12 Ways to Get More Twitter Followers

I rarely meet a Twitter user who doesn’t want more followers. A few argue that the numbers aren’t important. They are only concerned with “quality followers.” I’m not sure it is either/or, but I notice that most of the people making this argument have very few followers.

Businessman Illustrating How to Get More Followers - Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/matspersson0, Image #17932026

Why would you want more followers? Three reasons:

  1. More followers provide social authority. Like any other ranking system, the higher your follower count, the more people assume you are an expert—or at least someone interesting. It may not be valid, but it’s the way it works in a world where there is a ranked list for everything.

Social Media Tools That Will Save You Time

If you are serious about building a platform, you must be actively engaged in social media. Whether it is Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+—or all four—you need to develop a tribe of loyal followers and super fans who want to hear what you have to say.

HootSuite Dashboard

But who has the time? Social media can become a full-time job if you are not careful! And this leaves little time for doing your real job, whether it is writing, composing, programming, or doing something else.

The Beginner’s Guide to Twitter

I originally wrote this post in May 2008. I have learned a lot since then. Twitter has also changed since then. I have updated this post to reflect both.

This post is a 20-minute guide to Twitter for non-techies. If you don’t know what Twitter is, start with my first post on the topic, Twitter-dee, Twitter-dum. If you still aren’t convinced it’s worth your time, then read my 12 Reasons to Start Twittering.

A Finger About to Click on the iPhone Twitter App - Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/ymgerman, Image #17221776

Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/ymgerman

Over the last few years, I have helped several friends and a few family members get setup on Twitter. I found myself explaining the basics over and over again, so I decided to write a simple, step-by-step guide.

How to Use Twitter to Promote Your New Book (or Other Product)

Twitter can be a fantastic tool for promoting your book. But I see very, very few authors and publishers doing this well. They post some random tweets with no singular call to action and then wonder why their return on investment was so low.

Twitter promotion example

Instead, Twitter can be a key marketing tool for driving sales and the bestseller lists. I have participated in both. BUT this only works if you take Twitter into account early enough in the product design and marketing process.

How I Unfollowed 108,698 People on Twitter and Reclaimed My Inbox

Last weekend, I determined that my Twitter direct message inbox was unmanageable. I was inundated with spam and requests from people I didn’t know. As a result, I decided to declare Twitter bankruptcy, unfollow everyone, and start over. I wrote about it earlier this week.

A Tale of Two Inboxes - Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/swilmor, Image #4729175

Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/swilmor

I had thought about doing this for months, but was nervous about the unintended consequences. However, after learning that Chris Brogan, Spence Smith, and Vicky Beeching had done the same thing and lived to tell about it, I decided to go for it.

Why I Stopped Following You on Twitter

Soon after I joined Twitter, I began auto-following everyone who followed me. I did it as a courtesy, so that it would make it easy for my followers to send me a private or direct message. I engaged in many one-on-one conversations that way, because I believed they were irrelevant to my other followers.

Unfollow Button

However, I have since changed my philosophy, choosing to reply publicly to most Twitter mentions. Why? Because the only people who see these replies are people who follow both me and the sender. In other words, only the people for whom the message might be relevant.

My Perspective on Publishing, Christianity, Social Media, and Being a Dad: An Interview

Turney Stevens is the dean of Lipscomb University’s College of Business in Nashville, Tennessee. Recently, he interviewed me on his program, “Conversations with the Dean.” We talked about the future of printed books, e-books, leadership, personal branding, and a few other topics.

More specifically, Dean Stevens asked me the following seventeen questions:

Why I Won’t Retweet You

I recognize that all that I have—including my platform—is a gift. I am a steward not an owner. As a result, I enjoy using what I have for the benefit of others. I want to be helpful and generous.

A Man Begging for a Retweet - Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/tap10, Image #13835308

Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/tap10

But, no, I won’t retweet you.

How to Setup a Vanity URL Shortener for HootSuite

This is a technical post for power users who want to setup a vanity URL shortener for HootSuite. Admittedly, it is off-topic for most of my readers. This is something I wanted to do, and it turned into a bigger project than I anticipated. So I thought I would document my experience and post it for posterity.Hopefully, it will save others some grief.

