A question that I’ve gotten several time is, “How did you get so many Twitter followers?” Now, the definition of “so many” is very different depending on who you are and what you do. I have around 2,700 followers, which is a lot for the average person, good but not revolutionary for bloggers, and not exciting compared to celebrities, editors at newspapers, etc. But if you’re an average person or a blogger, it’s a really awesome number!
Since I’ve started growing my Twitter, I’ve tried several methods to get more followers, and not all of them have worked. Here are the things you can do that will grow your Twitter without buying followers.
8 Tips To Get More Twitter Followers
Post regularly: If you don’t post on a regular basis, people don’t have a reason to follow you. They follow because they like what they see and they want to see more of what you post, so if you post regularly, you’re giving them more reasons to follow you.
Do more than share your blog posts: Similarly, you don’t want to only post your content. Yes, people will follow you to see your content, but fewer will follow than if you share other things, as well. This is especially true for bloggers – some might use Twitter as the primary way to access your content, but if you’re on Bloglovin‘ (shameless self-promo), they won’t have a reason to follow you on Twitter. For more information about this, see Why You Need a Social Media Content Calendar.
Interact: Don’t just post things! Respond to other accounts, ask questions from your followers that will start a conversation, like posts from others, and more. People want to follow a real human being, especially if you’re a blogger, so sharing things that are only your posts don’t make people want to follow you. The idea is to give people a reason to follow.
Follow people back: I’m not saying that you should follow everyone who follows you. But I do suggest you follow people who you interact with on a regular basis, especially because you never know if they’ll become friends. But by following them, you will see more things to share and can support them and their work.
Use hashtags: This makes it easier for people to find accounts that are similar to theirs or that share things that they are interested in. For example, I use the hashtags #chronicpain and #rheumatoidarthritis, and then people who are looking for accounts that discuss these things can find me. You shouldn’t overload your posts with hashtags, but they’re a great tool. Think Creative Collective talks more about this.
Participate in follow threads in Facebook groups: If you’re a blogger, you should definitely be a part of Facebook groups (I talk more about this in How I Promote My Blog Posts). They generally have threads where you share your most recent blog posts, and many of them also have threads for following other accounts on social media. Often, they have a rule that if you share your account, you need to follow a certain number of accounts in return. This can really help you grow your account!8 Tips To Get More Twitter Followers Click To Tweet
Share other people’s work: This is something I talk about in Why You Need a Social Media Content Calendar, but I’ll repeat the basic idea. Sharing other’s work and tagging them in it a) ensure you’re not only posting your own work b) encourages the account you’re sharing to follow you and c) can lead to them sharing your tweet. This brings your account to the eyes of more people.
Post things that people will want to share: While this applies to other people’s work, it also includes news stories, inspirational quotes, funny things, and more. The goal of these tweets is for people to share them, which brings your account to the attention of more people. The more that your items are shared, the more people will see your account and be interested in following you.