Last Updated on April 27, 2023 by Tabraiz
Twitter has evolved. Once the home of witty one-liners and snappy comebacks, brands can now dazzle their audience with clever GIFs, story-like threads, and Twitter chats get one here.
But if all this change has left you feeling a little out of the loop, we’re here for you.
Get ready to take Twitter by the horns. Because we’ve compiled a list of all the things you can do to grow your follower count and find success on this ‘world top 20’ social platform.
Why does Twitter follower count matter?
Twitter might not have the user-count of platforms like YouTube and Facebook, but it speaks to a professional crowd like no other.
And like all other social platforms, follower count matters. It matters for:
- Credibility
- Authority
- Organic reach
In other words, you need followers to gain followers, which sounds like a bit of a catch 22. But fear not, because you can build followers quickly with these expert tips.
People are more likely to engage with and follow accounts that already have plenty of followers. And they’re more likely to see your content in their timeline because Twitter pushes posts from high-follower count accounts more than those with few followers.
How to get followers on Twitter
Find a unique and compelling brand voice
Nothing is more important on social media than finding your voice. Do some brand voice leg work before you set up your Twitter account. We’re talking audience personas, brand vision and messaging.
All of this will help you carve out a niche that people want to be in. Check out US fast food chain Wendy’s for inspiration.
Complete your Twitter profile
Your Twitter profile is searchable in app and via search engines like Google. So if you want to maximise your chances to be seen by potential new followers, fill out your profile like a pro. Make sure it has:
A high-quality profile photo
Relevant tags, keywords and location information
A bit of personality
Take a leaf out of PlayStation’s book. The global gaming company’s profile includes common variants of its name (e.g. PS4, PS5, PS VR), a branded profile image and clear location info.
Get verified
Twitter verification is back! After an unexpected pause in 2017, Twitter is once again verifying accounts.
Verified accounts get to display the blue tick on their profile, indicating to users that they are a legit entity.
The process is meant to stop spoof and copycat accounts gaining traction on the platform. Find out more about the verification process and how to get verified here.
People are more likely to follow you if they know you’re the real thing.
Post visual content
Where once there was only text and emojis, there is now a sea of visual content. Fully 97% of people focus on visuals on Twitter. So it pays to schedule them into your content calendar. Try using:
- Images
- Videos
- Memes
- GIFs
- Infographics
- Graphic quotes
The best part? Visuals don’t count towards Twitter’s 280 character limit. Meaning you can say a lot more in a visual post than you can in text alone.
Learn what makes a good Tweet
Creating any stand out social media content is part art and part science. You’ll get a feel for the art and luckily, the science part can be expressed in a handy list.
According to Twitter, the best performing tweets:
- Contain 1-2 hashtags
- Are conversational
- Are short and sweet (Tweets under 140 characters still perform best)
- Use visual content
- Are tested using analytics and tweaked
- Respond to current events and trending conversations
- You can find Twitter trends by navigating to the Trends section of Twitter’s Explore tab.
Post at the right time
According to Hootsuite’s research, the best time to Tweet is 8 am on Mondays and Thursdays. So if you’re starting fresh, your best punt is to post regularly at these times.
After 30 days, you’ll have enough data to use Hootsuite’s Best Time to Publish feature to find the optimal posting times for current and potential new followers.
How to buy Twitter followers
Buying Twitter followers might seem like a clever short cut. After all, you’d only do it to get your account going while you focus on finding genuine followers, right? But is it worth the risk?
In short, no!
Firstly, because Twitter knows this game and actively seeks and deletes fake accounts. Since most paid-for Twitter followers are bot accounts and bots leave a pretty distinct digital signature, it’s really not hard for Twitter to find them.
Secondly, Twitter (along with all other social media platforms) increasingly prioritizes engagement metrics. Meaning having many followers that don’t engage (like paid ones) will harm your standing with the platform’s algorithm.
If you really want to throw money at the situation, see tips 28 and 29 above.
Use Hootsuite to manage your Twitter presence alongside all your other social media channels. From a single dashboard you can monitor conversations and lists, grow your audience, schedule tweets, and much more. Try it free today.
