91 comments

10 Easy Ways to Get More Twitter Followers

versos sombrios cover page

“How can I get more followers?” Whether you are just starting out on Twitter, or have been on it for a few years like I have, that's a common question people have. With overĀ 200 million active monthly users, surely you can get a bigger piece of that Twitter pie, right? I don't consider myself a “Twitter guru” by any means, but it's my personal favorite social media site to network with other bloggers, stay updated on news and current events, and find new & interesting people to draw inspiration from. I've made tweeting a consistent, daily part of my life and have grown my own follower count steadily but surely over the last few years. I've picked up a few tricks of the trade and hope you can use these to grow your own Twitter following in an authentic, genuine way:

Make your Twitter presence known.

Can your readers see links to Twitter and your other social media profiles on your blog? If people enjoy reading your blog, most likely they'll enjoy a peek into your life through your tweets as well. Brands also look for your social media presence when they are looking to work with you. Make it easy for them to find you! Preferably, links to your social media profiles should be visible on your blog's homepage (either above the fold somewhere along the top or sidebar) and on your contact page. If you've got an email newsletter, make sure there are links to your social media profiles there too.

Keep your bio current.

You have 160 characters to tell people who you are, and your Twitter bio is the first thing people look at to determine if they want to follow you. I recommended you include what you do (or at least the field you work in) and what kind of a blogger you are. If you can fit a couple of personal hobbies or other interests in there too, do it! And always include a recent photo and link to your blog.

Tweet to 3 new people every day.

This was a daily challenge I gave myself when I first got started using Twitter, and it's still a great practice today. How do you find those people, you ask? Well…

Follow interesting people.

The best thing about Twitter is that you can tweet with people you normally would never have the chance to talk to face-to-face. You can start by following your favorite bloggers and fashion brands, then expand beyond that to active tweeters in your city, and even further by finding people who have similar interests. How do you do that? You can…

Use hashtags.

Though the use of hashtags may sometimes have more to do with humor and sarcasm than resource, they were built to be useful search tools for you. Use Twitter's search and hashtag functionality and plug in your interests to find people to talk to. Include hashtags in your tweets so that people can find you, too. For example: “Loving the new Mara Hoffman lookbook! #fashion #swimwear” or “I'm heading to #IFBcon! Will I see you there?”

Be helpful.

Answer questions, share links to or retweet useful articles or resources, or chime in with an idea. People look to Twitter for advice – be that helpful friend!

Give props.

Compliments will always go a long way. Did you enjoy a fellow blogger's last post? Tweet at them & tell 'em that! Or better yet, share that post with a link to it in a tweet, and mention them in it.

Trick of the trade: The @.

Fun fact: if you reply directly to someone, only people following you and the other person will see that tweet. If you include a period before their username at the beginning of the tweet, all of your followers will see it. Use this trick wisely. Sometimes you want to mention a brand's name at the beginning of a tweet but want it to go out to all of your followers, i.e. “.@MaraHoffman's new lookbook is insane!”

Participate in tweet chats.Ā 

Live tweet chats happen every day for almost any topic you can think of: marketing, travel, food, wine, art and yes, blogging. Find those, and participate in the conversations.Ā #BlogTrendsĀ is a popular weekly chat on blogging, andĀ #StyleChatĀ discusses trends and style tips.Ā Gnosis ArtsĀ has a list of other regular tweet chats, and a quick Google search of your favorite hobbies + “tweet chat” should yield even more options.

Use your blog posts!

Did you mention a few brands in your last outfit post? Find them on Twitter and make sure you mention them in a tweet promoting that post, or tweet them directly with a link to it. Also, include tweets as a way to enter giveaways. When people see others tweeting about you, they'll be curious to see what you and your giveaway are about too.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Do you have any useful tips for increasing your Twitter following?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

91 Responses

  1. Carol C.

    Woah, really helpful tips! I didn’t know about the ‘.@’ trick or the Tweet Chats!
    Sweet.
    Thank you guys šŸ™‚

    www.JollyCaucusRace.blogspot.com

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Thanks Carol! It’s not very commonly known, but super useful in understanding who is seeing the tweets you send out!

