Make Me Follow You on Twitter

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It is easy to decide to follow people on Twitter but getting people to follow you can be a bit more challenging. There are several things that you can do that will get people interested in following you.

  • Use hashtags appropriately: Hashtags are like keywords that you can add to your Twitter messages (tweets) if the keywords that you want are not already included in your tweet. You should be cognizant of how to use and add hashtags correctly. That way, people who are searching for you on Twitter will find you easily.
     
  • Use a good photograph: A high-quality profile is extraordinarily important (all of your details must be filled in) and a good-quality photo is a critical part of the profile. When people can see your face, it allows them to relate to you on a human level. That lays the foundation of your relationship with them.
     
  • Tweet something valuable: Whenever you offer content of any kind online, it should be content that is valuable and useful to other people. It should, in some way, solve their problems. If you come across an article that you feel might be of value to other people, share it (retweet it). Perhaps there is an event that is coming up that you think other people might want to be a part of. Share the information. Maybe attending the event will give you an opportunity to meet your online followers in person.
     
  • Pick a great Twitter handle: Whichever Twitter handle you choose, it will never change. Your handle should be one that says something about you as a person and abut what you like to tweet about. You might want to choose a handle that is connected to your niche or some other area of interest that you have. It should also be memorable to other people.
     
  • Retweet someone else’s tweets: Retweeting demonstrates to the other person that you find their tweets valuable and helpful (not to mention useful). Sharing other people’s tweets allows that person and you to acquire a greater number of followers. The resources at your fingertips through Twitter are limitless.
     
  • Make your tweets count: Even though Twitter limits your tweets to 140 characters at most, you can still make your messages interesting and thought provoking. Your tweets should be clear, concise, and compelling.
     
  • Tweet as often as you can: You can tweet whenever you want to. However, it is also important to remember to tweet when you feel that it is worthwhile, not just for the sake of tweeting. If you have a strong opinion about something, you should tweet about it. Give other people the benefit of the discussion and allow them to get involved. You never know what might come out of it.
     
  • Return the favor: Follow people if you are interested in following them. Never just follow them for no reason. On the other hand, you shouldn’t say no to almost everyone. You don’t want other people to perceive you as being an elitist. Twitter is an extremely important social media tool for your business. Make sure that you use it correctly and build good, solid relationships through it.
     
  • Avoid overkill: Your tweets should be valuable. Nobody is interested in what you are planning to eat for dinner or where you went shopping yesterday. Keep it professional and worth reading.
     
  • Be sincere: You should make your tweets as unique and interesting as possible. If you want to build relationships with people online, you need to reveal some of yourself to them. If you touch them on a human level, they will want to interact with you. The more sincere your relationships are, the greater chance you will have of eventually doing business with those people.
     
  • Offer an incentive: If you offer your Twitter followers an incentive to interact with you online, they will regard you and your business with interest and the relationship will build. People love to get what they think is something for nothing. In actuality, you are both benefiting.

Conclusion

If you follow the tips that have been discussed here, you will get people to be interested in following you. They will be interested in what you are offering and your will build meaningful, long-lasting, and mutually beneficial relationships.

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Author

  • Michael Cohn

    Michael Cohn is the founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of CompuKol Communications. He has decades of experience in IT and web technologies. Michael founded CompuKol Communications to help small businesses and entrepreneurs increase their visibility and reputation. CompuKol consults, creates, and implements communication strategies for small businesses to monopolize their markets with a unique business voice, vision, and visibility. Mr. Cohn earned a Master’s degree in project management from George Washington University in Washington, DC; and a Master’s degree in computer science and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.

20 Responses

  1. Dr. Asa Don Brown says:

    I found your post on tweeting to be very insightful and thought provoking. 
    Carpe Diem,

    Dr. Asa Don Brown 

  2. Caroline Walton says:

    Helpful! Thank you

  3. Kristen says:

    These are all very good suggestions.  I have recently come to love the hashtags on twitter. It seems that my blog posts get mentioned more when I use the hashtags well… Thanks!

  4. Maybelle says:

    Thanks for sharing these tips! 😀

  5. Ryan Biddulph says:

    Hi Michael,
    Clear tips here.
    Tweet value, become valuable. Tweet good stuff and RT a great deal. Everybody likes a giver. Few people like a 1 way tweeter. Keep offering good, relevant content, engage other tweeters and your following will grow.
    Thanks!
    Ryan

  6. Gill says:

    &pVia LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Business Consulting Buzz Group
    Discussion: Make Me Follow You on Twitter

    Off the bat I get people to follow me by retweeting interesting content, thanking people for mentions, and most of all interacting with people I am following so that by striking up a conversation they follow me in return. Interesting, stimulating content is the key…
    Posted by Gill

  7. Chantelle says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Social Media & Community 2.0
    Discussion: Make Me Follow You on Twitter

    Great post Michael! I totally agree about your comment "…tweet when you feel that it is worthwhile, not just for the sake of tweeting." I cannot tell you how many times I have seen people Tweet things that are either off-topic or completely inappropriate…keep the tweets valuable. Staying on-point and on-topic is always appreciated. I think staying consistent with your messages (and a posting schedule) is also important, especially for businesses. 
    Posted by Chantelle

  8. Sakshi says:

     

    Via inkedIn Groups

    Group: ThoseinMedia
    Discussion: Make Me Follow You on Twitter

    I agree with you.. but you just need to follow people who are connected to your line of business or product based and tweet as much as can. Reply to their mesgs..promote your business with relevant mesgs, tweets.. 

