Social media is the newest venue for online marketing – and it’s a highly successful way to establish relationships with prospective clients. Twitter is one of the most popular social media sites today so if you don’t already use it, get signed up today.

What are the keys to making Twitter work for your business? One of them is gaining followers. The more people you have reading your posts, the more likely you are to interest someone who could become a customer.

So, the question is – How do you get more Twitter followers? Let’s take a look at some simple ways of doing so…

1. Seek Out Tweeters With Similar Interests

Start with the most obvious way to find followers; that is, do a search for users via keyword. The Twitter site itself only allows limited searching so it’s best to use a tool with greater functionality. Try TwitteRel. It’s a free program that you can sign into with your Twitter credentials, then search for keywords in posts or in the short bios of each user.

2. Automated Follows

There are a number of free online apps that you let you automatically follow those who follow you. Why do this? It works on the law of reciprocity; if someone sees you following them, they are likely to reciprocate, hence you get more Twitter followers. Plus, if you are not following a large % of as many people who are following you, it appears that you are disinterested in others’ posts – making you seem unapproachable.

3. Suggested Followers

Each time you log into Twitter, you will see a short list in the right column of people you might be interested in following, based on your interests and the users you are already following. Why not take Twitter’s advice and follow them?

4. Automated Searching

Another tool, Formulists, allows you to create a list of Tweeters based on keyword or popularity (as determined by number of followers). A simple click is all it takes to begin following each of the users on this list. And since most of them set up automatic reciprocal follows, you gain many new followers quite quickly and easily.

5. Cross Link Accounts

If you are a member of LinkedIn, you can easily download an app that shows your Twitter posts on the home page of your LinkedIn account. You can also do the same thing with your WordPress blog and other applications. In either instance, someone who reads your tweets at another site and likes them could certainly become a follower of yours on Twitter.

Of course, it’s great to get more Twitter followers, but also consider that your marketing may be ineffective unless you regularly write interesting posts. Sure, you’re limited to 140 Twitter characters, but some people can be really creative with a few short words to convey a compelling message – and that’s the key to success!

Don’t forget to follow me, too! I’ll be sure to follow you back