5 Tips To Get More Twitter Followers in 2018

“How many followers do you have on your account?”
Those of us old enough to remember the early days of Facebook & Twitter (not that we are old or anything). will remember how often they were asked the above question and other similar questions.
Not only were we asked this ambiguous question, the answer we gave was scrutinised.
“Only x followers?! that’s nothing”
Whilst the popularity contest that is social media has subsided slightly now that the systems have been with us for many years, the importance of follower counts is still something that can’t be overlooked.
Like it or not, a high follower count is an indication as to how influential you are within your market space and more importantly how active and engaging you are to that audience.
Starting out at zero can seem like an ever lasting upheavel struggle to make your way up the food chain to social media greatness with tens of thousands of followers.
So how exactly do you get more social media followers?

Getting Twitter Followers In 5 Easy Steps

Our experts here in our London, UK offices at SocialWarehouse.co.uk have taken some time out to give you 5 quick and easy steps to get you on your way.
As always we do not condone the use of bots, buying followers, spamming or other non white hat tactics.  If those tips are what you are looking for then we would strongly advise against it.  Never jeopardise your brand for shortcuts!

1. Tweet, Tweet & Tweet Some More

   Whilst many of you may be more experienced with the likes of Facebook and Instagram since you have used them for your personal needs, Twitter is a different player in the social media game.  Twitter requires far more attention as well as aggression when it comes to social media management in 2018.
   So, how Many Tweets Should I Post?
   Whilst this question doesn’t have a one size fits all – it is a common accepted practice by social media managers the World over that the average ‘right’ amount of tweets should be about 3 tweets per day.
   Whilst this is the average ‘right’ answer, it’s not the end of the story.
   We have worked with as well as observed brands that tweet in excess of 10-12 tweets per day with great results.  We have also worked with many brands where 1 tweet per day is both sufficient and optimal for their brand and their strategic goals.
   It is all about relevance and consistency.  If you are looking to tweet 3-5 times per day then do, just make sure that you do it every day consistently.  The biggest mistake we see with brands is the influx of many posts followed by days of silence.  This is the quickest way to undo all of your hard work.  Followers have short attention spans and anyone they are following that cant keep their interest will find themselves removed as quickly as they were followed.
   If you are ever in doubt on whether you are tweeting enough or not then tweet, tweet and tweet some more.  It can only help to increase your brand awareness to tweet more often, just be sure to consicously try to keep it relevant and consistent.  New followers will see constant and consistent fresh content and that is exactly why they will then follow you.

   Ever wondered how social B2B is? [info-graphic] A great little infographic highlighting how social B2B is. #SocialMedia #B2B #Social #Marketing #DigitalMarketing #Tips pic.twitter.com/jyEYQnPwkS

   — SocialWarehouse (@SocialWH) March 3, 2018

   Tweets from your current/potential followers as well as relevant niche articles, breaking news & personal updates are just a few options to getting you to tweet more in a bid to increase your presence and follower count.
   If time is the problem there is a wealth of scheduling software available that can take the pain out of logging on multiple times a day to post.  Our personal favourite is Hootsuite which is available for free (with limitations) but we would also highly recommend the premium version for anyone serious about social media management.  We also briefly touched on 3 tools that can help with your social media management in 2018.
   If content is the issue then head on our to the social media management packages where content creation and execution is our speciality.  We can create all of your content, tweets and increase your follower count at a very competitive rate so you can focus on the running of your business.

2. Timing Is Everything

   Ever heard that timing is everything?
   It’s as true in business as it is in social media management in 2018.  Many have fallen by the wayside due to nothing more than bad timing.
   Your tweets could be cursed by this if you don’t plan ahead and do your research.
   Let’s assume you’ve followed the first tip above and you now have some beautiful tweets ready to go, you’ve made some eye catching content and you’ve proofread everything 100 times.
   When do you post them?
   Well fear not we have done the research for you.  In fact, we have looked at this systematically and monthly for the past 10+ years that we have provided social media management!
   Typically, although varying somewhat depending on your location and demographic, the best times to post are going to be weekdays specifically in the afternoon.
   
   It is important that your tweets are not limited to these times and that you periodically post other tweets in the meantime as outlined above.
   Keep it fresh, consistent and hitting these key busy times and you’ll be sure to increase your presence significantly throughout 2018.

3. The First Bite Is With The Eye

   Whilst I am sure we all strive to never judge a book by its cover, it’s not the same for your followers.
   Whilst there is a lot of myth surrounding the attention spans of the general population, it is clear that attention spans vary depending on what task is being completed.
   That may sound like good news until we look at all available metrics and see that Twitter in particular has the shortest required attention span over rivals such as Facebook for obvious reasons.
   It is estimated that Twitter users rank as the lowest attention span social media users.  Since SocialWarehouse is based in London, much of our research has been aimed at the UK marketplace but this is still true Worldwide.
   So what can we learn and do with this information?
   You MUST make your tweets and content as attention grabbing as possible.  But don’t go steaming in just yet – it doesn’t mean you should sensationalise or click-bait your tweets.  That could have the complete opposite effect, alienating your audience and killing the small amount of trust that you may have with them.
   Catching the eye of the audience is the key goal here.  You want your followers to look and be captivated by what they see not just random clicks from uninterested strangers.
   How can I make my tweets visually attractive?
   Adding photos, gifs and memes to your tweets is a tried and tested method to greatly increase attention to your tweets.  Keep the images relevant and colourful and you should see a far greater interaction than you would by not having this in place.

