12 Tips on How To Get Followers on Twitter in 2018 – Free and Fast

Twitter marketing doesn’t have to be hard — or expensive, for that matter. In fact, you can learn how to get followers on Twitter without spending any money at all or giving up your other marketing pursuits.

How?

By following the best practices that work.

Getting more Twitter followers is all about consistency and engagement. If you develop a regular posting schedule and interact with your followers as well as the people you follow, you’ll see your follower count increase. Consider making use of tools like Later or Later alternatives to plan your posts in advance.

However, there are a few tricks of the trade that we want to share with you today. If you follow our 12 tips on getting followers on Twitter, you’ll set up your social media campaign for success.

12 Foolproof Tips on How to Get More Followers on Twitter

Before we jump into our tips, let’s chat about Twitter itself for a second.

Twitter thrives on fast-moving news and conversation. It’s not a social network that encourages lots of scrolling and reading.

Consequently, you have to share tweets frequently and quickly to gain more followers on Twitter. Otherwise, nobody will see your tweets at all.

You also have to write concise, highly engaging posts. There’s lots of noise on Twitter, and you don’t want to fade into the background.

While you can certainly boost your Twitter follower growth account quickly using paid social ads, you’ll have to shell out lots of cash. Doing it the organic way saves money and allows you to build an audience organically.

1. Follow a Regular Tweeting Schedule

As mentioned above, consistency matters. If you always tweet at the same times every day, your audience will know when to expect your tweets in their feeds and when to check your account.

For instance, maybe you publish a new blog post every morning at 7 a.m. You could also schedule a tweet at the same time to announce your blog post and convince people to click through.

If you’re consistent enough, people might visit your Twitter account at that time to find the link to your latest blog post. And if they don’t want to miss your blogs, they’ll follow your Twitter account to make sure they don’t miss your content.

It’s easy to go overboard here and become too robotic. There’s room for some variation on Twitter because feeds move so quickly. Experiment with different frequencies to find out which gives you the best engagement with your audience — and which attracts more followers.

2. Tweet About Newsworthy Stats, Figures, and Information

Tweets don’t last very long. Unless they go viral and get tweeted thousands of times, they disappear from feeds almost instantly.

That’s why you have to grab attention. If you share newsworthy information, you give people a reason to take a second glance.

However, that doesn’t mean you should comb Google News for any breaking developments CNN might publish. The newsworthy information you share should relate specifically to your industry.

3. Tweet at the Right Time of Day

Lots of people claim to know the “perfect” time of day to tweet. The truth, though, is that the ideal tweeting time varies based on your audience.

You might discover that your target customers or clients become active on Twitter after dinner or late at night. Another business’s audience might use Twitter most in the morning.

Test tweeting at different times. Engagement levels will tell you when your audience is most active so you can make sure to meet those people on Twitter.

4. Post More Visual Content to Engage Your Followers

Most of us don’t lack for reading material. From blogs and books to the backs of cereal boxes, we’re covered.

Visual content, however, often proves more engaging. It can illustrate a concept, provide an incentivized offer, teach the viewer something new, or inspire an audience. Try tweeting images and video to test engagement rates.

You might also consider using visual elements to send people to your Twitter account. Click-to-tweet buttons, for instance, have proved extremely effective for many marketers.

You could also add a Twitter CTA to your Hello Bar. Invite website visitors to follow you on Twitter and to engage with you on social media.

5. Harness Hashtags to Get More Followers Fast

Hashtags can prove tricky, especially if you’re not familiar with them, but you’ll get the hang of using them quickly. Tools like Hashtagify can help you find trending hashtags in your industry.

You can get lots of benefits from hashtags. They’re easily searchable, so people can find your Twitter content even if they don’t already follow you. If they like what they see, they might become followers themselves.

Consider using a branded hashtag, too. This is a hashtag related specifically to your business, and you can use the hashtag to track engagement.

On Twitter, between one and three hashtags should be sufficient. Don’t forget that you’re limited in character count, so you don’t want to go overboard. You can either work the hashtags into the tweet or tack them on at the end:

• Check out our new #shop to find a great selection of #leggings.
• Check out our new shop to find your next pair of leggings. #shopping #legwear

Either format works perfectly well.

Find popular community hashtags to gain followers

How you define community will depend on your business and its goals. Maybe you have a large local following, In that case, use location-based hashtags to engage your local followers.

Your community might also relate to your category. Do you have a fitness-related e-commerce store? You could use fitness hashtags so people can find your content even if they aren’t looking for something to buy.

The same goes for fashion, education, finance, or any other category. Get creative with your hashtags and test different combinations to find the ideal format.

Use industry-related hashtags

You can also employ hashtags that have become common in your industry. For instance, fashion brands (including influencers) often use the hashtag #whatiwore. It’s an easily searchable hashtag that turns up thousands upon thousands of results across social media.

