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Whether you’re new to Twitter or a seasoned vet, chances are you’d welcome new followers. Gaining followers can be easy for some but very challenging for most people. Some people on Twitter seem to attract followers like a moth to a candle flame but for most of us getting new followers seems like hard work.
This infographic gives you helpful suggestions on what you can do to gain new followers. By spending just a short amount of time on Twitter every day you can become more engaging and make your account more appealing to others.
Check out these tips to make your Twitter account more follow-worthy:
Source: WhoIsHostingThis.com
Hashtags
Be sure to use #hashtags on Twitter. By using #hashtags you’re reaching a new audience: those who are searching for keywords on Twitter. When you use the right hashtag, your tweet will be seen well beyond your followers, increasing the chances of both retweets and gaining new followers.
➪ See, Tag! You’re It! All About #Hashtags for more ideas on using #hashtags.
Not sure which hashtags to use? Check out RiteTag that can give you instant feedback on hashtags as you’re composing your tweets. No need to hunt down which tags are most popular, RiteTag color-codes them as you’re composing the tweets. You can even see your analytics to learn which #hashtags work best for you.
➪ See my full review of RiteTag: RiteTag – A Handy Tool to Make the Most of Your Tweets!
Twitter Chats
Get involved in Twitter Chats. Through Twitter Chats you can become engaged, meet like-minded people and find new people to follow. Chances are you’ll gain new followers too if you actively participate in the chat.
➪ See, Twitter Chats – Get Together with Tweets for more information on how to get involved in Twitter Chats and how to find some to join.
Profile Page
Potential followers who want to check you out and see whether you’re follow-worthy will head to your profile page. Make the most of your profile by pinning your favorite tweet to the top. When someone arrives at your Profile page, the pinned tweet will be the first one they see. You can showcase your best tweet so others see it too.
➪ See, How to Make Your Twitter Profile More Appealing in 1 Simple Step to learn how easily you can pin tweets to your profile page.
Time Your Tweets
If you time your tweets poorly they will be seen by fewer people, greatly reducing the chances of your tweets being retweeted. If you time your tweets to post when most of your followers are on Twitter, you’ll have a wider audience who will see your tweets and, with any luck, retweet them to their followers.
Timing tweets can be challenging, both to know when your followers are online and to send out your tweets at the right time. By using Twitter tools Followerwonk and Buffer you can find out when you’ll have the largest Twitter audience and time your tweets accordingly.
➪ See, 2 Easy Steps to Greatly Increase the Chances of Your Tweets Being Read! to find out how to use these two Twitter tools effectively to make the most of your tweets.
Choose Your Twitter ID Carefully
If you have a silly Twitter name that you chose when you first joined Twitter you may regret that decision at some point. Make life easier on yourself by changing your Twitter name to a better one: more appropriate, closer to your brand, something memorable (in a good way).
➪ Check out, How To Change Your Twitter Name Successfully to find out how to get a better Twitter name without losing any followers.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of the advice in this infographic? What advice can you share about how to get more followers on Twitter? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments section below. Feel free to add your Twitter handle to your comment so other Wonder of Tech readers can follow you!
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Carolyn is away from the Internet in a search for more Twitter followers. This task is made much more difficult due to her being away from the Internet… You can expect her to return to The Wonder of Tech on August 25th. Articles will continued to be published while she is away so you don’t have to be deprived while she is away on the hunt.
Hi Carolyn
I’ve been growing my Twitter following slowly but surely and I use TweetAdder to find other like-minded people to follow. It also helps with keeping things relevant by allowing me to check anyone who unfollowed me and any inactive accounts.
I’m still not big on hashtags. I just forget to add them. If it’s going to help though I’ll make sure I add them more from now on!
I think the next thing is to get involved in a Twitter chat. That one’s still not happened yet.
I’ve pinned this to my infographics board on Pinterest so I can refer back to it some more.
Hi Tim, I haven’t tried TweetAdder, though it sounds like it’s a tool worth checking out to manage your Twitter account better.
I swear by #hashtags, Tim. They can be a very effective way of both discovering relevant tweets and getting your tweets discovered. I often use Twitter as a source of information and hashtags will direct me to the tweets I’m trying to find.
I also swear by RiteTag. That is an incredibly effective tool that saves time by ranking your hashtag as you’re composing your tweet and also by giving you analytics of which hashtags work best for you.
Definitely give both hashtags and RiteTag a try, Tim. I think you’ll see the results quickly.
You may enjoy joining Twitter chats, Tim. Everytime I join one I find people to follow and I gain new followers. They can be fun and informative!
