I gained over 1,400 twitter followers in 6 months with less than 2 hours per week of time invested. Now I know that’s not crazy high compared to what some “say” they can get for you, but when I noticed I was in the 800′s last week I put in a little effort (30 minutes or so) and got over 100 followers in 24 hours – for 5 day straight. What fun! Seriously though, these tips to get more Twitter followers are organic ways to gain a twitter following.

My game plan (or WTH I was doing these past 6 months):

1) I put a list of Twitter Tips and a bunch of quotes in smqueue.com

2) I used stumbleupon.com to find blogs to add to my feedly.com

3) Every other week or so, I fill bufferapp.com with all my feedly.com content

4) I found people’s lists (like @mmangen’s) and followed just about everyone on it, then started ReTweeting (RT) their info

5) I went hashtag crazy… with a very select list of words. I think of it as hashtag SEO, since Twitter is so searchable

6) Nearly every RT & favorite got a “Thank You!” tweet

7) I strategically RT stuff that I know is personal to the Tweeter, especially looking for other mentions where the original Tweeter didn’t optimize the tweet. Support the people you love!

ReTweet Optimization Example:

Check out this great book about becoming a virtual assistant http://bit.ly/13zKc5j

became

Check out this great #book: Become a #VirtualAssistant by @VAForums http://bit.ly/13zKc5j #startup RT @xyzuser

8) I was advised to favorite tweets that were complimentary. Works both ways, right? I started trying to be favorited by others, always speaking truthfully

9) Luz Donahue gave some great tips during a Virtual Assistant Forums call-in last week. Of those tips I took this one to heart: ”Almost anyone will follow you back.”

10) I use justunfollow.com a lot, and occasionally use manageflitter.com too. In all honesty, there are people I really wanted to follow me back and didn’t. Sometimes I unfollow them, RT them, then follow them again. Sneaky, I know

11) I privately contacted or asked for introductions to a bunch of people – asked about sharing their stuff or tweeting anything they want tweeted. Networking, people. It’s all about networking.

12) I reached out to new business acquaintances and then added a bunch of people to dlvr.it

13) After 500+ followers, I added a bunch of tweets to my smqueue.com that say variations of “Connect with me on xyz social network”

14) I did hashtag searches for the hashtags I use all the time and followed just about everyone that used them in a manner that related to me

15) I let my automated content run dry once in a while (except smqueue.com since it’s recurring). Always get a wave of followers when I re-up my content.

Does social media networking count as marketing? Heels-to-the-yeah it does!

Here’s the thing, I absorbed tons of tips from Guru @mmangen and then did whatever I felt like doing. I’m a go-with-the-flow type of gal and really just did whatever felt right.

My advice? Shape your ideas, organize for action, and voice your passions. Most of all it’s all about connecting, being a real person, and staying true to yourself

And if that’s too much… outsource your Social Media to a Virtual Assistant

Cheers to new friends!

Steph Ritz @VirtualLefty

P.S. I was asked what I was doing to get followers on Twitter by a fellow VA, this post was my response to her.

photo credit: opensourceway via photopin cc