So I made a bet…

A few months ago, my elaborate plan to gain Twitter followers consisted of this one mantra – DO NOTHING. (Well, except tweeting randomly, of course.) I then gave myself tiny homework assignments to learn more about social media engagement.

Ideas evolve, and this one morphed into my Personal Guide to Increasing my Twitter Followers! Instead of just doing nothing and waiting for organic followers, I’m testing out some of the tools available and learning new ways to engage with my current followers, while increasing visibility of my profile to attract new Twits.

I started with Strategy #1. Follow Your Followers.

Now it’s on to Strategy #2: Using an Account Manager.

Let’s talk about BUFFERING posts.

This one really blew my mind. I don’t know how I ever posted on social media without using Buffer, a post management tool for social media that has freed me from the whirlpool of content management! Yay!

For my sanity, this is the best tool I have found since I started counting Twitter followers. I’m all about saving time, and this does this trick. Buffer is a great way to increase engagement and save time on social media.

Note: I upgraded from the free account to $10 monthly because Buffer lets you manage 12 social profiles, have unlimited posts in your buffer, and even add two team members to help manage it all.

This is what you need to know:

1.Buffer is a Time Saver – and can manage multiple Twitter,Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.

In short, Buffer schedules your updates to post at optimal times, whether you’re around or not. You can schedule posts for DAYS across different accounts using this tool. Instead of logging into my accounts every hour to post something new, and endlessly searching for content and new ideas, I can buffer my tweets and posts and uploads so they post at scheduled times (or whenever you want) across all platforms! I’m talking Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. (Pinterest is available, but that costs money).

2. Re-Buffering is a great way to make sure your post is seen.

You can RE-Buffer previous posts to ensure that everyone sees them (on Twitter, for example, where timing is everything). It also stops you from re-buffering a post too soon, so your feed doesn’t get clogged or look spammy.

3. Buffer shows what Tweets get the most engagement.

One of the best features is the ability to measure your post performance using social analytics. Buffer Analytics shows you the most retweets, mentions, clicks, potential audience exposure, and favorites.

This is not only a time saver, but a great way to flesh out your voice on social media. Discover which tweets get the most engagement, what topics your audience likes most, and who is interacting with your tweets.

You can see what works, and what falls flat. Re-buffer the good ones!

4. Buffer Integrates! You can use it everywhere with Apps, Extensions, and Extras.

Buffer offers lots of apps, extensions, and extras that will allow you to use Buffer in a variety of different places online. Start by installing the Buffer extensions for Google Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.

Once you have installed one of these extensions, you will get a convenient button to use to add updates to your buffer at the top of your browser (usually to the left or right of your browser’s address button depending on which browser you are using).

Clicking the Buffer Button will allow you to update one or more of your social media accounts with a link to the webpage you are browsing.

And that brings me to the Breakdown:

I learned that everything I was doing was WRONG, because I didn’t have this amazing tool working for me! How many hours did I lose, glued to my screen day in and day out?

If you want to get ahead in your Twitterverse, you need a post management tool.  Although I chose Buffer, there are other options available, including Hootsuite.

For my next trick, I will be moving on to Strategy #3: Make Some Twiends. Why Twiends? Well, Twiends is completely free to use. The concept is that the more you participate the more others will connect with you. You are not paying for followers or trying anything shady; instead, you are making your profile available to people who are looking for interesting people to follow. If you want to tag along with me, you can either email me directly or tell everyone about your experience in the Comments!

It’s Twitter count time!

August 8, 2015: I began with 426 Twitter followers. I did nothing out of the ordinary, just happily tweeted away per the usual routine.

If you have read my earlier posts, you know that this number represents my total lack of effort at actually forming a Twitter “presence” – no effort, chemicals or preservatives added.

March 4, 2016: my follower count increased to 503.

As of March 30, 2016, I now have 669 followers (a HUGE increase from past results). In 26 days, I gained 166 Followers. That makes a total of 243 new Followers since I made this darn bet, in case anyone is counting – which I AM.

This was taking too long. I decided to stir things up a bit. It was time to research and test out some Twitter strategies and see if they make a difference. (Answer: they do.) And I promised to share my results with you 🙂 So, here goes nothing.

Strategy #1. Follow Your Followers.

Do people really care if you follow back? To find out, I followed each and every follower I had on Twitter. I also did some research, as was required along the way. (I’ve learned a lot on this little adventure!)

This is what you need to know:

1. There is a follow limit on Twitter. And yes, they have an algorithm.

Twitter doesn’t cap the number of followers you can have. However, they do monitor how aggressively users follow other users.  If you don’t follow or unfollow hundreds of users in a single day, and you aren’t using automated methods of following users, you should be fine.

Twitter does limit the number of people you can follow. Every user can follow 5000 people total. Once you’ve followed 5000 users, the number of additional users you can follow and that is based on your TFF ratio. What is your TFF Ratio? It stands for Twitter Follower–Friend Ratio.

Your TFF Ratio is the ratio the number of followers to the number of people followed by a particular account. To figure out a Twitter account’s TFF Ratio all you have to do is divide the number of followers you have by the number you are following. Try for a ratio of 1 or higher. #themoreyouknow

2. Your feed can get cluttered real quick.

Reading through a cluttered time line is like sifting through a mountain of garbage while looking for treasure (it can be a real waste).

There is a reason that Twitter allows people to opt-in or -out of receiving a person’s updates. Because following everyone leads to a feed full of tweets that are not relevant to you. Just because someone finds your tweets interesting does not mean that you feel the same about theirs.

Result: I started skimming through my feed instead of reading to avoid all of the junk tweets. Frankly, you will stop reading your feed if you follow every follower.

3. Following and DM’ing can be automated.

Social media tools are everywhere, so use them to your advantage.  I focused on Crowdrise.  With Crowdrise, you can manage and track your followers (including who unfollowed you). You can also automate your Twitter account to auto-respond to new followers via direct message.

Recommendation: Try not to automate your DM’s to your new followers. At first, I thought it was really cool! Then I realized (after there were no replies to my auto DM and my inbox was clogged with messages to each follower) – it’s annoying!

And that brings me to the Breakdown:

Good idea: Following your followers.  Bad idea: Following ALL of your followers.

The downside of following everyone was that my feed got clogged. I learned that auto-DM’s miss the mark. The upside was that only a few people I followed decided to leave me, and I learned some new Twitter trivia (TFF ratios, anyone?).

I’m excited to be moving on to Strategy #2: Using an Account Manager. I decided to use Buffer, if you want to tag along with me.  You can either email me directly or tell everyone about your experience in the Comments!