QUICK AND DIRTYWAYS TO GET MORETWITTERFOLLOWERS

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Don't have a lot of time forsocial media? Make themost of it with these tips.

If you are running a small business Twitteraccount, you want more Twitter followers. Period.Why else use Twitter if you don’t want to build anaudience? However, getting those first fewfollowers is a major stumbling block for manypeople. Luckily there are some quick, easy andFREE ways to get that follower count climbing.

Search for people you know, competitors, andindustry experts, and follow them. Then interactwith them - especially those who are very activeon Twitter. Like their tweets, comment, andretweet. Most of them will follow you back.

Follow people in your industry,and interact with them1.

Even better, once they’re followingyou, these are the people most likelyto retweet you, and retweets are oneof the quickest ways to new followers

On Twitter (and some other social mediasites) hashtags are used to keep topics ofconversation organized. If you include ahashtag in your tweet, people can click onthat and see tweets from all the otherpeople who are using that hashtag.

Learn relevant hashtags, anduse them2.

Nearly every industry has at least one ortwo hashtags associated with it (althoughsome industries are much more active onsocial media than others). Learn what thoseare by observing what hashtags otherpeople in your industry use, read theirfeeds, and then start using them yourself.

This is a great way to connect withother people who are interested in whatyou have to say – and once you findthem you can follow them and many ofthem will follow back.

One of the best ways to gain followers is to bea reliable source of useful information. Onegreat way to do this is to share content you’vemade that has helpful tips for your audience.However, even if you’re a full time blogger, youprobably won’t write enough blog posts tokeep a Twitter audience interested.

Share other people’s content3.

The simple solution to this is to find other greatcontent elsewhere on the web, and share linksto those articles on Twitter. If you know whothe author is and you can find their Twitterprofile, mention them in the tweet where youshare their article so they know you did it

You are sharing great content that willmake people want to follow you, and theperson who created the content mayalso follow you out of gratitude forsharing their work.

The experts all agree that it’s best to spaceout your tweeting over the course of the dayso that a wider variety of people have theopportunity to see what you share. However,you don’t have the time to sit there on Twitterall day, so what should you do?

Schedule your tweets4.

You schedule your posts. Lots of Twitter tools(Tweetdeck, Buffer, Hootsuite, etc) give you theoption to write a tweet and then schedule it to beposted later instead of sharing it immediately. Ifyou use scheduling, you can do all of your socialmedia work in one sitting but still have tweetsbeing shared throughout the day.

Twitter chats are when a group of people in anindustry all start using a particular hashtag at ascheduled time and answer a set of questionsposed by a host. Most industries/interests haveat least one and they’re free to join and participatein. For example, Buffer hosts #bufferchat at noonEST every Wednesday, and people gather to talkabout how to use social media.

Participate in Twitter chats5.

Twitter chats are an excellent way to networkwith other professionals and amateurenthusiasts. You get to demonstrate yourknowledge, learn other people’s solutions tocommon problems, and meet people who willbe interested in what you have to say.

Don’t give up!

It might seem like you’re not getting anywhereusing Twitter, but all it takes is a little time andknowing where to put in the effort. If you spendan hour or two per week following these tips, youwill steadily gain followers. And not just anyfollowers – followers who are actually interestedin you, your company, and what you have to say!

If you’re just getting started on Twitter, have youbeen struggling to get followers and get yourmessage out? If you’re an old pro, what wasyour biggest obstacle when you started out? Letus know in the comments, or join theconversation with us on Twitter.