4 Easy Tips to Grow Your Twitter Following by guest @K8Tilton

By Kate Tilton | Blog

Feb 06

Twitter

Today we have a guest post from my author assistant Kate Tilton! This is Kate’s second time on the blog. I’m sure some of you remember her from her author assistant post (and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should check it out here.) Please give a warm welcome to Kate with her article about four easy tips for Twitter. If you have any questions check out Twitter’s excellent help section or ask me or Kate! We are always glad to help.

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Much like the fabulous Rachel Thompson, Twitter is my absolute favorite social media platform. As a reader, I find I connect with more readers and authors on Twitter than on any other platform (and I’ve tried quite a few of them).

So after all this time on Twitter, here are four easy tips you can use today to grow your engagement and following on Twitter.

1) Post more than just links!
So many times I see Twitter users fall for this trap. Posting links to interesting content is great, don’t get me wrong. It is easy and provides lots of value…but it isn’t what Twitter was built for. Twitter is a social media platform. Social. Twitter is meant for connection and no one wants to connect with someone who only shares the same content over and over again.

So break out of the rut! Here are some content ideas to get you started today.

  • Share pictures. For example, as a reader I might share a picture of my current read and ask “What are you reading?”
  • Questions. my absolute favorite kind on content. Questions puts the ball in the court of the viewer. It brings them into the conversation unlike anything else.
  • Quotes. quotes are almost as easy as links to share. Just find a quote that resonates with you and your brand and click that share button! As a reader I share many book quotes from my current reads and books I’ve found on Goodreads.
  • Facts. INTERESTING facts. If you can find facts that you know your audience will be interested in, share them! For me this tends to be bookish facts. Did you know one out of every eight letters you read is the letter ‘e’?
  • Tips. If you have a tip that makes your life easier, chances are it will help someone else out too. So be a pal and share it!
  • What’s going on in your life. And no this doesn’t mean you should tell me what you’ve had for dinner ten nights in a row, but if you just checked out that super fancy restaurant everyone is talking about, yeah, you can share that.

2) Follow others.
Are you an author looking to connect with readers? Then follow readers! How does this help? Well, it starts an interaction with someone new. I know, I know. You are skeptical. You are unsure how if you follow more than 50 people you will ever be able to keep up. I know. I was in your boat once. I used to very, very carefully select users to follow but one day my friend, Aaron Wood, told me “why not use Twitter lists?” I gave him my excuse “Well my Blackberry doesn’t pull up lists easily..” and I tried it for the first time and realized Aaron was right, I was making up excuses. Even on my evil Blackberry, Twitter lists only took two more clicks to get to then the main feed.

So since then? I follow people who engage with me (like, retweet, mention) and people I find interesting. And since, then my numbers have skyrocketed (well comparatively anyway).

So why does this following thing work? It starts that interaction. As I’m browsing my notifications on my phone, I see a new name pop up because they followed me. It’s like getting your foot in the door. And, if you want to take it a step further, try also responding to one of their tweets. With this double hitter you’ll be seeing your numbers grow.

3) Join Twitter chats.
k8chat-logoWhat are Twitter chats? Here is a good post with the breakdown. I’m not going to get into much detail here because that fabulous post lists out everything for you from the whys to the hows to the wheres. Trust me, you’ll want to check it out.

4) Engage in conversation.
As I mentioned in tips #1-#3, engagement is key to growing your following. Do not be afraid to respond to someone’s question on Twitter. To ask users questions about the tips they share. To reach out to someone you admire and say hello.

I promise you, you will have more fun, and see the benefits of Twitter the more engaged you are. Just think, if you are creating a ripple in the pond, it will spread!

Join in! How do you build your engagement on Twitter?

About Kate Tilton:

Kate TiltonKate Tilton has been in love with books for as long as she can remember. Kate believes books saved her life and strives to repay authors for bringing books into the world by serving as a dependable author assistant. A cat-lover and fan of many geeky things, Kate can likely be found curled up with the latest Doctor Who episode, plotting world takeover, or assisting authors and readers in any way she can. Kate is also a self-proclaimed Twitter addict. You will find her hosting #K8chat, her own creation, every Thursday night on Twitter from 9-10pm Eastern.

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“My goal for the longest time has been to help authors. Make their life better because they make my life better. You are my rockstars.”

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About the Author

Kate Tilton has been serving authors since 2010. Founder of Kate Tilton’s Author Services, LLC, Kate works as an author assistant, social media manager, and speaker with the mission of connecting authors and readers. Kate is the creator and host of #K8chat (Thursdays at 9pm Eastern on Twitter) and has appeared on popular media such as Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. You can find Kate on katetilton.com.