      Reply
    • erikarodica

      Definitely gonna use the “.@” trick. Or is it “@.”? I’m confused because the bold title is different from the description >.<

      Reply
  2. Luz

    This post came in the perfect time!… Like the last couple of posts!
    I just started promoting my blog’s twitter account, so far I got… 6 followers!
    Yikes! I got sooo much work to do, and this tips are very useful!
    Thank you for sharing Jess šŸ˜€

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Thank you! Gotta just jump in and start tweeting šŸ™‚ Tweet at me so I can follow you!

      Reply
  3. Kathleen Lisson

    Thanks for the tip about the period! I have seen that on twitter but did not know its functionality.
    Kathleen

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Thanks Kathleen! Now you know šŸ™‚ It’s not a commonly known thing, but helpful when understanding who sees your tweets. You know that your followers won’t see every tweet you send out when you reply or talk to people they don’t follow.

      Reply
  4. Kelsey

    This is great, I am new to twitter and I am using it to promote my blog. Thanks!

    Reply
  5. Dana

    Great tips Jess especially using #s, @s, and chats!

    This tips will definitely help but one main thing people forget is to be human when being social online. Canned responses and comments can be spotted a mile away, i.e. a turnoff and a big time waster.

    Keep up the great work IFB!

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Absolutely. Canned responses are the worst! Thanks for reading Dana.

      Reply
  6. Anna Burrows

    Can’t believe I didn’t know about the “@ trick of the trade”. Thanks for the great tips!

    Anna x

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      I know, right? I’m not sure that Twitter includes this little bit of knowledge in any of its resource or help pages, but it’s so useful. Now you know that if you @ (reply or mention) a bunch of people directly, that your followers won’t see all those @s unless they’re following the person you’re talking to. So you don’t have to worry about spamming all of your followers so much!

      Reply
  7. Candida

    Awesome tips! I have just recently started really making an effort to use twitter – I had my account for a few months before I even tweeted anything. But it is a super fun way to connect once you get the hang. šŸ™‚
    Definitely going to start tweeting to 3 new people a day.

    Thanks again,
    Candida

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Thanks Candida! Tweeting 3 new people is an easy and fun way to challenge yourself to talk to someone you’ve never talked to before. Could lead to a great new friendship – it has for me, time and time again!

      Reply
    • Jennine Jacob

      Lurking is a great way to get the hang of how things work… what resonates with you, etc… but then, so is jumping right in!

      Reply
  8. Monique

    omg I have been putting off reconnecting to my twitter account all week just cause I don’t know where to start! Perfect timing, thanks!

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Thank you for reading, Monique! Happy tweeting. Come find me! @JessEstrada

      Reply
  9. Terra

    these are great! I think i’m going to try to tweet to new people everyday, sounds like a fun challenge.
    xx

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Have fun! It really is a great and easy way to challenge yourself. You never know who you’ll meet!

      Reply
  10. Miss Sara

    I clicked on this post really hoping for some NEW form of info. What “tips” do you have for those of us whom have been on Twitter for YEARS?

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Hey Miss Sara! Thanks for reading. Perhaps this article can serve as a reminder or refresher for you in ways to expand your Twitter network. Maybe you’ve been talking to the same few people and can challenge yourself to tweet 3 new people tomorrow. Or maybe there’s a tweet chat you’ve been thinking of joining sometime but have never made the time to. In either case, I’ve got plenty more tips for Twitter and other social media sites where that came from, so if this is common knowledge for you already, I hope you’ll stay tuned. Thanks again!

      Reply
    • Jennine Jacob

      Well, you could start with making your twitter presence known… I really tried to find your twitter account on your blog, and I couldn’t locate it. Sorry!

      Reply
  11. Jess Estrada

    Preach on! Slow and steady wins the race (of authentic, genuine followings!)

    Reply
  12. Jennine Jacob

    You’re absolutely right! Which is why it’s important to build your social media through engagement and building community. Otherwise, why not just buy followers? The numbers don’t mean anything if they’re not engaged.

