Twitter is a great social media vehicle. It can be a lot of fun. While very different from Facebook, it has its own strengths. It is great finding famous people and some not so famous but like-minded people to follow. But if you are going to make the most of Twitter, you will want some people to follow you. That does not happen automatically. Here are some suggestions on how to get Twitter followers.
1. Put something helpful in your profile bio. People should be able to take one glance and know whether they want to follow you.
2. Tweet some good content. You only have 140 characters so you have to be precise. You can tweet links to blog posts and news items, but make sure people know what it is about before clicking on the link. Inspirational quotes are always popular. More and more people are tweeting pictures. If you are intentional about getting followers, you may want to limit your tweets of “Just heading to the bathroom.” Tweet things people are interested in.
3. Retweet the good tweets that you come across. Not only are your “borrowing” someone else’s good content, you are also letting the original author know that you are there and that you have something in common.
4. Follow people. Find the people you want to follow. It is neat to follow some famous people but you must realize that most of them will not follow you. Search Twitter for people who have the same interests as you and start following them. They are the ones most likely to follow you back.
5. Follow people who follow you. It is just bad form to refuse to follow someone who has taken the time to follow you (unless you are like me and are stuck at the 2000 limit).
6. Use hashtags. Twitter hashtags are not the same as Facebook. Most often, people on Facebook use hashtags to make a point (#thisistheworstdayofmylife). On Twitter, hashtags are used to connect people who are talking about the same things. Use hashtags strategically. Consider using the trending topics on Twitter.
These are some of the ways that you can get followers. Sometimes it takes a while, but if you keep at it you will get your followers.