   It’s #FitnessFriday come pay us a visit and get your workout in for the day! 👍 pic.twitter.com/aGZKkTobPV

   — UNT Rec Sports (@UNTRecSports) March 2, 2018

   If you really want to impress then the answer is infographics.  Infographics have seen an explosion in SMM (Social media management) since 2015.  With 2018 looking to be the golden era of infographics it’s time your brand got involved if you have not already.
   Infographics have been shown to be shared anywhere from 3 to 5 times more often than any other content online.  Their easy to read and attention grabbing visuals put them way out above the rest in terms of results and our in-house infographic creation experts at SocialWarehouse social media management cannot speak more highly about them.  It is their job to create them so there may be  little bias, but rest assured their support is backed up heavily by every industry leader!
   A simple infographic could be what takes you from 0 followers to 1000+ if done correctly.  Speak with one of our in-house infographic content creators in London if you need any advice on this.
   There is a fine line between information and entertainment.  It’s important to your brand that you find the balance and act accrodingly or seek professional consultation if you are not sure.  It takes months/years to build a brand but only a couple of tweets to destroy one.

4. The Hashtag Hammer

   Hashtags are a phenomenon and we are sure that some of you can be excused if you cannot remember a time when they were not a part of the online World.
   Hashtags are unique in the sense that they give an overall view of what the subject matter is as well as linking to other similar type tweets who have also used that hashtag.
   What they also do, perhaps inadvertently, is allow you to show up on these ‘searches’.  Bringing down the hashtag hammer is a way of latching onto popular topics with relevant information that may be of use to the people interested.
   Hashtags have been proven to give ~13-15% boost to all posts and topics when used efficiently.
   But hold tight – adding 15 hashtags at the end of your post is certainly not the answer.  It is as always important to be relevant and not ‘spammy’.  The number of hashtags and the hashtags used need to researched carefully.  Whilst hashtags will increase your attention, too many will stifle it.  SocialWarehouse has been at the forefront of the social media management research for the UK and we have shown from gathered data time and time again that hashtags are very powerful.
   Take a look at our latest data from UK social media usage.
   
   This data highlights that at first glance, any tweet with multiple (read 5+) hashtags can appear as spam.  This is the last impression any social media manager worth their wages should be aiming for.  In fact it’s quite possibly the worst impression you can give in general to any customer.
   Researching how popular hashtags are and what type of demographic are following those hashtags is imperative.  There are many paid tools available online that can do this for you which we will go into detail another time, but you can start by simply following hashtags and seeing how often and how many people are tweeting them in real time.
   Piggybacking on daily hashtags like #MondayMadness, #ThrowbackThursdays & #FitnessFriday are also a great way to tweet daily whilst getting involved in the wider audience.
   Our in-house team generally see an increase of around 18% when using daily hashtags that are relevant to either the niche we are managing or the demographic that we are targeting.

5. Direct Interactions

   Our 5th and final step is probably the most important.  Direct interaction with your social media followers.
   It is extremely rewarding for you to communicate and interact with your audience on a direct basis via Twitter.
   Just like a good general who leads from the front, you need to be out there and showing your audience that you are like them.  Not only are you human (and not a spam bot), but you are also a person just like them who shares their passion.  Whether that be a beauty therapist giving tips to questions or a CEO giving advice on a purchased product, it is important that you and your brand are seen to be actively engaging your audience.
   Whilst this step takes far more time out of your schedule than the other 4 steps, it is worth it’s weight in gold.  Not only will potential customers or followers see your responses to other customers and followers, they will be reassured in more ways than one.

   You’re welcome; is there anything else I can do to help? Ash

   — Barclays UK Help (@BarclaysUKHelp) February 24, 2018

   A simple thank you for a follow, a response to a question or even a shout out to a brand can put you ahead of the competition and bring attention to your business.
   Social media customer service as we like to call it, is a science all unto itself.  Whilst the jury is still out on how to go about this to future proof your brand, we do know that proven customer service techniques currently used in both face to face and over the telephone are still relevant in the social media sector.  Quick responses, informative responses and those clearly written by a human are the key.
   Nobody wants to wait and nobody wants to speak to a machine so bear that in mind when coming up with your social customer service and direct interactions strategy or speak to someone in our customer service team for more info.

Round-Up

Following these 5 steps is a great foundation for your social media management needs.  Be sure to read it all carefully and plan what exactly you are going to do.
Remember that whilst its important to toss fear out the window, you also need to be very mindful as to what exactly the effect will be for your business and your brand.  Tweets can be deleted but the damage that may be caused cannot.  Potential customers are quick to dig up some old screenshot of tweets that may paint you in a bad light.  The age of social media is an everlasting footprint of how you have acted in the past which will be assumed that is how you will act in the future.
As always our experts are more than happy to discuss a strategy with you free of charge so do feel free to get in contact with us.  Our social media management and social media customer service packages are the leading social media management packages in the UK.  All of our staff are based in our London offices and boast an extensive knowledge and skill set with teams of dedicated content creators, PR managers, account managers and customer service operators.