Want to get 1000 More Twitter Followers? Use these Social Media Marketing tips.

We don’t always like adages but there’s one that in terms of internet marketing is completely accurate: practice makes perfect. We’ve been using Twitter for quite a while now, and we’ve been advising customers about social media marketing for quite a while as well, and during that process of trial and error we’ve discovered a fair number of things that do and do not, work in terms of getting and keeping Twitter followers. The list below isn’t a magic list, and it isn’t going to instantaneously get you a thousand followers, but what it will do is give you some ideas and ingredients to build a relevant Twitter following.

How can better social media marketing help you get more Twitter followers?

1.  Create a strong and interesting profile. If people can’t immediately determine that you’re a company or brand they want to know more about from your profile, then they aren’t going to follow you, or worse, if your profile doesn’t have any information or a relevant image you may be lumped into a category with the many spammers who don’t fill out their profiles. That’s not going to help your brand garner followers at all.
2. Cross-promote. Twitter is not a “What Happens on Twitter stays on Twitter,” scenario. You should be sharing your tweets on your website, you should be posting your tweets to your Facebook page, you should be sharing your tweets among your employees Twitter pages and making sure that you’re also sharing your Facebook posts, blog posts and website content on Twitter. Social media marketing should be completely integrated with the rest of your marketing tactics!
3. Follow others. Just because you have a Twitter profile doesn’t meant that people are going to follow you. You need to put yourself out there, let relevant Twitter brands and people know that you’re on Twitter by following them and then, hopefully, they’ll start following you back and suggesting that their friends follow you in return.
4. Start conversations.  Don’t wait for people to talk to you! One of the best ways to grow a following and connect with other twitter users is to start conversations with them. Ask them questions, comment on their recent tweets or share information with them you think they would like. They’ll appreciate it, and it will help you build relationships with them.
5. Respond to people. This point ties into the one mentioned above. If someone talks to you, make sure that you don’t ignore them. One of the worst things that you can do is to disregard people who do take the initiative to contact you.
6. Re-tweet others. One of the best ways to build relationships with other people and brands through Twitter is to share their content with your own network. People appreciate having their content shared and they may show their thanks by sharing your content in return or following you.
7. Promote the sharing of your content. There’s nothing wrong with asking or encouraging people to share your content. By requesting your followers to share your content with their networks or offering perks to users who re-tweet or forward your content to their followers, you are enlarging your network and increasing the chances that more relevant Twitter users will find you.
8. Use #hastags. Hashtags are a great way to both get found, and to find people who are related to your industry or business. By searching by popular hashtags associated with your industry you can find people who are already talking about things that are of interest to you, and by using them in your tweets you can make sure that you’re found by others looking to talk or learn more about certain topics.
9.   Use pictures and videos. Especially with the new twitter, where images shows up directly in your tweet stream, images and videos are a great way to attract Twitter users attention and encourage sharing.
10.    Be someone you’d want to follow. If you wouldn’t follow your own account if you came across it, then chances are other users wont either. Tweet about things that you would like to read, that you would find interesting and that you would share with your own followers!

These tips aren’t a guarantee, but they are some of the methods we use to grow our Twitter following and build stronger relationships with our friends, fans and followers. If you have any other questions, or want a more in depth social media marketing strategy, contact us to see how we can help you succeed. Don’t forget! We’re on Twitter (@_GuaranteedSEO) and we share tips just like these there every day so make sure you follow us to learn more!   Image by Slava Baranskyi on Flickr.