Trying to build up your twitter following from scratch can be a daunting task. If you’ve ever been tasked with doing this you know exactly what I mean. Where to begin?
The default “egg” in the profile image box seems to mock you, daring you to build a community from scratch. Realistically, doing this is a gradual build, unless you use the strategy known around the internet as Growth Hacking.
A buzzword in the marketing industry lately, “growth hacking” is a marketing technique developed by technology startups which uses creativity, analytical thinking, and social metrics to sell products and gain exposure. It’s all about trying many different things, figuring out what works and what doesn’t and then removing what doesn’t and amplifying what does.
This strategy of gaining exposure can be applied to many facets of inbound marketing, especially Social Media. In this blog I’ll speak about how growth hacking can grow your Twitter community into a well oiled machine!
Use Twitter Lists
When twitter first began I was a bit skeptical of lists. Recently, I’ve become a convert. As you’ve probably experienced, the more people you follow the more clutter there seems to be on your feed. It’s difficult to find the nuggets of wisdom in the mess of spammy links and robots.
To cut through the clutter and have true engagement you must create lists based on the types of accounts you follow.
Some great ways to segment lists effectively:
- List Influencers
- List News Makers
- List People Who Retweet You
- List Your Co-workers
- List Your Competitors
Follow your Competitors' Followers
This growth hack trick is one of my favorites. It’s pretty simple to search for Twitter users who are talking about your competitors. It’s even easier to follow them in the hopes that they return the favor.
But let’s take this strategy a bit further.
Begin tracking and responding to tweets about your competition. Dig through these results and find any user who may be upset or who have unanswered questions. This will result in your company winning over the customers in the long run.
You can also take a peek at the lists your competitors have created. Often times they are public and can be accessed easily, sorted through and evaluated to determine whether they are accounts worth following.
Integrate Twitter Into Your Landing Page
If you’re gathering information on your landing pages (and you should be), why not ask what their Twitter username is? They already know who you are and Twitter can be a great second touch point. Following and engaging with your leads is a great way to have a more focused, sales drive approach to social media.
Don’t forget that the easiest way to develop a great Twitter community is to share remarkable content, provide exceptional customer service and speak with a tone of authenticity.
Which Twitter growth hack tricks have worked for you?
