Get Followed on Twitter!

Regular readers and my colleagues know that I'm quite the Twitter junkie. It's been particularly great to use Twitter to speak in an open conversation with local businesses, get tips and news from design colleagues, get quick texts about upcoming area events, and even to send myself RSS feeds of great local shopping deals within a few minutes of being posted. I don't have a ton of followers, but that's ok - my goals for Twitter are mostly personal/professional communication, and to dialog in an interesting way with people I might not meet otherwise. Are you happy with who's following you?

So let's assume you've read the article I keep posting regarding 50 uses of Twitter for business (heck, why not browse all of our Twitter-related articles), and you've started your Twitter account. But what's this? No one will follow your tweets? What do you do? I have some suggestions about getting those elusive Twitter followers, so read on past the break to learn some simple ways you can encourage followers and gain that Twitter audience you crave!

Why Follow You?

It may sound simple, but think about what you're trying to communicate in the first place. What value does that have to someone who might be interested in your business? Consider tweeting exclusively about new product releases, promotions at your store, and events you're attending. For example, one of my favorite Twitter accounts is @eauclaireevents. Every night at midnight, they post some of the top events going on in Eau Claire, and since starting the account just a few weeks ago (May 21) have gained well over 300 followers. Since Twitter can be set up to send SMS texts to a user's phone, it's of particular value to me because without any effort on my part I can see at a glance on my phone a sampling of the interesting events to attend that night.

Leverage Popularity

Along the same lines, I follow @VolumeOne because I read the local print publication, and following them on Twitter is a sort of logical extention and opportunity for conversation. VolumeOne boasts 642 followers, and it's partially because they post links to their website and give feedback to those who write messages to them. One other major reason is because they use their other media outlets (print publication, website, and presence/sponsorship at events) to point out that they operate on social networking sites such as Twitter. Driving traffic to your Twitter account in any way you can think of, be it a mini banner on your website, a note at the end of your email signature, feeding your Tweets via RSS somewhere on your site, or placing the url in other media, is the only way to be direct about how to find you. Otherwise, you're relying on word of mouth, which can take considerably longer unless your service value is very high.

Follow Others First

People will find you when you follow them, too. Why not look up other businesses, area professional services, and individuals you'd like to inform about your Twitter account and click the "Follow" button under their names? You'll show up on their roll as a follower, and it's a good possiblity that many of the users you find will choose to reciprocate the follow. Just be very sure that you're on topic and in line with your goals - Twitter spam has become a bit of an issue with mass followings, meaning that people have started to reduce the accounts they follow to select the ones that aren't simply trying to sell them something but are receiving genuine value in return for their attention.

That's the Big Secret

Be genuine, offer value/humor/networking potential, and remember to promote your Twitter account through simple methods. Those are the best ways I've found to improve your Twitter following and grow a base audience that will be very easy to communicate with and get feedback from. If you're interested in my Tweets, you can see the most recent one to the right in my author bio column, or by visiting @benstroinski.

Got an even better tip for gaining following on Twitter? Got a question ? Share it with us by commenting below, and thanks as always for reading!