by Edie Melson
A lot of you have done the basics and now you’re sitting back waiting for your Twitter account to explode with followers. Well, if you’ve followed the previous four posts you’re in a good position. But, today I’m going to share10 tips to help your Twitter grow faster.
If there are any of these you aren’t certain how to implement, don’t worry. I’m going to post a list of links to previous blog posts about Twitter to help refresh your memory.
1. Tweet regularly. Just like you need to keep a regular blog schedule for that to grow, you also need to keep a regular Tweet schedule. I recommend scheduling a minimum of 4 – 6 tweets per day.
2. Focus on your audience. When you’re sending out Tweets keep in mind the people you’re trying to reach. Tweet about things they’ll be interested in. I don’t mean you can’t occasionally share something personal. For some reason, my audience always responds well to tweets that I share about my cat. But one of the reasons is that I don’t do it very often!
3. Follow the 5 – 1 rule RIGIDLY. Personally, I’m not a never-vary, rule follower, except with this one. Never, allow your Tweets to become a personal sales pitch. The way to keep that from happening is to force yourself to share about someone or something else 5 times before you share about yourself once. So what happens if you have two things you have to share in one day? Then you’re going to have to Tweet 12 times to get it in—10 about someone else broken up with 2 about you.
4. Take time to research relevant hashtags and USE THEM. Don’t use more than 3 per Tweet, but use 1 or 2 in every Tweet.
5. Follow people back. Remember to reciprocate follows. If someone follows you, and they aren’t offensive, follow them back. I’ve been amazed at how this turns out well. Often times, some of the seemingly unrelated people who’ve followed me turn out to be very relevant when they Tweet.
6. Take time to follow new people daily. I recommend following at least ten new people per day. And here’s a trick to finding ones who are likely to follow you back:
Visit some of your followers who are in the sweet spot of your audience. Then, click on their followers. Go down the list and follow some of those folks who look relevant. You’ll get a higher percentage of follows using this method because these folks have recently taken time to follow someone with your focus.
7. Let people know your Twitter handle. Add your Twitter profile link to every email signature, business card, bio, byline, article, website, etc. you’re involved with. There is nothing more frustrating to me than sharing an article and not having the author’s Twitter info handy to add to my Tweet. Better yet, use Click to Tweet!
8. Use headline techniques to compose effective Tweets. I’ve mentioned on several occasions that the most effective Twitter updates are those composed like headlines. If you’re not sure what I mean, There’s a link to give you all the info you need.
9. Don’t be stingy about retweeting. We all want to know that our contribution is relevant. By retweeting others, you affirm them. And, by helping others grow, you make friends who’ll help you.
10. Thank those who mention you, follow you, and retweet you. Twitter is all about polite society. Taking time to be nice is the right thing to do, and it always pays off in the long run.
I’ve done my best to include a comprehensive list of things to do to increase your following. But I’m sure I’ve left some things out. What have you found helps you add Twitter followers to your account? Be sure to share your experiences in the comments section below.
Edie Melson is a prolific writer and freelance editor with years of experience in the publishing industry. Her popular writing blog, The Write Conversation reaches thousands every month. She’s the co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, as well as a popular faculty member at numerous others. She’s also the social media director for Southern Writers Magazine and a regular contributor to multiple top blog sites, including Novel Rocket.