Twitter which started as a micro blogging site has undergone a lot of transformation’s, crossed all the barriers and become one of the top websites in the world. For bloggers twitter will help to improve the quality of your blog, drive more traffic, help in networking with fellow bloggers and will widen the readership. While speaking about twitter most people are worried about the number of followers. Of course numbers are important, but we must be concerned more about the quality of the followers.

You can get thousands of followers using automated software’s. But the majority of those followers are spammers who follow you expecting a follow back. They will not see your tweets, respond to your messages and more importantly will not bring you any good. In fact 10 targeted followers are more valuable than 1000 untargeted ones. Getting targeted followers will take time but it is well worth the time you invested in building it. In this post I will share 10 sure fire ways to get more targeted, real human followers.

1. Tweet like a human, not a machine

There are a lot of software’s available which automate your tweeting process. They just tweet your links again and again and makes people think that you are a spammer. Automation is not a bad thing, but you have to be careful on that. Don’t let your tweeting activities completely on autopilot. Many people will get irritated when they see someone tweet his blog links again and again. So make sure you tweet like a human, not a machine.

2. Always make sure that your tweets are useful to your followers

People follow you because they hope that they can learn something from your tweets. You need to provide your followers with value. Personal tweets can be fun but you should try to minimize it (unless you are a celebrity). Your tweets must provide your followers something useful, otherwise they won’t follow you for long. Make it a point to inspire, educate and help people on Twitter. Also don’t tweet just for the sake of tweeting. If you have nothing to say, don’t.

3. Engage in conversations

After all twitter is a social networking site. It is meant for connecting people from different parts of the globe, different niches, different ages etc. If you come off as a friendly individual who chit-chat once in a while with followers, the more people will feel like you’re a welcoming person to follow. Every time you reply to someone and have they replied to you your Twitter ID appears in the feeds of others which expose you to potentially thousands upon thousands of other Twitter users. Don’t forget to look into your inbox and reply to the messages.

4. Don’t over tweet

Staying active on twitter is good but make sure you don’t over tweet. I have seen many people tweeting their links every 5 minutes (automatic tools handle this). This is like someone talking too much and not giving listeners the time to respond. Make sure there is enough time for the follower’s reactions.

5. Stay on point

Your tweets should stay in your field, where your expertise can be of value to others. If you are a technology expert then your tweets are more likely to be in that field. Naturally your followers will also be technology enthusiasts and would be interested in your technology tweets rather than movie gossips. If you do too many tweets out of topic then your followers will get distracted and may unfollow you.

6. Fill your bio

Make sure your profile bio is compelling and interesting. The people want to know whom they are listening to, isn’t it? Try to use your real profile photo, not your company logo or avatar. This will help people to realize that you are a real person, not a spammer. This will help your followers have more trust in you.

7. Design your twitter page

Still using default twitter background and default icon? Then it is the time to change the look and feel. If the people have to notice you then you need to stand out from the crowd. If you have enough money consider getting a custom background designed. At least change the default background and move to a simple and good looking background which is available for free.

8. Use #hashtags whenever possible

The #hashtags makes it easy for the twitter users to search for a common subject. Quality content coupled with suitable# hashtags will definitely bring you new followers. Look for the hot trending #hash topics on twitter and jump into conversation. It can be helpful to do a little research first, to find out if the subject you’re tweeting already has an established hashtag.

9. Learn from others

There are already many people out there on twitter with thousands of followers. Have a look on their account. How their profile is designed? What is their tweeting style? How do they respond to the questions? How do they engage in conversations? You don’t need to blindly imitate their methods. But you will definitely get some useful tips.

10. Bring your twitter profile to offline

Bring your twitter account to the real world. Every time when you do a talk, participating in the panel discussions, meetings figure out a way to show your twitter account. You can add your twitter URL in your business cards and letter pads. What about getting a custom designed T-shirts with the words “Follow me @YourUserName” printed on it 😉

These are some surefire ways which will bring you more twitter followers. Unlike automated ways this will take time and engagement from your part. But the end results will be definitely worth your time and effort.

Do you have any other methods? Please share your comments.

Rojish Roy

Typical geek, night owl, gadget freak, budding entrepreneur, WordPress & Ruby enthusiast.