By Mary B. Adams One question I hear often is “How do I build up followers on Twitter?”

This is the burning Twitter question.

If you aren't a celeb like Obama or Oprah or Britney and don’t want to pay for programs that are “guaranteed to work” (I don’t blame you!), then you will have to do it the old-fashioned way. This means dedicating some time and effort to the task. Here are some tips which may help as well.

1. Tweet interesting, humorous and/or informative content. This shouldn’t really come as any surprise but you still see lots of nonsense on Twitter so it doesn’t hurt to reiterate it every now and again.

2. Tweet often. Ever notice that those with the biggest groups of followers are sending out Tweets consistently and frequently, sometimes to the tune of 20, 30, 50 ever more times a day? It’s no coincidence that they have so many followers. (Likely they are using a program like Hootsuite to schedule ahead of time).

3. If you want someone specific to follow you and they aren't yet, try RTing them. Sometimes they will then start following you back. (But don’t get carried away with the RTs - otherwise you come across as a copycat Twat).

4. Do the #FollowFriday thing every Friday. There’s a good chance that those you recommend will thank you for the #FollowFriday with a mention and/or even with a follow back

5. I like photos and videos, and so do lots of other people, so sprinkle those into your Tweets here and there.

6. Mention Tweeps who you may run into in the real world. For example if you enjoyed your meal out, you might mention/thank the restaurant on Twitter.

7. Every time you get ReTweeted you get exposure to new Tweeps and potential new followers, so ask for a RT every now and again. Oh, and keep your Tweet on the short side to make it easy for people to RT you.

8. Thank everyone who mentions you or recommends you or RTs you. It's good Twitter karma and may get you more followers.

I’d love to hear your tips, comments, feedback or any questions if you care to share them.

Thanks!

Mary B. Adams

Twitter.com/ladymissmba

http://fr.linkedin.com/in/marybadams