6 Tricks to Growing Your Twitter Presence

Social media is an important part of your digital marketing strategy. While Facebook tends to get the most attention, it’s crucial to remember that there are other channels to choose from. One of those, of course, is Twitter.

With over 336 million  daily users, there’s a lot of potential customers “hiding out” on Twitter. You’d think with that many folks, finding followers should be easy, right? Well, with the right the strategy, it can be. However, if Twitter’s short character limit and fast-moving newsfeed has you feeling like a little fish in a big pond, relax. We’ll get you started.

From organizing your profile to planning your tweets, to sponsored posts with awesome video content; there’s a few ways you can explore to get the most out of your Twitter profile. Need some help? Let’s start with these six tips to get you started.

Optimize your Twitter Profile

As is often the case, the best place to start is right at the beginning. Namely, your profile. Think of your Twitter profile like a first impression. What will people assume about your business when they see it? There are a few ways you can optimize your twitter profile to help new followers understand your brand, company culture, and voice right away.

Profile Photo and Cover Photo

The first impression upon visiting your profile is going to be visual, so make use of this space. Use images that clearly communicate your brand. They can include your logo, product, or pictures of your team.

Entrepreneurs can use professional head-shots for a more personal approach while businesses might use their profile photo for their logo or flagship product. In all cases, your cover photo is a piece of prime real estate so use it wisely.

• Photos of your product in action
• An advertisement image with your web address, slogan, etc.
• Interior photos of your business
• etc.

Twitter Bio

Use your Twitter bio to add a concise yet punchy overview of your business. Challenge yourself to be as creative as possible with the allotted character limit. Perhaps more importantly, you are able to use hashtags within your bio. This creates a permanent way for you to show up in relevant Twitter searches.

#Hashtags are a way of organizing subjects on Twitter. For example, a search for #realestate will group together accounts and tweets which use the #realestate hashtag. By putting hashtagged terms in your bio, your account will be included in those searches.

Useful hashtags include relevant industries, subjects, or industries that pertain to your business. For example, a microbrewery in Brooklyn, New York might construct their Twitter bio like this:

#microbrewery pumping out delicious #craftbeer and #IPAs in #Brooklyn #NewYork since 2005

Theme Color

Change the color of your Twitter profile to align with your brand. You can even enter hex color codes for an identical match.

Follow, Follow, Follow

One of the easiest ways to gain new followers on Twitter is simply following other accounts. Seek out current customers, vendors, and influential organizations and businesses in your community and follow them. Often, they’ll follow back.

Also, pay careful attention and see who is engaging with your tweets. If there are users you’re not familiar with, go ahead and give them a follow. You have to make time to cultivate a community. This is a long-term strategy so strap in and enjoy the ride.

Lastly, anytime you’re mentioning a Twitter user, include their handle in your tweet. This ensures that they see it and will engage with it and more of their followers will see it. Be active. Thank your new followers, like their tweets, etc.

Another “sneaky” thing to do is to look who’s following your competitors and start following them. Hey, you never know. Maybe they’re looking for a new craft beer in Brooklyn?

Include Hashtags in your Tweets

Twitter is the birthplace of hashtags, and the social network and Twitter users emphasize them prominently. Find hashtags that relate to your business or that your customers are using frequently.

It’s ok to use popular hashtags like #MondayMotivation and #FridayFeeling, but it’s more important to determine niche hashtags that will resonate with your target audience. Make sure you explore the hashtag on Twitter and engage with other relevant tweets so that you show up in people’s feeds.

You can’t really “own” a hashtag, but you can try to start your own. Use your slogan or something that relates to your business and keep active on it. Sometimes it will take off. Other times, it will already exist and is used by other businesses and fans. Explore popular hashtags as well as niche ones and see if you can gain traction that way. Whenever you tweet, include a relevant hashtag so that you’re organized in future searches.

Tweet Often and With a Purpose

There are nearly 6,000 tweets per second put into the Twitter-sphere. With that much volume, how do you stand out? First, tweet frequently. If people are going to follow you, they have to be able to find you.

So, how often do you tweet? Newsfeeds on Twitter move much faster than on Facebook so honestly, the sky is almost the limit. Some of the most active Twitter businesses are tweeting upwards of 20-30 times per day.

However, you shouldn’t just tweet anything for the sake of tweeting. Rather, tweet with a purpose. If you have something valuable to say, tweet your heart out. But remember, this isn’t Instagram and no one cares what you had for lunch (unless its relevant). Tweets can be educational, humorous, or pertain to current events. If you retweet, always add your own take on the original post. Use a marketing calendar so you can organize your content to tweet value rather than just fill a void.

Be Visual And Stand Out

You can also attract new followers on Twitter by using visuals; pictures and videos are more likely to catch the eye and stand out in the feed. Remember, that newsfeed is moving pretty quickly so anything you can do to get your audience to pause and stick around for a while is a plus.

Creating some awesome video content is a great way to get started. Since tweets with videos get up to 9x more engagement than text updates, it’s definitely worth the extra effort.

If your strategy is to use a variety of visuals, opt for original imagery or infographics over stock photography. Just like how your tweets need to have value, so do your visuals. Give people a reason to stop scrolling and visit your profile. Check out how to make a slideshow – it’s a great way to have stand out content to attract viewers.

Video content also works well for targeted ad campaigns, sponsored posts. This form of paid advertising on Twitter allows for a great deal of customization. Like Facebook, you can target your ads towards specific keywords, people, and locations.  

Plug Your Twitter Account on the Web

It’s possible to reach Twitter users outside of Twitter. Anywhere that you promote your website, you can plug your Twitter account, too. This includes an email signature, business card, Facebook profile, and other digital or traditional marketing avenues.

Add a follow button to your website or blog, too. This encourages people who are already engaging with your business and your content to follow you on Twitter. Try displaying a few of your most recent tweets on your homepage or embedded in blogs them to click through to Twitter.

Finding quality Twitter followers doesn’t happen overnight. It requires a thought-out strategy complete with planning, engaging, and optimizing to attract the right people. Remember, quantity isn’t everything. It’s quality followers that you really want.

Now Put It All Into Practice

Have you heard the phrase, “if you build it, they will come”? Take it to heart when cultivating followers. From a carefully branded profile to professional quality videos, build the best Twitter that you can, and then you’ll see the numbers tick upwards as the right followers find you.