How to Get More Twitter Followers Organically – Twitter for Business 101

Part 5 of 5 in a series of blog posts on how to use Twitter for business. This post covers easy ways to promote your Twitter handle and get more followers.

More often than not, the first question I hear about Twitter is “How do I get more followers?”

I have written other blog posts on how to virtually introduce yourself on Twitter, and essentially these ideas are based off of that idea.

Growing you Twitter following organically is easy, simply put your name out there in front of as many eyes as possible.

Here are some simple ways you can grow your Twitter following organically.

Promote Your Twitter @username EVERYWHERE

There are many ways to promote your Twitter @username online and offline. To get your name out there, put your Twitter handle on anything visible and tied to your brand. Some ideas might be:

There are many ways to promote your Twitter @username online and offline

Business cards
Signage/banners
Advertising
Delivery vehicles
Product packaging
Swag/giveaways
Storefronts
Email signatures
Your website/blog
Press Releases

Anywhere your customers interact with your brand is an opportunity to encourage them to follow you on Twitter.

Use Your Followers to Get More Followers

When your followers retweet your content — or when they tweet about you — they extend your reach to their followers. Some ways you can invoke retweets are:

Create tweets that encourage your followers to retweet. A simple method is to announce that you’ll offer a discount to everyone who retweets your offer, but only if you get a total number of retweets (like 10 or 25).
Offer your customers a reward if they mention your business — a discount, free trial, or extra service — whatever makes sense for your company.
If you have a store, ask people show you the Tweet on their phones at checkout. If you sell online, DM the follower with a discount code that you can track at checkout.

A great example I once saw was a tweet from a burrito truck in California that said something along the lines of “Say the word “Fiesta” at our truck today and receive a free side of chips & guac with a purchase of a burrito”.

Remember, the key principle here is that people are more likely to retweet an offer that provides value to themselves and/or their own followers.

Work With Others to Create or Join A Conversation

When the 2010 World Series was played in Arlington, Texas and San Francisco, California, it was no surprise that the baseball fans from both cities tweeted up a storm.

Surprisingly, so did each city’s major art museum.

San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art challenged Fort Worth’s Kimbell Art Museum to a tweet-off. Texas responded, mentioning both baseball teams and using hashtags that were a part of the larger sports conversation.