“How to grow my Twitter Followers?” – That has often been a question playing in the minds of many Twitter users, including mine, and yet very few know how. Some succeed some don’t. But yet, what’s the secret?
I have been on Twitter since August 2009. That is six long years. Yet at the time when I started COM 600 I had just about 149 odd Followers. As of December 2, 2015, I have 245 Followers. Therefore since September 1, 2015, when the benchmark was created the Twitter profile gained 96 new Followers.
According to Twitter Analytics however over the past 90 days there were 114 new Followers and the profile had gained on an average one new follower every day. Considering it had taken me six years to get 149 Followers, and only about 3 months to almost double that number it was a surprise. Further it was noted that on September 4, 2015, there were 131 Followers of the profile, which perhaps explains the difference but also suggests that since September 1, 2015, when the benchmark was made, the profile lost 18 Followers.
However, concentrating on the increase in the number of Followers for the profile it was assessed that changes to the bio of the profile which now pronouncedly suggested the user’s interest areas – “A curious soul in love with #travel,#adventure, #books, #food, #dance and#socialmedia” helped to bring about a focus to the profile. Tweets were thereon concentrated upon content relating to social media, and occasionally on travel and other causes.
Sharing social media marketing tips as suggested across articles or websites, retweeting and thereby engaging with social media influencers like Timothy Hughes, Dr. William J. Ward, among others led to engagement with users who followed these influencers. As a result, most Followers shared an interest in technology as ascertained by Twitter.
This in turn led to additions to 15 lists created by various users, like:
- Social Media Marketers
- Social Media Rockstars-2
- Top 5000 Indian media
- Social Selling Leaders
- Startup influencers
Further the art of a follow-back was also crucial in this regard. I was quick to learn that when a Twitter user follows you, it is Twitter courtesy to follow back, until you are perhaps a rockstar and people would throng to you even if you pay no attention to them.
Another step that worked towards bringing in more engagement and Followers was the use of media in the form of infographics, images, videos and linkbacks, making tweets more interactive and visually appealing. While analyzing the top tweets according to Twitter Analytics, this was a particular factor that popped out, as engagement with media heavy tweet was always higher when compared against tweets with just words.
Further maintaining a minimalistic #hashtag profile, and use of proper and meaningful hashtags, was also impactful. Earlier tweets would invariably have a hashtag before every word that was found trending and had no impact according to Twitter Analytics. But using hashtags sparingly helped to have a more targeted engagement level which was pertinent to the growth of the Followers numbers.
The growth in Followers and social media influence was further measured in terms of the Klout score and it was found that in September 2015, the Klout score was at the lowest of 22.45. But by December 2, 2015, the Klout score had increased to 42.25. It reached a peak of 42.95 on October 31, 2015.
With Facebook and Linkedin also connected to the Klout profile, it was seen that the Twitter profile accounted for 71% of the impact on the Klout score. The Facebook page, which essentially is a page promoting the personal blog, and making an effort to create effective conversations, accounted for 19% of the impact. And the professional profile of Linkedin has a 10% impact on Klout score.
The doubled up Klout score and Twitter Followers numbers is boastful of the fact that the Social Media in Theory and Practice course with its invaluable lessons on how to maneuver, manage, love and engage with social media has had a genuinely high impact.