    Reply
  13. Daniel Dunt

    This is really helpful! I’ve recently started photographing some of my outfits and I mentioned the brands in my tweets. Just hours later I got a message from one of them, asking if I’d be interested in a collaboration. Twitter does wonders for your blog!

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      That is AWESOME, Daniel. Congrats!!! Thank you for reading šŸ™‚

      Reply
  14. Eric

    This is a terrific post. Thank you for including our Twitter chat list in your post as well.

    Best of success,

    Eric Bryant, CMO
    Gnosis Media Group

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Thanks for having such a great resource out there Eric!

      Reply
  15. The Science of Happy

    Definitely! I noticed that a lot of people unfollow me after a while. I’m not sure what their intentions were but if they don’t make the effort to speak to me, how will I know they exist?

    For those interested, my MAC giveaway is still going on!

    http://thescienceofhappy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/mac-prize-release-birthday-giveaway.html

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Sometimes it’s nice to reach out to people and thank them for following. That helps break the ice. I don’t do it very often, but I try! And sometimes people just unfollow for whatever reason. It’s important not to focus so much on them, but on the ones who do follow you!

      Reply
  16. Adela

    Great tips! I especially wanna try the tweet 3 new people every day. Love a good challenge šŸ˜‰
    Adela x

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Exactly – it’s a fun challenge too šŸ™‚ Thanks for reading, Adela!

      Reply
  17. Ma'ria

    Thanx, I really needed that!

    Xo, Ma’ria from- dreamoutloudgirls.blogspot.com

    Reply
  18. Donald

    I love using Twitter. It’s such a fun way to interact with others that have similar interests, hey it’s even fun connecting with people that don’t same interests at all haha. I think the bio is the most important part. It’s the first thing I look at when I’m about to follow a person, and completely leaving the bio blank is a huge no no.

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Twitter is definitely my favorite social media network. The bio is so crucial! Thanks for reading, Donald.

      Reply
  19. Sabrina

    Love these tips! I’ll implement them starting today! Lets make the month of May the month of followers!

    Don’t forget retweeting a cool brand shoutout- it builds your credibility!

    X0x -S Simply Sabrina

    Reply
  20. Sarah Marie

    I didn’t quite follow the “.@” twitter part.. could you clarify.? Thanks xo

    http://www.internationalfashionblogs.com

    Sarah Stile

    Ps. if anyone answered this from above (didn’t have the time to search and see if it was answered or not yet).

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Sure! If you’re -starting- a tweet with a username, only the people following both you and that user will see that tweet. If you put a period before their name, all of your followers will see it. i.e.

      (Only people following you and me will see this):
      @JessEstrada has some great tips in this @_IFB article!

      (All of your followers will see this):
      .@JessEstrada has some great tips in this @_IFB article!

      So if you want all of your followers to see a tweet, make sure it doesn’t start with a username.

      This only applies if there’s a username at the BEGINNING of a tweet. Notice there isn’t a period in front of @_IFB in either tweet.

      Hope this makes sense!

      Thanks for reading,
      Jess

      Reply
  21. Style Board

    Twitter lists is also a great way to attract new followers. You can build an audience if you show that you are a authoritative figure in your industry. Twitter lists is a great way of doing this.

    Stay in your niche. Don’t constantly tweet about subjects outside of your targeted niche.

    Stick to the 80/20 rule. Tweet 80% of other peoples content and 20% of your own. You don’t want to be labeled as a spammer. Nobody wants to follow a spammer.

    ReTweet other authoritative figures in your niche. This will help build your friends followers, in turn you might get followed back.

    Hope I was helpful.
    https://twitter.com/TheRealJAG

    Reply
  22. Hayley

    Best Twitter advice. The . before the @ – it’s so true to be selective as to having a one on one convo and one that reaches everyones feed.

    I never thought about the ‘tweet new people daily’ challenge before. Maybe I’ll try this on a smaller scale. 3 a week…

    Thanks Jess!

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Thanks Hayley! I’m glad you liked these tips. Happy tweeting!

      Reply
  23. Gabrielle Pedriani

    Great poasty roasty

    that .@ thing is INGENIOUS.

