Many businesses simply wait for Twitter followers. They Tweet and Retweet regularly, and over a long period of time they eventually gain enough followers to make it all worth it.
But there is a better way. A strategy to pro-actively build a great following, which will get you more engagement, and potentially more exposure and leads in a much shorter period of time.
No – we’re not talking about buying followers, or paying an overseas company to artificially inflate your followers. We strongly advise against these tactics.
The following tactics, while they may seem simple, can be a powerful way to create a substantial Twitter following, which can lead to greater brand exposure and increased sales.
1) Follow + Follow-Back and the 50% rule.
This is the most important piece to know about building your Twitter followers, and it will come into play in each strategy listed in this post.
On Twitter, you can follow anyone you want. Over the years, it’s been statistically determined that about 50% of the profiles you follow, will follow you back.
So follow anyone and everyone you have some form of interest in. Individuals, company profiles… local, national… whatever makes sense to you. But the more you follow, the larger follower-group you will get back. Not to mention, everyone you followed will get exposed to your brand, making it a win-win tactic.
Note: We recommend you go back through your follow list every couple of months, and unfollow people who did not follow you back (unless you want to follow them regardless). It weakens your profile over time if, for example, you are following 1,200 people but only have 50 followers.
2) Ride on Your Competitors Back
Locate your competitors on Twitter. This shouldn’t be too hard. You can either search for them on Twitter, or visit their website and follow their Twitter link. Once on Twitter, click on their Followers link to see everyone who follows them.
Now we fall back to the 50% rule… Start following as many of their followers as you want, and approx. 50% of them are likely to follow you back.
This may seem like a silly “game”. But remember that everyone you follow also gets exposed to your brand. They’ll see you in their follower list, and are likely to check out your brand further. Had you not followed them, maybe they wouldn’t even know you existed.
3) Use the Advanced Search Function on Twitter
You can simply follow everyone and hope for the best. But the more targeted the people are who you follow, the more likely they will be to follow you back. Therefore, if you’re a bit more selective about who you follow, you may bet more like 60% – 70% to follow you back. Using Twitter’s Advanced Search tool is a great way to better target your followers.
The Advanced Search tool in Twitter allows you to look for targeted Twitter users. You can search using keywords, places, or people, with numerous different filters and options.
You can also use local search or the ‘Near This Place’ option to target profiles who are close to you, or any other place or business.
You’ll follow the same 50% principle as noted in the strategies above, by following people and seeing how many follow you back. The difference here, is that you’re able to get as targeted as you’d like, by following only the people you feel would be interested in your product or service.
If you have any questions about using Twitter for marketing, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. For more great marketing tips, check out 6 Easy Ways to Get Your Screen Printing Business Seen Online and Building a Targeted Facebook Audience.
Thrive Business Marketing has launched its Beta version of Thrive Social Server just for screen printers. You can find it at www.screenprinting.social. We’re working on a few enhancements – but we invite you to give it a shot… completely free – and let us know how useful it is for your business.
Scott Orth
Scott Orth is the founder of Thrive Business Marketing in Portland Oregon, with 19 years’ experience in building Internet Marketing success for small businesses. Thrive and Ryonet have joined forces to help screen printers make their presence known, and grow their businesses, through online marketing strategies. We have numerous website and online marketing programs in the works and will become available to screen printers throughout 2018.
Scott can be reached directly for consult or general inquiries at the following:
Email: Scotto@thrivesearch.com
Phone (Direct): 503-783-8473
Web: www.thrivesearch.com/screenprinting
Facebook: /ThriveSearch
Twitter: @ThriveSearch