10 GREAT TIPS TO GAIN AND KEEP FOLLOWERS ON TWITTER

Article by Wendy McCance

Over the weekend I decided to clean up my Twitter account.  I was following almost 1,000 people and I wanted to check in on each and every one of them and to see what they were tweeting these days.

So far I have spent about 16 hours going through my followers and see another 8 hours in my future until it is all cleaned up.

As I was going through each account, there were several followers I deleted because they had not posted in months, didn’t interact with others or there was just nothing in their tweets I would want to share.  It might sound harsh, but I am looking to connect with people of similar interests who interact with others and have terrific tweets that I can’t resist but to share.

Each time I kept a follower, I would retweet something they shared or would comment on a tweet they posted.  There were several followers who ended up getting their link shared on my Facebook page or on my Paper.li account as well.  I love to support and share good articles and ideas.

All of this work had me thinking about the top Twitter tips that should be shared.  I hope these tips help you in your pursuit to connect and maintain a positive Twitter account and experience.

1. Show that you are present on Twitter.  A long page of quotes or advertisement of your new book over and over is just a waste of time.  You won’t get new followers and there won’t be any connections made.  Interaction is key.  Without interaction, there is really no reason to spend your time posting on Twitter.  You are just posting to dead space.
2. If someone retweets something you posted, thank them.  Acknowledging a retweet goes a long way in the eyes of the person who took the time to retweet your information.
3. If you haven’t posted anything for more than a few weeks, your account will appear dead to others and you will no longer be followed by many.  Take some time and post something, anything at least a few times a week.
4. Show your support for others.  Retweet something you enjoyed.  Comment on a tweet that really hit home with you.
5. If someone follows you, thank them.  Whatever you do, don’t spam them by requesting they also look at your Facebook page and “like” it.
6. Look for people to follow that genuinely interest you.  Try introducing yourself and let the person you are following know why you are interested in keeping up with their tweets.
7. If you want to use hashtags, learn how to use them first.  Putting hashtags in random places within a sentence won’t make sense and does nothing for you.
8. Make sure you have a picture on your Twitter account.  Looking at a colored egg is impersonal and won’t allow you to stand out.
9. Make sure you have a good profile set up.  State a little bt about yourself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t particularly clever.  People would still like to know you are a writer (for instance).  Make sure you put in a link to your blog, website or Facebook page so people can really connect to you and learn who you are.
10. Above all else, have fun.  Twitter shouldn’t be stressful or feel like an obligation.