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(15) comments

Top Picks Thursday 02-13-2014 | The Author Chronicles February 13, 2014

[…] to go about it. Angela Ackerman shares how to use DMs on Twitter the right way; Kate Tilton lists 4 easy steps to grow your Twitter following; and Sarah Pinneo has tips from Barb Drozdowich’s ebook The Author’s Guide to Working With Book […]

Reply
Norah February 18, 2014

Thanks for these very useful tips. I haven’t tried lists yet but will have to as I find it difficult to make enough time to see what everyone is tweeting and, from there, posting. There is so much interesting stuff out there some filters are required.

Reply
    Kate Tilton February 25, 2014

    You’re welcome Norah! I’m so glad you found these tips useful. Lists are an amazing way to filter through all the fabulous content on Twitter so you can spend your time in the most effective way. Google+ also has a similar feature with their circles which I find to be super helpful when I’m looking for certain content.

    Reply
Krystol February 26, 2014

Great tips! I’ve definitely been looking for way to really use twitter. But I’m starting to love twitter all the same. Meeting new people is great. Thanks for this post.

Reply
    Kate Tilton March 9, 2014

    Thank you for stopping by Krystol! I really love Twitter too. It is a great platform to connect with others. It is one of the reasons I started the weekly #k8chat on Twitter, to connect more people. 🙂

    Reply
Felipe Adan Lerma March 10, 2014

Yeah, I’d given up on Twitter for awhile, til I finally started actually using lists as a way to organize interests. Adding to the basic tweet that pops up on a site’s page helps too I think, and is more fun 😉

And I Iike the DM feature and even used it recently to good effect. I get the alert via email but am unable to resp that way, and have to go to the app. My only complaint about so far, that lack of integration.

Anyway, nice list, shared, on Twitter of course 🙂 Thanks so much!

Reply
    Rachel Thompson March 10, 2014

    Thanks so much Felipe — Kate and I both love Twitter but it can be overwhelming. I love lists, too. I agree about the lack of integration — not sure why that is tho…

    Reply
      Felipe Adan Lerma March 10, 2014

      Hopefully just a matter of time; already can resp in my gmail to a lot of blog posts etc. Just need a tweak on the tweets 😉

      Reply
    Kate Tilton March 10, 2014

    I agree Felipe! Twitter lists really help keep things organized on Twitter and adding in your thoughts to articles you share is a great way to engage with others.

    I really appreciate your comment and share! See you on Twitter :).

    Reply
Basic Social Media Resources To Help You! May 4, 2014

[…] confused? There are a number of articles here on my website regarding Twitter basics. I also suggest Mashable, BookPromotion.com, 12Most.com, and […]

Reply
Finding Twitter Chats by guest Kate Tilton (@K8Tilton) July 31, 2014

[…] time I was on BadRedhead Media, I gave four easy tips to grow your Twitter following. Tip #3 was “join Twitter chats,” but how do you find the right chats to join? And how do you […]

Reply
Why I Donate Blood by @K8Tilton - Rachel in the OC September 3, 2014

[…] 4 Easy Tips to Grow Your Twitter Following by guest @K8Tilton […]

Reply
Deanna Texas August 4, 2015

Trying to use Twitter more personally as an educator and with students in classrooms. It’s always seemed so messy. This seems pretty overwhelming. 1. How do I find other high school English coaches, teachers, and chats? I’ve found education chats, but thought there might be high school English and educational coaching chats. 2.How do I keep everything organized? 3. Is there a crash course for using Twitter in the classroom? Thank you! This article made me believe that I can do this!

Reply
    Rachel Thompson August 4, 2015

    Hi Deanna! I’m so glad you found this useful, yay!

    Well, I haven’t worked with teachers in the classroom, but I Google EVERYTHING. I took your question #3 and came up with this article: https://www.examtime.com/blog/using-twitter-in-the-classroom/

    As for questions 1 and 2, I suggest Googling them first, and see what you come up with. Search for specific hashtags on Twubs.com or Tweetchat.com for those topics. I recommend using Twitter Lists (look that up in their Help section) to keep things organized. I also recommend using Hootsuite or Buffer to help schedule and curate content. Use TWitter’s search and advanced search functions for more help. To find people specifically, I use Manageflitter.com (input a specific keyword).

    If you read further articles on my site, Kate and I offer numerous helpful tips!

    Reply
    Kate Tilton October 21, 2015

    In addition to Rachel’s great advice you may find this article helpful: http://badredheadmedia.com/2014/07/31/finding-twitter-chats-guest-k8tilton/. I mention a few places to look for Twitter chats.

    Personally I use Buffer to schedule tweets in addition to the live tweeting I do. I compare a few of these tools here: http://badredheadmedia.com/2014/09/28/social-media-scheduling-tools-authors/.

    I hope that helps!

    Reply
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