33 Tips on How to Get More Followers on Social Media

Followers

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Did you know that only 1% of all your followers will see your tweet or post at any given time?
So, joining Goodreads, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Facebook is only the first step in creating an author platform.   Social media growth is more likely to happen when you are focusing on sharing amazing quality content that you know your audience loves.  To make these sites really work for you is only possible if you have lots of followers, friends or people in your Google+ circles.  

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One of the first questions of every literary agent or publisher will be: What is your platform?”  In other words: do you have a popular, well visited website or blog, and lots of followers with whom you interact on social media.

  1. Place social media sharing buttons (Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Facebook etc.) on your website and blog that will appear on each page.  Make sure you include these social media share buttons on each blog post, not just in your landing page sidebar.  All these sharing button links should also show up on “About Us” pages.
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  2. Put Follow buttons on your website and blog, that are appearing on each page.  Give your readers a way to connect with you. Don’t use only Twitter and Facebook, but also icons for all other social media site you are on: Google+ (the most important), LinkedIn, Pinterest, Goodreads etc.
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  3. Check out Twitter suggestions: “Who to Follow” on your left bar of your Twitter page.  Click the “refresh” button for more suggestions.
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  4. See who other Tweeps are following or who is following them. Do the same on Google+, click on “About” at one’s site and you will find the window “People” where you click on “in her / his circles”.  Then follow those who have the most interesting introduction.
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  5. Connect all your social media sites with each other.  When you post on Google+ or Pinterest your content should automatically appear on Twitter, and from there to all Twitter timelines you have on Goodreads, Amazon, your website etc.
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  6. “Bundle” all your social media accounts, your websites, blogs etc. in one single link, using http://about.me/
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  7. Have an appealing and professional portrait and an attractive background on all your social media sites. No one will follow a cat or a dog or an egg…
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  8. Use Twitter’s hidden gem: the “Pinned Tweet”, a master tweet that always shows up on top of your other tweets. Decide which tweet is most important.  How to place it is explained in Discover Twitter’s Secret Feature.
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  9. Encourage your email newsletter subscribers three or four times a year to follow you on your social media accounts.  List links to all your sites that readers can click to follow.
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  10. Link to your social media accounts from your email signature. The easiest way to let your readers know about ALL your social media sites is to use “About.me”.  See this example: http://about.me/ebookPR
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  11. Link your Google+ page / follower listing to your own website (see on the right site of this post).  Get more recommendations for your site in Google search and grow your audience on Google+.
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  12. In my ebook: 111 Tips on How to Market Your Book for Free, I am explaining in detail how to import your LinkedIn contacts to your Google+ site.
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  13. Goodreads allows you to import (max.) 800 of your followers each from Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, Gmail, and Goodreads Friends of Friends.
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  14. Post tweets from your Bit.ly (link shortener site, e.g. for blog or book titles) to your Twitter account(s).
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  15. Regularly contribute guest posts to popular influencer sites and link to your social media accounts in your bio, using “About.me”.
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  16. Actively find new followers in your niche and engage with them. Use the search function on top of each social media’s timeline and type in search words for ideal followers, for example: readers, bookworms, avid readers, book bloggers, book reviewers etc. if you are a writer or publisher.
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  17. Choose up to 25 (maximum on most sites, Google+ allows up to 50) new followers per day. If you do this daily on 4 social media sites, several hundred people might follow you back per week.
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  18. Share, retweet, +plus and like your followers content, tag or mention them, or comment on their blogs. Build relationships, spread the good karma, they will return you the favor eventually.
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  19. Find out who are the influencers in your niche using for example Tapinfluence. They explain: “One of the fastest-growing areas of content marketing is influencer marketing, the idea of working with social influencers.
    Your content connects best when it comes from the people your readers are trusting.”   Their influencer marketplace connects you to thousands of content creators on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube, Vine, and blogs. To learn more they offer a free ebook to potential customers.
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  20. Other professional tools can be found on Buzzsumo (free and paid versions).
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  21. Find the most influential and award-winning book bloggers recommended by Digital Publishing and follow them not only on your blog but also on social media.
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  22. Accumulating new followers and readers often comes down to how often your content gets shared.  Use Hootsuite.com, or Futuretweets.com to schedule your main posts throughout the day, freeing you time to engage with your followers in person, responding to questions and comments.
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  23. Tell stories in your posts and blogs: They are far more likely to be shared than promotional content.
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  24. Get beautiful images on free photo sites, such as Morguefile.com, Wikipedia.com or Flickr.com.  They will greatly improve your posts and entice followers to like, repost or retweet your content.
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  25. Evoking positive emotions through your posts is great for increased sharing.  Posting funny or happy content will give you more shadings.
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  26. Blog about interesting conversations taking place on your social media accounts.  Discuss social media conversations on your blog: Entice your blog readers to follow you on social media by crossing the blog/social network divide.
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  27. Join LinkedIn groups and post articles on LinkedIn: As you provide valuable insights, group members will be more likely to want to hear more from you on social media.
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  28. Include lots of quotes in your posts and tweets.  They are very popular and will be re-tweeted and liked a lot.
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  29. Become a source of trending content and breaking news: Follow leading newspapers and other sources on Twitter and Google+, and then share breaking news with your followers.
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  30. Once a week promote your other social media accounts to your readers and followers.  For example, tweet about your Google+ or Pinterest site, or let your Facebook followers know you are on LinkedIn and Goodreads as well.
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  31. Don’t forget to include a social media call to action on your business card or on your bookmarks (for print versions), such as “follow me on my social media sites” – or “go to my “About.me” page to find all my social media sites”.  Hand them out at book signings, networking events, and writer conferences.
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  32. Use “click-to-tweet” (in your books and blog articles) to encourage your readers and followers to spread the word to their followers and to let them know about your twitter account / website / book.
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  33. Never buy followers. These artificial followers won’t ever re-tweet you or buy your book, mostly they are not even real people, but robots.
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To have more followers also means people assume you are someone interesting or an expert.  It extends your popularity, influence and more book sales.  However, equally important than impressive numbers of followers is how engaged you are with them – and vice versa.  Once you have reached 2,000 followers, there is no further limit and you will see an increase in high-volume and more quality follower offers.

Read also: How to Get More Followers on Your Social Media Sites and How to Be More Social and Less Media

 

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