Most of my clients use Twitter as a Social Media Channel, for thier business. Most of them aren't sure how to help Get – and Keep – valuable Twitter followers. Here is the short list:
Complete your bio – it makes it easier for people looking for your product or service to find you – use keywords related to your niche or perfect customer
Include a professional profile picture - people will rarely follow that default “egghead” that Twitter gives you when you first sign up
Use your real name as your username if it is available – this is worth a try or add _The_ or TheReal or something similar in front
Make it easy for people to follow and tweet you – make sure that the “Tweet This” and “Follow Me on Twitter” buttons on your website is easy to find
Create content people want to share - be funny, poignant, or otherwise unique and keep Tweets short to make them retweetable
Do not overuse hashtags or @usernames - it makes your Tweets much less enjoyable to read. Use no more than two (2) hashtags per Tweet, and don’t append a long list of usernames to a single Tweet
Use good manners – respond to @mentions – respond to people who have Tweeted about you or to you
Do not use too many abbreviations - “Hi, how R U 2day?” Find a way to be concise and use complete words
Share others’ content – if you want to be shared
When you Retweet - include a brief comment why so that your followers know why you think it is worth sharing
Do not over promote yourself or an upcoming event – use the 80-20 (or 90-10) rule