6 Practical Ways to Grow Your Twitter Following

What's the fun in tweeting when you don't have an audience?

Like a big game with no fans, a comedy show with no attendees, or a restaurant with no dinner guests, without an audience, things simply aren't as rewarding.

Sure you could take a short cut and buy your Twitter following, but at what expense? Are you really willing to sacrifice the quality of your social interactions for an influx of bought followers that do nothing more than fill space?

While building out your Twitter following may feel like a challenge, we all have to start somewhere. 

We've detailed 6 tried and trusted techniques that will help your business grow your Twitter following the right way.

Craft a Strong Bio

There's more to that tiny piece of real-estate below your photo than meets the eye.

According to the New York Times, "the Twitter bio is a postmodern art form, an opportunity in 160 characters or fewer to cleverly synopsize one’s professional and personal accomplishments." 

Whether you like it or not, potential followers are going to use your bio as a way to determine the value of your tweets. After all, if they can't make out who you are, or what you do, what's left to motivate them to follow you? Don't make them guess.

The idea behind your Twitter bio is that you want to be yourself.

Need inspiration? Check out these X Twitter users who are doing it right:

(Hey! I know him!)

Link, Link, Link

Your email signature. Your social media profiles. Your blog. Your website.

Are you taking advantage of these high traffic areas to stash your Twitter links? 

Think about it: if someone reads through your latest blog post and loves it, why not make it easy for them to follow your Twitter account where they can keep up with your industry insight in real-time?

Or maybe you send over an email to a prospect with a list of resources, it's likely that they would feel inclined to click the "follow me" link in your email signature now that you've proved yourself to be a valuable utility. 

Join a Twitter Chat

Every week Twitter users from all over flock to one common hashtag to discuss a popular industry topic. These virtual get together provide participants with an opportunity to connect with people in their industry, share insights, and build relationships. 

Usually a particular organization will set the time, date, and topic for the chat and serve as a "host" by administering discussion questions to get people conversing. 

Think of it as a digital cocktail party; a place where you can meet and mingle with people in your industry that you wouldn't have connected with otherwise. 

Monitor Hashtags

No matter how many followers you currently have, implementing a relevant hashtag can help you reach an even greater audience. 

Twitter users often search for particular hashtags to uncover what others are saying about a particular topic, and join in on the conversation. 

By monitoring and engaging with hashtags that are popular with your target audience, you can effectively increase your visibility as well as the likelihood that you'll get noticed by the right people.

Start Snapping Photos

While a steady stream of interesting written material is compelling, Twitter users happen to love images.

By using a visual to convey an idea, concept, or story, you present your audiences with an opportunity to connection on another level. Whether they generate a better understanding of your argument, or form a more emotional connection to your message, images have the ability to capture the attention of your audience more effectively than the written word.

In fact, a study by SHIFT revealed that users retweeted and replied to tweets 2X more when images were included. Point being, if you want to expand your reach and build your following, you should consider including a relevant image with your next tweet to increase visibility. 

Employ a Tool

With all of the noise echoing about in your newsfeed, finding a way to reach new followers can feel like a shot in the dark. 

The thing is, sometimes less talking, and more listening is all it takes to come up with a plan to reach an untapped audience.

If your business has yet to adopt a social media monitoring tool, you're setting yourself up to fall behind. Social media monitoring tools like HubSpot's Social Inbox make it easy for users to filter through their busy feeds and keep tabs on only the information that can be used to advance their business.

Social media monitoring tools help users identify customer dissatisfaction, answer questions, and respond to feed back. Collectively these actions will help you maintain a strong social media presence, and in turn help you to build a loyal following.

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