Posted by There are those marketers who believe social media (SM) followers is a vanity metric that should not be given any real consideration. And sure, when compared to conversions or ROI, SM followers doesn’t seem like a metric worth focusing on.
But here’s what these same marketers need to understand: more and more brands are having genuine interactions with their customers on social media platforms like Twitter. And what do you suppose all of that interaction leads to? It, very obviously, increases conversions and ROI!
Thinking of it in this way, it’s important for business owners to recognize the value of creating a large group of Twitter followers who want to interact with them.
Now that you understand the importance of having a solid Twitter following, you might be asking, “How do I get more Twitter followers?”
Keep reading because we’re about to share 6 effective strategies to get more Twitter followers who want to interact with your brand.
1. Optimize Your Twitter Profile
The first thing someone sees when they land on your Twitter page is your company profile. This is the first chance you have to grab someone’s attention. Think from your prospective followers’ point of view: WHY should they follow you? Do you seem professional and legit? Or are you just a bot?
Your profile should be compelling and inviting. You only have 160 characters to encourage people to follow you, so choose your words wisely. Be sure to use relevant keywords so people can find your profile. For example, you may want to use keywords or hashtags that are relevant to your industry, product or service.
When it comes to your profile picture, use a clear version of your logo that is easily recognizable and represents your brand. Think about image size and make sure your picture looks good across all devices including mobile phones.
Here is our Twitter profile.
Notice that our logo is clear and recognizable to our brand. Our header image clearly states our unique value proposition, and we have used keywords throughout (hashtag, analytics, reporting etc.) to attract people specifically looking for social media monitoring tools.
2. Engage with Your Followers
Twitter is not just about posting quickly and then logging off. Social media is about having genuine conversations with your followers. Yes, you’ll definitely want to offer them great content, and we’ll get to that in a minute. But also take time each day to interact with them. Answer questions. Ask questions. Offer advice. Make them laugh.
You not only want to get new followers but also KEEP the ones you already have. Otherwise your base will never really grow. You’ll have a continual slow bleed of followers who unfollow because you haven’t engaged them.
Take a look at how Nike engaged with a user’s comment and solved her problem.
3. Plan and Schedule Tweets
It definitely takes some work to gain new Twitter followers, but there are tools and strategies you can use to make your life easier!
To start, it’s a good idea to create a content calendar that will help you see your monthly Tweets at a glance. Staying organized like this will help you keep things moving instead of each day sitting down and saying, “Hmm, I wonder what I should tweet about today.” Plan ahead and know what content you will create and when you will launch it.
Secondly, use a tool like CrowdFire to schedule your tweets ahead of time. This can be a real game changer and ensure you are giving your followers great information each and every day. On top of this, you can schedule your tweets to go out at any hour of the day or night. This helps you widen your reach and gain the attention of potential new followers who may be in different time zones.
4. Add Value in Your Tweets
There was a time when social media was a novel idea, and not many businesses leveraged this particular marketing channel. 10 years ago, it would have been far easier to gain the attention of consumers.
But these days, Twitter is completely saturated with individual and business accounts, all vying for the same attention. Consumers only want (and have the time) to follow accounts that they consider worthwhile. If you aren’t offering real value, a prospect can easily click off of your profile and onto your competitor.
So, what’s the best way to add real value to your tweets? Understand EXACTLY who your target audience is. Who buys your product or service? What questions do they usually have? What pain points do they have? Don’t use your tweets solely for promotion but for offering content that helps solve problems and answer questions.
Here’s a great example of how GoDaddy is offering their audience real value. They know thanks to Covid-19, many people are forced to work from home right now and their kids are also learning from home, so they created content to help.
Some other ideas for how you can add real value:
- Offer exclusive discount codes and deals
- Give opportunities for your followers to win free stuff
- Provide a platform where your customers can be heard
5. Join and Host Twitter Chats
Twitter chats are a great way to engage your followers and pick up some new ones. At a selected time, a group of Twitter followers meets to discuss a certain topic using a designated hashtag for each tweet contributed. There is usually a host or moderator that poses questions to the audience and encourages the discussion.
Twitter chats set you up as an authority in your industry and help you grow your following.
So let’s say you are a local dog grooming business, you might use a tool like Chat Salad to find relevant chats that are currently happening or taking place in the near future related to your business.
I just looked now and saw that we’re in luck because there is a Twitter chat called #DogTalk starting shortly! This would be a great opportunity to take part in the conversation, offer some terrific insights and gain new followers!
6. Find Followers Outside Twitter
There are a lot of marketing channels out there that you most likely are active on. Do you have an email list? Do you regularly send out newsletters to that list? If so, start adding your Twitter handle and encourage your subscribers to follow you over on Twitter.
Add your Twitter handle to your business cards and other print collateral. And, should you have followers on other platforms like Facebook or Youtube, encourage them to follow you on Twitter. The key here is to offer different kinds of content than you are elsewhere, or why would someone need to follow you in more than one place. Remember, always be offering real value!
Conclusion
Growing your Twitter following will help you reach your overall business objectives. And if you follow these tips, you will not only be able to get more Twitter followers but keep them as well!
It would be reasonable to track and analyze Twitter followers using tools like socialert. It would help you to know if your growth strategy is in the right direction or not.
With Crowdfire, you can find curated content, schedule your posts, engage with your audience, deep-dive into analytics and create custom reports. Now introducing Social listening. Try it for free.