    Posted by Sakshi

  9. Robin Leigh says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: "Write It Down"-A Website for Writers
    Discussion: Make Me Follow You on Twitter

    I've been twittering for about two weeks, In my tweets I talk about my writing, what I'm doing, the progress I'm making towards reaching a completed manuscript.
    Everytime I log onto twitter, I check the number of followers I have and immediately follow any new followers
    Posted by Robin Leigh

  10. Frank says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: eMarketing Association Network
    Discussion: Make Me Follow You on Twitter

    hello michael.we are all followers but it is never easy being a leader because then you are there to be shot at and i dont mean with bullets.That is why i listen to all becuse someday the follower can give you that little spark that can ignite your fire and he becomes your leader for eternity.
    Posted by Frank

  11. Robin Leigh says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Writers World
    Discussion: Make Me Follow You on Twitter

    I've been twittering for about two weeks, In my tweets I talk about my writing, what I'm doing, the progress I'm making towards reaching a completed manuscript.
    Everytime I log onto twitter, I check the number of followers I have and immediately follow any new followers
    Posted by Robin Leigh

  12. Shonagh says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: B2B Social Media
    Discussion: Make Me Follow You on Twitter

    I think Anjlee was referring to you saying that the twitter handle you choose can't be changed

    "Pick a great Twitter handle: Whichever Twitter handle you choose, it will never change."

    Although we know you can have multiple accounts/handles, you can also change each of those handles within the account and not lose your followers.

    So if you choose one name, and then want to amend it later, you can, without having to set up an new or different twitter account. 
    Posted by Shonagh

  13. Anjlee says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: B2B Social Media
    Discussion: Make Me Follow You on Twitter

    Thanks Michael, I did wonder whether you had a strategic reason: whether, once you get past a certain number of followers or links, it becomes impractical to change your handle? I currently have two twitter accounts and waiting for twitter to release inactive usernames, which appears to be very low down on their 'to do' list. 
    Posted by Anjlee

  14. CA Cruz says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Professional Writers
    Discussion: Make Me Follow You on Twitter

    Good tips, I too am new to Twitter. I have just started following some of the organizations and programs I am interested in. Still learning how all of this works and how I can best utilize it. One point I primarily agree with in the article is to avoid overkill. Thanks for sharing.

    CA Cruz, Ed. D.
    Educational Consultant 
    Posted by CA

  15. Ian says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Business Consulting Buzz Group
    Discussion: Make Me Follow You on Twitter

    I mainly look at what people have tweeted – whether what they're saying or linking to will be interesting to me.

    I don't mind a few "what I had for breakfast" tweets (hey, 80% of interaction between friends and colleagues in the real world is prety mindless too!) – particularly if it's chit chat with followers. I'm much more likely to follow someone who engages with followers than someone who just tweets one-way with links and mottos yet never @replies to anyone.

    Ian 
    Posted by Ian

  16. Barbara says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Writers World
    Discussion: Make Me Follow You on Twitter

    Yes, I'm fairly new to Twitter too–and Linkedin for that matter. Trying to expand my social networking repertoire without getting too overwhelmed. Have been on Facebook for a while and that alone wreaked havoc with my time. Helpful article.

    @bmorrison9 
    Posted by Barbara

  17. Kris says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Professional Writers
    Discussion: Make Me Follow You on Twitter

    100% agree with Ian. Twitter is what you want it to be. I follow writer types, political peers, family, savvy marketers and an awesome list of mom bloggers. 80% of the time it's simply fun interaction. The 20% of the time I learn something or share ideas with fellow professionals is pure bonus. 
    Posted by Kris

  18. Dana says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Writers World
    Discussion: Make Me Follow You on Twitter

    I am relatively new to twitter myself and have been gathering information from various sources. The article was helpful, but I have conflicting information as to the point regarding re-tweeting someone else's tweets. I actually attended a presentation regarding social media where the president of a company specializing in social media said that re-tweeting someone else's tweets was basically a no-no. Others seemed to agree because you personally aren't adding any value to the tweet. I just thought I'd mention this point as food for thought. 
    Posted by Dana

  19. Arvind says:

     

    Via LinkedIn Groups

    Group: Social Marketing Group
    Discussion: Make Me Follow You on Twitter

    HI Michael,

    Maybe it's because we use social media marketing to support companies in several different industries, but we put a lot of stock in segmenting and understanding your twitter audiences and building a focused plan for tweeting. The tips in the article are useful but very generic — how to make your tweets "unique", "interesting" or "valuable" is still a battle of understanding who you're targeting in the massive sea of Twitter.

    Getting people to follow versus building a valuable following are two different things. One quick tip that has worked for us in several industries is targeting prospects, influencers and domain experts separately with tweets.

    That level of focus is what helps build a valuable twitter following.
    Posted by Arvind

  20. Paige says:

    I appreciated your inclusion about sincerity. I’m attempting to be more transparent with my audience in 2015. I think followers appreciate and become more engaged through this tactic. Great read!