If you’re directing users to a high-level post on your website, you could even use the industry itself as a hashtag. Ideally, you should only have one very general hashtag. The rest should describe the content more specifically.

Engage with users with event-based hashtags

Events often create lots of conversations on social media — especially Twitter, since posts move so quickly. Consider using an event’s branded hashtag in your posts to inspire even more conversations.

Let people know whether or not you’re going, celebrate a favorite speaker, or mention your product in conjunction with the event. You can even go a step further by writing a blog post about the event and your involvement, then link to it several times a day from Twitter.

Just remember that people might not find your content about events unless you use the branded hashtag. If you want a second hashtag, consider using the location, such as #SoCal *Southern California) or #ATX (Austin, Texas).

Be careful to not overuse hashtags

Even though Twitter has increased its available character count from 140 to 280, you still don’t have much space. If you use too many hashtags, you won’t have room for other (valuable) content.

Additionally, a string of hashtags can make your tweets messy or even unreadable. Some brands have tried turning just about every word into a hashtag, but readers are likely to skim over it because it’s too difficult to decipher the text.

Stick to between one and three hashtags, with two being the sweet spot. Adding them to the end can make the tweet more readable.

Remember that you’re only limited on character count per tweet. You can always publish subsequent tweets on the same subject if you want to incorporate alternative hashtags.

6. Master the Arts of Tagging, Retweeting & Replying

When it comes to Twitter, engagement is the most important metric to track. However, if you don’t engage with others, you can’t expect them to engage with you.

The three primary forms of engagement on Twitter are tagging, retweeting, and replying. Doing all three can maximize your follower count because people want to keep track of conversations that involve them.

Tagging is pretty simple. Every time you upload a photo, Twitter will ask who’s in it. Click or tap the button to add users manually or to search for them using a search bar.

When you tag someone, they will get a notification. Additionally, the image becomes searchable based on who’s tagged within it.

Retweeting involves sending someone else’s message to your own feed. It’s sort of like quoting someone in a blog post, but it’s searchable and trackable.

To retweet someone else’s tweet, just tap the retweet icon.

For even more engagement, add your own comment to the retweet.

Finally, there’s replying. You can reply to anyone’s tweet by adding that person’s username, preceded by the @ symbol, to a tweet.

Engage With People

Are you tired of hearing about engagement yet? It’s a hot industry buzzword, but it’s also important.

Engagement can be boiled down to one word: conversation. You can converse with people on Twitter by replying to their tweets, retweeting their tweets, or tagging them in photos.

Whatever the case, you’re showing you care — and that you’re listening. Both are important.

Shout Out to Other Brands in Your Industry to Get More Followers

In marketing, it’s okay to steal. In fact, don’t think of it as stealing at all.

Twitter is like one massive conversation moving in thousands of different directions. One tweet can lead to another tweet, and before your potential follower knows it, he or she has discovered your brand.

One way to gain access to other brands’ audiences is to mention them in your tweets. Give them a shoutout with an @mention so their followers will see it.

If they’re intrigued, they might follow you, too.

Tag to Be Tagged and Get Followers Fast

Tagging people in photos will encourage them to tag you, too. Think of it as reciprocity. If you’re generous with others, they’ll return the favor.

Retweet Meaningful Fan Tweets.

User-generated content has become a significant part of every marketer’s playbook. It’s better for your fans to say something than for you to say the same thing.

Think about it. We’re bombarded with marketing messages all day, every day. They’re a necessary part of commerce, but in some cases, they become part of the background.

When a consumer raves about a brand online, though, other people pay attention. This is especially true when the feedback isn’t part of an influencer relationship.

When a fan tweets about your brand, retweet it. You’ll want to save it as an example of user-generated content for other marketing materials, too.

7. Optimize Your Profile for New Followers

Many people will first encounter you and your brand when they land on your Twitter profile. If you don’t make a fantastic first impression, you’ll lose potential followers.

Your profile should match your brand image. It should come across as professional, but it can also reflect your personality.

Add a Clean Profile Picture

Blurry or distorted profile pictures won’t fly if you want to establish a solid presence on Twitter. You have two primary options:

1. Logo: Use your logo if you want your Twitter profile to be all about the brand.
2. Photograph: Use a professional headshot of you instead if you want to establish yourself as the “face” of your brand.

There’s no right or wrong answer, but photographs often lead to better engagement. People want to communicate with other people on social. They don’t necessarily want to communicate with a brand.

Pin Your Best Tweets to the Top of Your Feed

Pinned tweets stay at the top of your feed no matter how many other tweets you publish. They’re great for promoting a special offer, sharing user-generated content, or introducing yourself to new followers.

Add Relevant Industry Keywords

Social media becomes more searchable every day. From internal searches to Google, you want your profile to be found by people who are interested in your industry.

