If you don’t already know, I have a column on iStrategy conference blog every Friday where I respond to questions about Twitter. One of the most frequent questions I get is “how do I get more followers”, which I did answer in the iStrategy blog, but I have decided to answer them in this blog post too. I got the idea to write this article because @BrennerMichael sent me a tweet with three questions inside this post when I asked if anyone had any questions regarding Twitter. Most of the questions Michael sent to me are questions which I have already answered before, so I thought I should write a compilation of questions for the benefit of everyone.
#1: How do I get more followers?
Without a doubt, this is the most frequently asked question on twitter. There are several methods which you can get more followers, they are
- Add value, engage, retweet others and FOLLOW others. There is no other way than to add value to your followers because you want them to continue to come back to your stream and know that you’re someone who has quality tweets. For them to notice you more, you will need to engage with them as well and catch their attention on Twitter. You can do that by retweeting them, responding to their tweets, or commenting on their blog to get their attention on twitter.
OR
- You could be like Charlie Sheen and drink tiger blood. #winning
#2. Where do you find the time to tweet?
I don’t spend a lot of time on twitter “sometimes” because I have to go to classes and sometimes classes can be from 8am to 4pm. Therefore most of the time when I am not around, I schedule my tweets ahead of me till I get back from classes. During breaks in between classes, I would check my Twitter account on my iPhone and reply to people. That would seem as though I am online most of the time while I am in and out of class orwhen lecturers are speaking…. Oops!
You can also respond when you’re in the bus, lining up in a queue, waiting for the train, etc. Usually it takes you a few minutes to respond to someone quickly. I also have a push notifications for my direct messages, so people who send me a DM usually get quicker responds compared to tweets.
#3. How do I get a Twitter star to RT me?”
Well, this is harder because when someone doesn’t know you they wouldn’t retweet you. However you could try to connect with them and introduce yourself so that they know who you are or you could see who those stars retweet that shares other people’s contents too and connect with them.
#4. Can I make money from twitter?
My personal answer to that question is YES! Indirectly and directly from Twitter, I was able to do so both ways because I was paid to get contents out before. The contents were in my niche, so I agreed to do it and they paid me a fee.
Most of my incomes come indirectly, from clients to small consultations through emails. In my personal opinion, freelancers are able to make money easier on Twitter in the short term.
I hope I have answered your questions too. So if you have any questions that you want answered, post them to me and I’ll answer them on Fridays.
Love your work Aaron 😉
Thanks buddy! appreciate you taking the time to read and comment 🙂
You’re welcome bro 😉
It’s funny because those are the same questions I get 24/7 too and you replied to them perfectly.
Good-O!!
Hi Aaron
Nice blog you have here and whau you have many followers on twitter. Now you have me following you to 🙂
Thanks Aaron, I get these same questions all the time and you nailed it with your answers! Twitter is just like life right? Add some value on topics you know something about, be nice and treat people the way you want to be treated. I tend to thank most RTs on twitter because I feel like good manners can never be wrong. Some disagree but for me, each piece of social equity is worth re-paying.
Wow, another amazing Twitter Resource Aaron, really love it. Especially the first one, since I asked you this before.
I learnt so much from your style of engaging and listening to what people are saying instead of trying to auto-follow or the like. It’s much appreciated.
Let me throw this swiftly in my Buffer 🙂
Aaron
Insightful post about using Twitter smartly.
While I agree with the things you say I wanted to share a few of my experiences. I believe that if you tweet for corporate purposes like I do, things are a bit different such as:
– how you tweet,
– why you tweet,
– tweeting tools you need
– ropes to skip, etc.
Using Twitter for your company – ropes to skip – checklists
I must also admit that when I wait for the bus I am usually not alone so I prefer talking to the people that are waiting with me or I read a newspaper. Of course, I am probably a bit old-fashioned 🙂
Aaron, I hope you would agree with me that interacting with your followers is not scaleable (just look at your Twitter numbers) but I admire how well you manage on your blog (i.e. replying to commenters). I am impressed.
Thanks for sharing.
Great post Aaron. Thanks for sharing 🙂