17 Research Sources Validating 11 Twitter Best Practices to Grow Followers

Photo Credit: Matt From London

Earning Twitter followers for new users can be challenging. Are there best practices for organically increasing Twitter followers? Yes!

A quick Google search for “best practices for increasing twitter followers” generates 28,300,000 search engine results pages (SERPs):

28 million-plus! No wonder new users find building a following daunting. Who has time to rifle through SERPs totaling more than the individual populations of Peru or Afghanistan?

Here are 11 important Twitter best practices to increase followers. 17 research articles validate these best practices. I hope this post saves new users precious time (and frustration).

I. Twitter Accounts with Headshots, Background Images, and Full Biographical Information Earn 5x More Followers

Fill out your Twitter profile completely. People won’t follow eggs (or take those profiles seriously).

Source 1: Dan Zarella — [Infographic] 5 Scientifically Proven Ways to Get More Followers

Source 2: AdWeek.com — Why You Won’t Be Taken Seriously If You’re Still Using The Default Egg Avatar On Twitter

Source: Dan Zarella — 5 Scientifically Proven Ways to Get More Followers

II. Retweetable Tweets Are 100 to 120 Characters Long

Tweet short. 70 characters is killer. Make your tweets easy to share. You’ll earn more RTs (and followers).

Source 3: Fast Company: THE PROVEN IDEAL LENGTH OF EVERY TWEET, FACEBOOK POST, AND HEADLINE ONLINE

Source: Fast Company: THE PROVEN IDEAL LENGTH OF EVERY TWEET, FACEBOOK POST, AND HEADLINE ONLINE

III. Accounts Who Tweet Lots of Links Earn More Followers

Posting lots of helpful links earns more followers. Positive correlations exist between high follower counts and high link sharing.

Source 4: Dan Zarella: New Data — Tweet Lots of Links to Get Followers

 Source: Dan Zarella: New Data — Tweet Lots of Links to Get Followers

IV. Accounts Posting Lots of Tweets Acquire More Followers

Tweet a minimum of 3 to 5 times daily. Your followers probably didn’t see your first tweet. “Second-chance tweets” help you reach 30% of your Twitter audience.

Source 5: Buffer — The Social Media Frequency Guide — How Often to Post to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn And More

Source 6: Search Engine Land: Why “Second Chance” Tweets Matter: After 3 Hours, Few Care About Socially Shared Links

Source 7: Marketing Land: Just Like Facebook, Twitter’s New Impression Stats Suggest Few Followers See What’s Tweeted

Source: Buffer — The Social Media Frequency Guide — How Often to Post to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn And More

V. The Best Days and Times to Tweet are Thursdays Through Sundays at Either 8 AM or 5 PM US Eastern Standard Time

Research shows higher engagement later in the week (especially on weekends). Click Through Rate CTRs) and retweets (RTs) are higher.

Source 8: Kiss Metrics — The Science of Social Timing, Part 1 — Social Network

Source 9: Buffer — A Scientific Guide to Posting Tweets, Facebook Posts, Emails, and Blog Posts at the Best Time

Source: Buffer — A Scientific Guide to Posting Tweets, Facebook Posts, Emails, and Blog Posts at the Best Time

VI. Mentioning Another Twitter User in the “.@twittername” Format Shares Your Tweet with More People

Think of the “.@twittername” as an “Email Reply All.” It makes all the difference in gaining new followers (for you and the account you mentioned). Not including the “. (period)” shares your tweet with a smaller subset of his followers and yours.

Source 10: Twitter: The Basics — What are replies and mentions?

VII. Mentioning a Journalist’s or Blogger’s Twitter Handle Shows You Go The Extra Mile

Many Twitter sharing widgets automate only the article / blog post title. Go the extra mile by tracking down and mentioning the author’s Twitter handle in your tweet.

The Internet rewards intentional and consistent acts of kindness in the long term.

Source 11: 7 Ways I Accidentally Got More Twitter Followers (and 7 Ways You Can on Purpose)

VIII.  Tweets Taking Advantage of One to Two Hashtags (#) Achieve 21% Higher Engagement

Hashtags create strategic opportunities for non-follower discovery. They differentiate your tweets from the herd. Hashtags increase the chances of another account noticing and taking action on your tweet.

That action could be “a follow.”

Source 12: Buffer — 10 Surprising New Twitter Stats to Help You Reach More Followers

Source 13: CoSchedule: Best Practices Guide For Making Sure Your Posts Look Good on Social Media

Source: Buffer — 10 Surprising New Twitter Stats to Help You Reach More Followers

IX. Tweets with Images Earn 150% More Retweets (RTs) and 89% More Favorites

Review these charts from Buffer’s research. Images are everything.

Source 14: Buffer — How Twitter’s Expanded Images Increase Clicks, Retweets and Favorites

X. Personalized #FF / #FollowFriday Tweets Build Relationships

Most #FF / #FollowFriday tweets cram as many Twitter handles as possible into one tweet. It’s great this person wants to introduce seven new people to her/his following:

The Problem. What’s the reason for following these accounts?

The Solution. Personalize your #FF tweets with specific recommendations.

The Result. You may make someone smile.

Source 15: Ask Aaron Lee: How To Do Proper Follow Friday on Twitter
Source 16: Search Engine Journal: How to Get Twitter Followers

XI. Promoting Your Twitter Profile Within Key Online and Offline Assets Integrates Your Personal Brand

Link your Twitter profile with important online assets: your social networks (i.e., LinkedIn and Facebook), blog, website, and email signature. Include your Twitter profile on key offline marketing collateral (e.g., business cards, company letterhead, etc.).

Integrate your personal brand assets.

Source 17: Search Engine Journal — How to Get Twitter Followers


Photo Credit: Danny Sullivan

 

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