You’ve finally gotten the hang of Twitter and you’ve been using it for awhile, but you notice that your followers have either dropped off, or they haven’t started showing up at all (except for your friends and co-workers). There are some simple, yet very important things you need to be doing in order to take full advantage of Twitter’s power and your ability to reach more people.

We call these must-do’s, but our friend and social guru Jeff Bullas likes to refer to them as ‘Commandments‘.

Whatever you want to call them, here are 10 steps you should be taking to help you build your Twitter account:

Build your Twitter account with these 10 must-do’s

 1. Write a meaningful “bio” description

If you are using Twitter for purely personal reasons then go crazy and knock yourself out with a crazy bio. If you are serious, then make sure that when they read it they know in a heartbeat what you are about.

2. Have a link

I don’t know how many times I have looked for a link to take a deeper dive into a Tweeter to see what they do and where they have come from but get stymied. If you don’t have a blog then take them to your LinkedIn account or Facebook page. Let them discover the real you. The bio is just the start.

3. Be focused

Build a tribe of Twitter followers who are passionate and interested in your topic of interest. That can be done with tools such as Tweepi or Twellow.

4. Automate where appropriate

This may seem evil to some but as you grow your follower base things like following back becomes time consuming and unmanageable. Automate the boring tasks such as content distribution and follow back but not the conversation and engagement.

5. Don’t neglect Twitter

Keep the stream of Tweets rolling out so that followers see activity and content. Keep that activity going. Do this at a level that you are comfortable with. It is different for everyone. Remember it is a tool, not a religion.

6. Use Hashtags

Hashtags allow you to put content into followers accounts that are topic-driven and organized. If you are interested in blogging then include a tweet with the hashtag #blogging. It will lead to increased awareness and sharing of your tweets.

7. Manage with a tool

The Twitter ecosystem of tools and apps evolved because Twitter kept its network simple. It has been effective and been part of its charm. To manage and monitor both the tweets and the people you interact with on Twitter and organized like your mom would be proud of then Hootsuite or Buffer should be used.

8. Brand your Twitter account

Ensure that when people trip up on your Twitter account that they recognize your brand that is on Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. Consistent branding is good.

9. Use Twitter sharing and subscribe buttons on your blog

Make it easy and obvious for people to share your content on your blog with obvious Twitter buttons at the top of your article. Make sure they can follow you on Twitter with buttons that don’t confuse and again are in a position that is prominent..

10. Write the best headline you can

As Twitter has only 140 characters your tweets should be written with the best headlines you can muster. Learn and practice this skill until your fingers hurt and your mind burns. You only have 2 seconds to capture their attention until they click away.

Reach out to us: We’d like to hear from you about your ‘musts’ that allow you to reach more people and use Twitter more effectively to build your Twitter account. Drop us a line and let us and know we’ll add to the list.

Knowing is half the battle, while doing it…well, that’s important to. Good luck!