Illustrated by Patrick Yurick
The main reason people want more Twitter followers is to build credibility. For businesses, it’s a good way to show your reputation. For people, especially those looking for a job in social media, it’s a way to prove influence.
The more followers you have, the more people will be inclined to trust you. The idea of getting more followers might make you feel like you’re in high school: the more followers you have, the more popular you appear.
It’s because of this that some people choose to “cheat” the system by buying followers or using automated programs (more on that later).
But there’s a benefit to more Twitter followers beyond just the “body count.”
Whenever I follow someone new, I make an effort to reply to something in his or her feed right away. It’s not just a follower-building habit, it’s a relationship-building tactic that has served me well in getting jobs, building friendships, and even getting free stuff.
Don’t place your bets on getting a response from celebrities on Twitter, but it’s easy to get the attention of regular users, business owners, PR people, and customer service Tweeters.
A few easy ways to get more Twitter followers:
- Attend Tweetups.
- Follow more people.
- Introduce yourself to people you follow.
- Add a “follow” button to your website.
- Use a flattering profile picture.
- Ask for retweets.
- Join Tweet chats and use designated hashtags.
- Respond to more people in your feed.
- Use Twitter search to answer questions people are asking.
I can also think of a few more ways to gain Twitter followers …
Some people use applications like Hootsuite to create custom feeds of anyone who mentions keywords they want to watch, or create mini-feeds of influencers who they want to retweet and get in front of.
The wonderful thing about Twitter is that you get back what you put into it. You can spend a single evening seeking out conversations to respond to, and get fifty new followers in a few hours.
Or, there’s the easy road, automated applications and buying followers, which rarely conjures up valuable followers, but certainly makes your profile scream, “I’m popular!” Imagine if high school had been that easy!
Whether you choose the organic karma-building method of getting followers or the dirty not-so-secret secrets of Twitter’s “most fake followed” users, there are strategies for every level of effort.
Keep in mind that Twitter isn’t a popularity contest. If you spend all of your time trying to be witty, sharing what you think people want you to share, and promoting your business like everyone else, your followers will get bored.
So, I guess the biggest lesson comes from Oscar Wilde: Be yourself – everyone else is already taken. Sometimes your username is taken, too, and that sucks.
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