Incorporating relevant industry keywords in your profile will make you more discoverable. Make sure to incorporate them naturally, though, so your profile doesn’t come across as robotic.

Add Your Location Information to Get Free Followers

Location information can also make your Twitter profile more discoverable. When people search for industry keywords in your geographic location, they’ll find your profile.

This isn’t just for local businesses. You might operate globally, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be part of your local community.

Be Creative

There are lots of how-to guides on the Internet — including this one — but there’s no substitute for originally. If you get creative with your Twitter profile, you’ll come across as more relatable and human.

Think about your personality and your gifts. Are you funny? Incorporate humor into your profile in a unique way.

Check out other Twitter profiles in your industry. Create a spreadsheet, then open them all at once. Sift through the profiles in your browser tabs and look for patterns.

You want your profile to stand out. Make a list of any patterns you see, such as color palettes or words in profiles, that you’ll want to avoid in your own.

Again, standing out is key.

8. Call Yourself an Authority and Get More Followers

Are you an expert in your industry? Do you specialize in a particular topic?

If so, label yourself an authority. In your tweets and Twitter profile, you can use phrases like “expert in X” or “industry-leader in X.” It’s a great way to let people know you’re credible.

However, you shouldn’t call yourself an expert if you’re not. Don’t label yourself something deceitful because people will call you out on it.

9. Add Your Contact List to Twitter

Did you know that you can import your contact list on Twitter? It’s a great way to help you find followers who might be interested in your content.

After you import your list, Twitter will let you know which of those people are on Twitter. You can then decide which people to follow.

When you follow someone else, they’re more likely to follow you. Don’t be the brand that follows and unfollows just to boost its follower-to-following ratio. That’s tacky. Follow people whose content you really want to see.

10. Share Less Information About Yourself

There are two types of Twitter users: Meformers and Informers.

A meformer posts about his or herself and the brand. In other words, all or most of the tweets involve the interests of the brand and the person or people behind it.

Informers, on the other hand, tweet valuable information that will help other people. They promote other brands’ content, share relevant statistics, and educate their followers.

You want to be an informer — not a meformer.

Follow the 80/20 rule to make sure you’re seen as an informer. Make sure 80 percent of your Twitter posts offer value to others without any self-interest. You can use the remaining 20 percent for brand announcements, links to your content, special discounts, and other related information.

11. Tweet Special Offers and Discount Codes

Chances are good that, if you use social media, you follow at least a few brands. Why? You’re hoping to get access to special offers and discount codes.

Sure, you might actually love the brand and want to support it, but you’re also selfish. That’s not a dig. We all want to save money.

Use this knowledge to benefit your own brand. If people realize that you post discount codes and other special offers, they’ll follow you so they don’t miss any in the future.

This is a great way to quickly boost your follower count. If you want to maximize followers even more, consider hosting a giveaway as part of the promotion. If consumers love discounts, they adore the opportunity to win free stuff.

12. Easily Get New Followers From Your Website or Blog Using Hello Bar

Another great way to get followers on Twitter is to direct website visitors to your Twitter profile. A Hello Bar invites everyone to follow you on Twitter, which could increase your follower count quickly using the traffic you’re already getting to your site.

Simply log in to Hello Bar and click on the Manage tab on the left-hand side of the screen. Click “Create a New Hello Bar” under the appropriate heading.

From there, click on the “Click link” tab. You can enter your Twitter URL as the destination and add a text-based call to action. “Follow me on Twitter” works very well — simple and straight to the point.

You can also integrate Hello Bar and Twitter to increase your follower counts, encourage people to “like” your Twitter content, and take advantage of existing traffic.

Think of it this way: Traffic matters no matter where it comes from or what people do when they arrive at your site. Your goal is to keep people engaged with your brand.

How do you do that? You give visitors every reason to continue their engagement.

Growth hacking involves skyrocketing traffic in the shortest time period possible. One way to do that is to maximize existing traffic.

Using your Hello Bar to encourage people to follow you on Twitter can have a massive impact on brand recognition and lead generation. When people are more familiar with your brand, they’re more likely to buy.

Conclusion

When you want to learn how to get followers on Twitter, you have lots of options. We’ve outlined 12 fantastic ways to boost your Twitter follower count in 2018.

Make sure you’re following a regular tweeting schedule and tweeting about newsworthy information. Test different times of day to find the right schedule for your specific audience.

Visual content often performs well on Twitter, and adding two or three hashtags to your posts can boost engagement.

Learn how to tag, reply, and retweet, then use all three forms of engagement liberally. Optimize your profile, establish yourself as an authority, and import your contact list to increase your Twitter followers even further.

Try not to tweet too many personal details. Focus on your brand and on other people. Consider incorporating special offers into your tweeting schedule, then add a Hello Bar to your website to direct existing traffic to Twitter.

What’s your favorite way to boost your Twitter follower count?