    Thank you for allowing me to name drop on the reg.
    Need to find out a way to retweet a reply without the “RT” strategy

    Got to prove the celebs know who I am šŸ˜‰ !

    Thanks for the great advice

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Thanks Gabrielle! Sometimes the “Quote & Tweet” option helps so you can add some context, or even a thank you to the celeb (or whoever) is mentioning you in something you want to RT. Or you can save all of those tweets as favorites. Since Favorites are public, people who are looking to find out more about you will see them when they look there.

      Happy tweeting!

      Reply
  24. Tiffany

    This is an AWESOME post!!! I really need to get busy with building my following on Twitter. Thanks Jess!!

    Reply
  25. Petya

    This is a great post, thanks for sharing these advices! That daily challenge you gave to yourself is genious. I think I’m going to try it.

    Reply
  26. Gull

    love the post, and though I believe I have tried most of the things on and off, I will try to be more religious about it. hope I can make more friends through twitter!!

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Thanks Gull! Sometimes we get in the same routine and talk to the same people or look for the same things to RT. These tips are awesome for reinvigorating your Twitter stream. Happy tweeting!

      Reply
  27. Pooja

    Great tips
    using twitter tools also help in great way but the looks more like spammy
    Good one cheers

    Reply
    • Jess Estrada

      Thanks Pooja. Yeah, I don’t recommend using Twitter auto-follow tools or paying for followers. Always looks spammy, and they are never quality followers.

      Reply
  28. Bohmyi

    Thank you so much for the tips, lovely! I’ve been trying to grow my Twitter profile along with my blog and as I only started up my Twitter page pretty recently, this couldn’t have come at a better time! x

    Reply
  29. Lauren Applebaum

    Thank you for the great suggestions! I will definitely be implementing a number of them ASAP. In particular, tweeting to three new people is a great idea to instantaneously increase my following. Also, a big thank you for uncovering the .@ mystery for meā€¦I have been wondering what that was all about for quite some time!
    A few additional tips for generating followers include: tweeting regularly, tweeting relevant information that contains substance to be re-tweeted, and fact-checking mentions (what seems like the appropriate handle isnā€™t always the right one). Also, abiding by the unwritten Twitter commandments, such as accurately crediting tweets with RT and MT goes a long way.

    Reply
  30. dacy

    love the tips and will follow you on twitter to watch in action!

    Reply
  31. MuffinCannibal

    Wow, those tips are amazing! I must activate my twitter account to try them hehe šŸ™‚

    Reply
  32. Elena

    Great tips, thank you very much for sharing! I started using Twitter a long time ago but it doesn’t bring traffic to my blog at all, I hope your methods will help me!!!!
    http://dcinstyle.com/

    Reply
  33. Jacqueline

    This was a great read…I’ve been building my following by just being consistent in tweeting, but have not really “engaged” more personally. I’m going to try the 3 people per day tip and also use # more. I make handcrafted jewelry and have a Facebook page and blog that is jewelry and fashion related, so I can start mentioning brands. Great ideas and very encouraging!

    Reply
  34. Ariana

    Great tips!! I am not a pro a Twitter (yet) but when I first started nearly a year ago I had no idea how to use Twitter to benefit my blog (still learning actually). One day I only had about 50 followers and within a few months I had 600+! I’ve done some of what you stated above but some of the ideas are new to me and I will try. I would love to know some tips for increasing Facebook followers/likes.

    Ariana

    Reply
  35. Elaine C

    Gotta try tweeting 3 new people each day. Just recently started using Twitter more since it’s just so easy for on the go updates and what not. Thanks again for the tips IFB!

    Reply
  36. Marija

    Brilliant article! I agree with all the tips, and I think that most important thing is to constantly interact and respond, be yourself and people will appreciate it. I’m managing also my company’s Twitter account, and the same concept can be applied: show the individual talents through the social media!
    Keep up the great work Jess.

    Cheers!

    Reply
  37. Emily

    These are fantastic tips – easy and straightforward and definitely applicable to all types of tweeters (not just fashion blogging)- this is my third time to this page – it’s becoming one of my go-to references as I begin to play the twitter game! šŸ™‚
    Thanks so much!