Thanks so much for sharing this, Tim. I’ve received a ton of Pinterest traffic for this article so your sharing has made a big difference! :-bd
Hi Carolyn,
The infographic and your tips are great. I used to find targeted people to follow via different systems, and I was hoping that they would follow me back. And, it worked (it probably still works). But now, I’m only engaging and replying to people via Triberr and content that I target via Meshfire. That’s it. I don’t get a lot of new followers, but it continues to grow.
-Jens
Hi Carolyn,
Though I just joined twitter some time ago, so I am focusing on getting engaged and re-tweeting thing the more. But, I tried Hootsuit to manage not only the Twitter tweets but all my social accounts. I can see whats happening in just one place.
This infographic is really helpful and have some good information for everyone who is struggling to get more followers, And yes, Hashtags should be used carefully.
Hi Aditya, Yes, many people find HootSuite to be very useful to manage their social media accounts. Others prefer to use the native site to become more engaged. The key is to find what works best for you.
Good point, a hashtag can work for you only if it’s the right hashtag. I hope that you are able to use some of these tips to increase your Twitter followers, Aditya!
So that’s how you do it; why didn’t you say so?
Hi Bill, I had to learn these lessons myself. When I first began using Twitter in January 2009 I had no clue about how to get more followers. The more followers you get, the easier it is to get new ones. In the beginning getting new followers is a supreme struggle, but these tips may help those who are just starting out as well as the more popular Twitter users such as @bdorman264. 😉
Hey Carolyn,
Very informative infographic with some very good information on there.
I was surprised to see it say you need to tweet more because we’re always told to not tweet too much. Of course you do have to find the times when your followers are on the most but they still say to scatter those out so that your stream isn’t just always full. I space mine out every 30 minutes and only post during the peak times I’m told my followers are online.
I think I have most of this down although I still need to continue to get more followers.
Great share Carolyn and thank you again. Hope you’re enjoying your week. 😉
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne, Yes, you’re right, it’s definitely possible to tweet too much. But if you only tweet once a month, once a week, etc. then your chances of getting followers are much less than someone who tweets multiple times a day.
As with anything, there is quality and quantity. Someone who tweets a lot but tweets garbage probably won’t get as many followers as someone who tweets less frequently but has quality tweets.
Triberr has been a big help to me giving me the ability to tweet frequently plus showing me quality posts that I want to share with others. I also share interesting articles from Zite and from my favorite blog posts.
You’re right, you have to consider your audience, both in timing and interests. You’re doing a great job of making the most of Twitter, Adrienne!
Hi Carolyn,
This is really cool infographics. The challenge that I am having right now is that there is not sufficient time left after my all other work for socializing. I know I am missing a lot by not tweeting and sharing frequently but sometimes it does get overwhelming for a single person to do so many things. Hopefully I can keep up.
Twitter is the best place to get immediate response as people love the mentions and interactions.
Have a great day.
Hi Ashvini, You’re right, tweeting can take up a lot of time. Using tools such as Triberr, Buffer, RiteTag and HootSuite can help people tweet effectively while saving time.
You’re right, people do enjoy being mentioned (in a positive way, of course!). That’s a great way to get someone’s attention and perhaps a follow.
Hi Carolyn,
This infographic contains really useful points, I know there are number twitter users who don’t use hashtags and that’s where they’re going wrong. Hashtags helps you to reach out to interested and relevant twitter audience. So keep in my using accurate hashtags which relates to your tweet and stay active on twitter.
Hi Pankaj, You are exactly right. You only have a limited amount of characters on Twitter so why not make the most of them by using hashtags? Your message becomes clearer and easier to find when you use hashtags. That’s a win for you and a win for those who are looking for your message.
Hi Carolyn,
These ideas are useful. I’m hopeless on Twitter, but I am getting more local followers. Even the local police! We ahve a Bank Holiday weekend here. The weather doesn’t look too good but I’m hoping to photograph a music festival. The regional newpaper will be featuring one of my blogs soon too! They do use some of my photos. The weather has changed from a heat wave to quite chilly, spurring me to think about winter pictures! I need anoth lens for these events I’m photographing, hopefully the last one for a while!
Hi Mike, I can understand with all of the blog posts you write and the pictures you take and edit that you don’t have a lot of time to spread the word on social media. But by using these Twitter tips you can tweet more efficiently while gaining followers.
That is an absolutely amazing infographic there 🙂
Similarly as Ashvini, I haven’t had really time to get around socializing but with every passing month it seems it is just a must-have and must-do for my business. I am currently looking for any tips and info about tweeting itself and how to do it right. Similarly as with fb, we had some major lag down here in Poland before it kicked off and gained some popularity with our folk, but the time seems right. Twitter is popular in Poland for at least a year now, and I have to do something about it 😉
(yeah, we still have some polar bears running and kicking here when it comes to adopting trends 🙂