One of the most popular questions we are asked by clients is how to build a social media following, and more specifically how best to build a twitter following.

Whilst unfortunately there is no ‘quick fix’ or overnight magic to building an authentic twitter following, there are some simple tricks that you can employ in order to boost your followers in an organic and legitimate way.

Here you’ll find 6 ways to honestly and organically raise your profile and build a Twitter following.

 

1. Follow and RT

Rule 101 of Twitter – FOLLOW OTHER PEOPLE. It’s universally acknowledged that the most effective, speedy and honest way to gain new followers on Twitter is by following other accounts, specifically relevant ones. If you own a private cosmetic clinic try following customers, clients, brands you work with. You’ll soon find the numbers slowly creeping up. Similarly, as well as following people reply to their tweets; asking questions or offering answers is a simple way to create engagement.

 

2. Put the effort in

It sounds obvious but you get what you give when it comes to online audience.  If you don’t like posts, share content and follow accounts why should they do the same for you? Communicate with your target market and peers; building a solid social media platform, especially on Twitter which is the most fast paced and interactional of all the platforms, cannot be underestimated.

Think of the situation in real life – if you went to a party would you engage with the people having fun, interacting and sharing common interests, or would you talk to the guy stood on his own ignoring everyone? Engagement with both those who follow you and those who will potentially become followers is vital.

 

3. Use hashtags 

Hashtags are a simple and useful tool for building a Twitter presence, and help to reach relevant but so far untapped potential followers. Add a few to your posts and see if that generates new follows. Popular ones include BBloggers (which is used by the beauty blogging community).

 

4. Be relevant

It doesn’t matter what you sell or offer, there’s a market for everyone and thing. The key is finding the right crowd to showcase that too. If you’re in the beauty and aesthetics industry there’s no point following and tweeting builders, for example. Follow people that may share some common ground; they’re more likely to follow you back. Similarly with content – only share relevant links to your website, interesting articles or helpful info.

If you’re a cosmetic dentist most of your followers don’t care what you had for brunch – keep it relevant to your business. If you want to share other news from your life create a personal Twitter account; you’ll quickly lose followers on Twitter if you’re not maintaining your brand expectations.

 

5. Don’t buy followers

Ever seen a Twitter account go from 50 followers to 5,000 overnight? It’s not because they have a great product or page – it’s because they’ve paid for those followers. A common mistake companies new to running social media accounts make is ‘buying’ followers or likes.

Bought followers are paid by external companies to follow/like/share/retweet but have no interest in your business, product or service. Choosing to buy your followers is not a tactic that we recommend, for the simple reason that it’s a false economy. Yes, initially you may see a boost to your followers but you’re unlikely to see any genuine interaction/response from them, and anyone who does a 2 second recky will quickly recognise these followers are not genuine.

It’s a common mistake to boost figures, but in the long run they won’t provide you with any traffic, income or business. It won’t do your website any harm, but it’s easy to see through accounts that have paid for their audience, and it can be harmful to your reputation.

 

6. Run a competition

Once you have started to build a Twitter following it might be worth considering running small competition. The prize doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, however, it’s often more suitable to offer a giveaway that is relevant to your company or brand.

For example, if you’re a cosmetic clinics specialising in skincare you could offer a giveaway including a product you like, or think will be popular. Make the tweet look snazzy with an attention-grabbing image, and don’t forget to include helpful hashtags to reach a wider audience.

 

Need some help?

We offer social media management for clients. You can find out more about our services regarding this on the Social Media Management page. Contact us to discuss your needs.