If you’ve been in the social media marketing business for long, you have probably been asked how to increase followers of the different social networks. Your clients say “I need more followers!” It’s not easy. You have to work hard, be diligent, post relevant and interesting content, and you have to know a few tricks.
That’s what we’re here for. We can tell you how to get more followers on Twitter, how to get more fans on Facebook, and how to get followers on Instagram and Google +. We’re going to tell you what to do to get more likes and followers, when to post, and more.
How to Get More Followers on Twitter
There are several things you can do to increase followers on Twitter. First we’ll give you a few hacks to help increase your engagement with your current followers, then we’ll give you some best practices for managing your brand’s Twitter account.
1. Twitter Cards
Twitter Cards are lauded as a way for you to stand out on Twitter. Since most tweets are text only (usually with a link), the fact that Twitter cards let you create visual Tweets with images and video can really make your Tweets pop. There are seven different card types to choose from:
- Products
- Player cards for videos
- Apps
- Summaries with images
- Summaries with a link
- Single photos
- Galleries with several images
Twitter Cards involve code that you get from Twitter Developers. The process varies from card to card, so make sure you understand how it works to put this powerful tool to work for you. Forbes has a walkthrough that we found to be very helpful.
But Twitter Cards alone are not enough to increase followers.
2. Participate in Hashtag Trends
If you want to know how to get followers fast, pay attention to hashtags that are trending on Twitter. Hashtags can help people find you. If enough people are searching on a certain hashtag and you tweet compelling enough content, you could attract lots of new followers.
While it’s helpful to browse around Twitter and discover hashtags on your own, sometimes you don’t have time. There are tools like Hashtagify, Trendsmap, Sprout Social, RiteTag and more that will help you obtain a list of trending hashtags to set you on your way to tweets that will help you get more followers.
3. Respond to Tweets
You shouldn’t necessarily respond to every single tweet that mentions your brand. You should take a tip from Hootsuite – they have a process they follow that makes a lot of sense.
- Take a look at your mentions (find the @ symbol and your Twitter name – skip the RTs)
- Take time to read the tweet. You won’t know whether or not to respond, or what to say, if you don’t read what someone wrote
- Take a look at the person or brand that tweeted you. Are they are real person or brand? How many followers do they have? What does their bio say?
- Do some more digging. Take a look at the person or brand’s website and Tweet history.
Then, after all that, craft your response. Be respectful. Clarify things, try to solve problems, and be professional.
4. Tweet Valuable Tweets
This is the most important point on how to get more followers. No matter what social channel you’re using, post valuable, contextual content that is geared to your audience. Do your buyer persona research. Learn about your readers. Then, have a conversation.
How to Get More Followers on Facebook
Ah Facebook. Of all the social channels, it is sort of the grand daddy. With a larger demographic range in terms of age and socioeconomic status, it is a great social media channel for a wide variety of brands. But how do you get more followers on Facebook?
1. Turn Post Likes Into Page Likes
Have you ever had someone “like” one of your brand’s posts on Facebook, but they aren’t a fan of your page? One way to get followers fast is to convert those post likes into page likes. This is easier than you think. Pick a post with a lot of engagement and click on the “and xx others like this.” You’ll see a list of everyone who liked the update, and you can invite them to like the page from there.
2. Get Existing Users to Mention Their Friends
If you share a post about, say, Best Friend’s Day, you’re inviting people to share your post, and mention their friends while they’re at it. We’re back to posting engaging content. If you post content people want to see and share, you get more followers. Holidays, news events, trends, and popular culture information like celebrity birthdays can get you a lot of traction in shares and likes, and you can parlay that into more page likes with the tip above.
3. Publish With Emotional Appeal
People love to share holiday posts. Especially when your post encourages them to give back to the community, to share for greater rewards, or to remind them what’s really important during the holidays. Interactive posts are also good for encouraging participation and community.
The Best Friend’s day post below encourages users to tag their friends. That increases engagement and, ultimately, can increase page likes. A caveat – no social post is shareable without:
- Stunning visuals
- A well-placed message
- An interesting call to action
To help you monitor events and holidays, check out:
4. Share Regularly
This holds true for any social channel. When you’re trying to figure out how to get lots of followers, figure out what your current followers are like, and create content that appeals to them. It’s that simple. Post this content regularly. Use Facebook Insights to find out when your audience is online so you know when to post. And, to attract new people and engage your current audience, post great content.
How to Get Followers on Instagram
Instagram might be the newer kid on block in terms of SMM, but brands want to use it because of its high engagement rates and number of active users. It’s pretty easy to set up an account, but many social media marketers think that posting lots of filtered shots is how to get followers. As with any social media channel, a little more strategy is involved.
1. Post Your Location
If you are posting for a company that has a physical location, tag your posts as such, and encourage people who take photos at your location to do the same. When someone is scrolling through Instagram, they can click on the location to see all the photos posted from there. THis helps expose your brand locally, a very important thing if you’re trying to get people into your store.
2. Consider Longer Captions
IG doesn’t have a short character limit like Twitter does. Your captions can be up to 2000 words long. While some marketers scorn the use of long-form content on any social network, it turns out that a longer caption could invite more likes and followers on Instagram. It allows a brand to tell a story, to outline the rules of a contest, to promote a cause or create a block of copy that helps your brand develop a conversation with followers.
3. Post Relevant Content
Timely posts that speak to right now resonate strongly with social media users. That’s why one of the most valuable types of social media content is the newsbreak. Content that is timely AND interactive, like a list post, can result in a lot of shares and likes. Like this one created with PromoRepublic’s content calendar and templates:
4. Point Users to IG from Other Social Networks
If you already have a great, engaged audience on Facebook or Twitter, make sure you share your Instagram with them. That does not mean to cross post everything from IG to FB, or vice versa. Actually post a link to your Instagram in a Facebook post inviting people to follow you. Also, don’t forget a link to your Instagram in your email signature
How to Get More Followers on Google+
Although a lot of social media marketers still think G+ is a bit of a head-scratcher, the fact is that the social channel has over a billion registered users, and it’s has some really nice features. It is definitely worth using for your brand, if for no other reason it can help boost your brand’s SEO ranking.
1. Google Hangouts
Google Plus provides a great opportunity to connect with people on a personal level with Google Hangouts. It’s a great way to host mini webinars for quick demos, get user buy-in with short “ask the user” conversations and more. And, you can find more connections by participating in the Hangouts that other brands or individuals invite you to. Engagement is how to get more followers on G+.
2. Notification Triggers
Since the G+ community isn’t as “noisy” as Facebook or Twitter, it doesn’t do to post updates too often. Google + notification triggers allow you tell your account when to post, based on notifications it gets about certain topics. If you have too many triggers enabled, you’ll be posting all the time. That’s not good.
3. Search for Desirable Connections
G+ isn’t like Facebook, where people have made a bunch of fake profiles so they could send each other lives in Candy Crush. It’s, for the most part, a professional platform. Spend some time searching for people you may want to connect with – it’s suggested that you do this with the personal profile that’s associated with your business profile. If you add them to your circles, they will most likely add you back. Then, when you write great content for G+ via your business page, share it with your personal profile. Viola. You’re a thought leader on G+ and your brand gets lots of exposure.
If you use these tips, you should be able to get more followers on each of these social channels.