HootSuite’s Vanity URL Shorteners

As you may know, a URL shortener is a way to take long Web site addresses and shorten it to a fraction of its size. This makes it much easier to share links via Twitter and other social media services where you have a limited number of characters to work with.

How Social Media Saved a Movie

As you may know, Donald Miller is the author of the bestseller, Blue Like Jazz. A few years ago, he and a few friends decided they wanted to make a movie based on the book. (Don wrote about this process in his most recent book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.)

If you can’t see this video in your RSS reader or email, then click here.

They developed a great script, recruited a stellar cast, and then began the arduous process of raising the money to shoot the film. But soon after they started, the Great Recession hit. Investors got nervous, making the fund-raising process even more difficult than usual.

What Are They Saying About You Online?

Whether you like it or not, people are talking about you, your brand, or your organization online. Right now. Do you know what they are saying? Do you like what they are saying?

Two People with Megaphones Yelling from a Laptop - Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/YanC, Image #5946391

As I have outlined previously, one important component of a social media strategy is building an “outpost.” This is a sort of intelligence agency or “listening station” that allows you to monitor online conversations. Anytime someone says anything about my company—or me—online, I know within minutes.

A Solution for Consistent, Social Media Branding

So you’ve spent more time than you should designing and tweaking your blog. (Don’t ask me how I know this.) You’ve got it just like you want it. For now. But what about your Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube pages? Are you content to upload your photo and be done with it? Or do you want a more consistent brand image, one that ties it all together?

My Customized Twitter Background, Courtesy of TweetPages.com

A few weeks ago, I uploaded a new profile photo to Twitter. However, that didn’t change my profile background. It still included my old headshot and a design done a few years ago by Matt Clark at TweetPages.com. I decided to visit his page again, and see what his company had to offer. Boy, was I surprised.

How to Keep Your Blog Posts from Dying in Your Archives

I often hear authors complain about how “frontlist driven” the book publishing business has become. Frontlist is the term used to describe new book releases—those in the last twelve months or even the current season. In contrast, backlist is the term used to refer to books that are older than that—basically, anything that is not new.

Safe Deposit Boxes in a Vault - Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/dlewis33, Image #2718835

Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/dlewis33

While backlist sales account for 50–60 percent of all the books sold, they typically don’t get a lot of attention. The reading public and the book-selling industry tend to focus on what is “new and notable,” rather than what is “tried and true.”

Social Media and the New Culture of Sharing

This morning as I was running, I listened to Episode 99 of the Catalyst Podcast. It was an interview that Brad Lomenick did with Charlene Li, author of the new book, Open Leadership.

Two Twin Sisters Drinking from the Same Glass with Different Straws - Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/HultonArchive, Image #13312193

One thing in particular grabbed my attention. Brad asked her what has changed in the last two to three years in terms of social media. She said,

How Can Christian Leaders Get Started with Social Media?

Last April, I spoke at the Christian Leadership Alliance’s Annual Conference in San Diego, California. I spoke to the CEOs in attendance on the topic of “Social Media and Your Ministry.”

How Do Busy Leaders Find Time for Social Media?

On Wednesday, I made a presentation at Catalyst West on the subject of “Platform: What It Is, Why You Need It, and How to Build It.” When I finished, I opened my presentation for Q&A. Finally, after about 20 minutes of lively discussion, I indicated that we had time for one more question. Someone asked, “How does a busy CEO—someone like you—find time for social media?”

The 20-to-1 Rule

Sometimes when I speak with marketing executives about social media, they seem to get it. But they don’t. Not really. They falsely believe that Twitter and Facebook are like every other broadcast channel. They see it as an opportunity to blast their message out to thousands of followers—for free!—and sell them stuff.

A Social Media Framework

I find myself increasingly speaking on the topic of social media. I’m not a guru or an expert, by any means. I am just a practitioner who is learning through trial and error.

Zoecity.com: A New Way for Christian Leaders to Stay Up-to-Date

Many people admit to me that they are drowning in information. “How do you keep up?” they ask. “Between email, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and, and the constant stream of news, I am overwhelmed. I don’t know what is important and what is trivial.”

Do You Make These 8 Mistakes When You Twitter?

Twitter is a great tool for extending your influence. You can engage your “tribe” in real time, offering leadership and assistance in a way that would have been impossible just a couple of years ago.

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