There are more than 1.3 billion accounts on Twitter today, with more than 326 million global monthly active accounts and more than 500 million tweets posted daily. First, to reach these accounts and gain new followers, you need an inviting profile. You also need to engage with influencers, tweet, retweet, tag people, and use relevant hashtags, use images and videos, and promote yourself or brand. Let’s find out how to increase Twitter followers organically.
Customize Your Profile
Make sure to have a complete profile with your full name or company one and a handle that fits your brand. Create a keyword-friendly bio that includes a link to your website and a personal photo or company logo. To make sure your page stands out, customize the color scheme, and use a header image to match your brand.
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Promote Yourself on Other Platforms
Share your handle with friends and customers using different social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Go beyond social, too—announce it in a newsletter; put it on business cards, advertisements, and marketing materials; and, embed it on your website.
Also Read: Top Social Media Trends for 2021
Keep an Eye on Your Competitors
Check out how many followers they have and who they are, and how often they tweet and what they’re tweeting. What does their profile look like? How do they respond to their competition or customers, and what types of content do they post that gets the most attention? Follow them and retweet their content to get on their radar. This step is equally important for people who wish to know how to increase Twitter followers
Find Followers and Influencers
The general rule of thumb is that if you follow someone on Twitter, they will likely follow you back. Leverage the “Who to Follow” feature to find popular feeds, and upload your email contacts to Twitter to find people you already know. Find and follow influencers in your industry—if you’re in the food industry, for instance, find and follow famous chefs. If they see that you’re following them, they may follow you back—and your tweets could end up in their feeds. Whatever you do with the aim to increase Twitter followers, try to do it organically. Even though you might be tempted to buy a list of followers, those lists are typically filled with bots that can’t buy your products or services and might be deleted by Twitter anyway.
Stay Active and Engaged
Engaging with users is a surefire way to gain exposure and a more substantial following. Tweet regularly, reply to users who have mentioned or contacted you for customer support, like and retweet others’ posts, and add your comments regularly without being too excessive. When appropriate, suggest other Twitter users by including their handle, and consider using Tweet chats to interact in real-time with followers who have similar interests.
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Tweet at the Right Time
Find out when your users are on Twitter so they’ll see your tweets. Gain insights using data from Sprout Social, Hootsuite, or Buffer to schedule timely posts that won't get buried in your followers’ feeds. The prevailing consensus is that the best time to post is between noon and 3 pm on weekdays, yet there are many other tips to consider. Also, stagger your tweets, so you’re not overwhelming followers. Limiting your activity to a tweet every one or two hours can maximize your visibility without alienating your network.
Knowing about hashtags is crucial when you want to increase Twitter followers. So next, we have discussed using relevant hashtags.
Use Relevant Hashtags
Hashtags are arguably the most powerful feature on Twitter. Use them often—aim for at least two per tweet. Hashtags are how people find your tweets through search. Make sure to use ones that are relevant to your brand and audience. See what's trending and look at competitors’ tweets for ideas, or create a new one that might take off.
Add Videos and Images
Tweets with images and videos get more engagement. According to Buffer, adding a relevant, high-quality image to a tweet can increase engagement by around 150%, while tweets with videos are six times more likely to be retweeted. If you don’t have video, use images—but avoid using stock photography, and be mindful of copyright issues.
Find Good Content
Use Twitter polls, highlight customer stories and recent blog posts, and share brand and industry news and events. If you are aiming to increase Twitter followers, make sure that what you’re sharing is quality over quantity, and bring variety to the content you share. Put your best foot forward by pinning your most engaging tweets to the top of your profile. When users visit your page, that’s the first tweet they'll see.
Related Reading: Top 10 Essential Ingredients of a Blog Post
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About 75 percent of B2B companies market themselves on Twitter. Aside from promoting your products and services, you can increase your following by running promotions like contests and giveaways. Who doesn’t love free stuff? Each participant is a potential new follower, and each follower may give their friends a heads up. You can also use Twitter ads. Advertising on Twitter is also a good way to increase Twitter followers and provides a low cost-per-click rate and better audience targeting based on engagement and keywords. When you promote a tweet, it’s more likely to get in front of the right audience.
Overall, Twitter is an easy-to-use platform that enables you to share digestible content with targeted audiences. Getting more engagement means being engaged yourself. If you have the right elements in place—a solid profile, quality content, and connections to influencers and others within your industry—you’ll have a far greater chance of increasing your follower base.
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