple ways:
- Give each other shout-outs with @mentions
- Retweet each other’s posts
- Create a video together
I'm lovin this song by @NiallOfficial! Heres a clip of our latest one take video ft. @kinagrannis & @JoelManduke :) https://t.co/jMsfda6Pou pic.twitter.com/7sftNAlI2S
— Kurt Schneider (@KurtHSchneider) June 29, 2017
Remember, you must offer some kind of an incentive for top influencers to want to collaborate with you. Usually, Twitter users with thousands of followers won’t be tempted to collaborate with users that have a weak following base. That’s why you need to offer a clever incentive that will entice the big shots.
8. Experiment with different features
Twitter users want to be amused. As the average attention span of people decreases, the need for creating new and engaging content increases. That’s why you should think out of the box and experiment with different types of content:
- Run contests
- Challenge your followers
- Create live videos
- Create polls
DO U CARE HOW THE WORD "GIF" IS PRONOUNCED
— Chelsea Peretti (@chelseaperetti) October 30, 2015
Oh hey you guys. We're not s-s-scared but in case we need to know, what is the best way to fight off a wolfman?
— @midnight (@midnight) October 28, 2015
There are many ways you can reach out to your audience in a new and fun way. In many cases, the best way to grow your following is to keep your current one engaged and satisfied with the content you produce. Be active, be spontaneous, and tweet about something that will bring value to your followers.
9. Don’t forget that Twitter works best in real-time
Scheduling tools are awesome, but nothing beats the thrill of real-time on Twitter. You can optimize your time by being online at crucial moments. This can include one of the most important moments – during big trade shows and conferences.
#KimJungGi meeting and and art exchanged with the legendary Mile Mignola at San Diego @Comic_Con
Photo by @KimJungGiUS, on instagram.@artofmmignola / @SuperaniArt@CauretteBD @superani82 pic.twitter.com/y6EnTmwDEE— JungGi Kim LIVE (@kimjunggidirect) July 30, 2018
If you’re there, you are now a journalist for your industry. If you’re not, you can still chime in on conversations, get involved, and get more Twitter followers as people see you as an important figure in your shared industry or interests.
10. Proper planning leads to better Twitter Ad campaigns
You could stumble your way through bidding on keywords that are related to your business and see some sort of increase in your Twitter following. Even a broken clock is right twice a day… For real results that maximize your Twitter Ad dollars you’ll want to:
- Know what you want the Twitter Ad Campaign to do – get more followers, send people to your website, increase brand awareness, etc.
- Know what your plans are for hashtags, don’t choose one which is in the keywords being bid upon.
- Know what sort of content you’re good at and that a stranger would be interested in.
- Know what your followers would retweet for free anyway.
Why waste your hard-earned Twitter Ad Campaign money, and not get more Twitter followers naturally, when a little planning will get it done right?