    Reply
  38. lizzy

    Nice one! Ddnt kne bout the ‘@ trick’….I won’t mind getting new followers from y’all tho..lol ff @elliot_lizzy ….I follow baq instantly:*

    Reply
  40. Ash @ madlemmings

    Always great to read some more tips on getting twitter followers. There are just so many ways to get your name out there, increase your followers and meet new people. It’s a rockin platform indeed. I have also been focusing on this a lot lately and even did a fun, visual slide share – feel free to take a look. It’s an easy read
    http://madlemmings.com/2013/08/19/get-twitter-followers-like-a-rockstar/

    Reply
  41. Chris

    I’ve gotten the best results growing my Twitter following by doing the following things:

    1. Scheduling quality posts (I use Buffer) throughout the day at opportune times when my followers are mostly likely to be online (Followerwonk can tell you this)

    2. Using a BuzzFork to get my profile more topic-specific impressions and visibility within Twitter

    3. Generally being really conversational with people and using lots of @mentions to comment on other people’s tweets.

    Those three strategies together trippled my follower growth rate on Twitter.

    Reply
  42. David

    Also, I think a witty bio will garner you more followers. I found some great twitter bio suggestions at http://goo.gl/pFplXB

    Reply
  45. el

    These are great tips! I just started a blog and Twitter in the past 2 weeks and trying to get it going. I have a whopping 13 twitter followers now. ha!

    Reply
  47. Jimmy Conver

    few days ago i read an interesting article on http://goo.gl/sV1IjV – i’m trying these tips and they really works

    Reply
  48. Matt

    Really helpful tips and reminders. I just started a new Twitter account for my personal portfolio site – you helped me get my first 10 followers over the weekend. Ready to implement more of your suggestions…

    Reply
  49. Emily

    Thanks for the helpful tips. The easiest way to get more followers for me is buying twitter followers from qoqosh.com.

    Reply
  50. Felix

    Great post Jess. There’s another method you can use to get more followers though. You can buy ads other established business in your niche. A good way to find such opportunities is www.adsable.com

    Reply
  51. melissa

    Wow amazing! Well written article. You can only learn from mistakes after you admit you’ve made it. Whatever it’s about any single stage of life or be a part of your professional life system. Mistakes teach you a moral-able lesson.

    Reply
  52. melissa parker

    Well written post. I read your post. I really appreciate your writing skills. Keep it up.

    Reply
  56. Olive

    Thanks for these tips I’m struggling for last many days to increase no of followers on my twitter account https://twitter.com/Jewelslaneshop but not able to do much now I’m gonna follow these tips & I hope it will work.

    Reply
  57. BuyGooglePluses.com

    These tips WILL definitely work. Another good strategy is to follow the Twitter users who follow bloggers whose blogs are most like yours.

    Reply
  58. Alan Ross

    We supply twitter followers for users around the globe, from a few thousand to very large numbers. If you want twitter followers that are real and last forever, choose us.
    Build your twitter follwing. 100% secure, guaranteed and easy payment via paypal.

    Reply
  59. stacey meyer

    Yes great tips but leave me one more thing to this; after getting back follow a list of person who always follow back, so you can share this list with your fellow men and you can track them again if you accidentally unfollows would make them

    Reply
  60. Anjali

    Thanks for writing this great article! It is really informative and you have added great links this article. I just want to say we would like to have more article from you as I like to read on twitter and the amazing facts related to it.

    Reply
  61. Gloria Clifford

    The credit for my successful Twitter account goes to WizUgo com. I used to spend a lot of time on Twitter and still, I was not able to get a decent amount of followers. For the first time, I used Wizugo for my Twitter account automation, and it became the savior of my sinking account. Within a few weeks, I got a lot of active followers that like and comment on my pictures and videos that I tweet.

    Reply
  62. Abhishek Dharmik

    Thanks for sharing these valuable points online. I’m a blogger and I know the importance of social media networking platforms. One should never overlook the power of social media. With the help of above tips hope I’ll be able to reach out new people and get more readers for my blog. Loved the way you have included all essential tips in the above content. Expecting more such quality posts in the future… šŸ™‚

    Reply