15 Ways to Grow Your Twitter Followers Organically

These fifteen ways to grow your Twitter followers organically will help your social media statistics soar without any money. All you need is time!

These fifteen ways to grow your Twitter followers organically will help your social media statistics soar without any money. All you need is time!

For a long time, my Twitter account was very unloved. I treated it with the mentality of “if you build it, they will come.” So I tweeted sporadically. Rarely used hashtags. Automated 99% of my content. 

And while I’m not naive enough to think it was going to explode with growth, I kinda sort maybe wanted it to? Because I had 1000 other things on my plate, wouldn’t it be nice if it just maintained itself?

Unfortunately, it didn’t. Life would be so much easier if things worked like that though, huh?

Luckily, I got my act together and figured out not one, not two, not even three, but FIFTEEN ways to grow your Twitter followers organically. Not only that, but I found I could actually grow Twitter followers quickly. And cheaply (read: free.) Growing Twitter followers wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it was.

And it’s totally customizable. You can use one or all methods. You can spend five minutes a day or five hours a day. The beauty of growing your Twitter followers organically is that it just has to be organic to you. 

So if you’re looking to up your social media game, check out these fifteen ways grow your Twitter followers organically below.

Start with your profile

Make sure people know exactly what you’re all about. If you’re looking to connect with like-minded individuals, make sure they know that you’re like-minded! Add in some words or phrases that really shine a light on what makes you unique. Make sure your photo represents you in a way that gives people a feeling of who you are, too. Mine is of me and Lily hiking which is a pretty clear representation of the things I love. When people search, they may search a keyword or phrase that pulls up your profile. Your words and photo will be your first impression (along with your tweets) so make it a good one!

Use hashtags when you tweet

Hashtags help your tweets get in front of more potential followers, especially if you use one of the trending hashtags. The point is to only use relevant hashtags though. If it doesn’t apply to your tweet, don’t add it in just because. You won’t find the right followers this way. Also, don’t #hashtag every #other word #in your #tweet. It doesn’t help and makes your tweet hard to read. Use targeted keywords that will help you connect with your target audience.

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Pin a tweet to your profile

The pinned tweet is an important one for growing Twitter followers organically for a few reasons. If someone is stopping by your profile, it’s the first tweet they’ll see. So it will be the first indication of what to expect from you. It also is the first tweet that someone may RT if they’re stopping by your profile to tweet something from you. It’s a great way to grow your subscriber list by including a link to a freebie or course you offer as well.

Retweet, retweet, retweet

Remember how I said that someone might be stopping by your profile to tweet something from you? One of the easiest ways to interact with a new (or old) follower is to go to their Twitter profile, retweet their pinned tweet (or a tweet that resonates with you) and/or comment on it. Super simple, right? It may sound like it doesn’t accomplish much in terms of growing followers, but it does.

First, you’re actually forming a relationship with a follower. You’re no longer “just a number.” Who knows where that may lead – there are SO many possibilities! Second, you’re sharing relevant info with your current followers so they will see you as a solid influencer. Third, what goes around comes around. More often than not, that small gesture leads to a kind gesture being returned. A retweet of my content, a sharing of one of my posts, or a conversation about something I wrote. That kind of organic engagement is priceless when it comes to growing your following.

Share Relevant Content

Relevant content makes you look like more of an expert. What better way to grow your Twitter followers organically than for people to think you’ll have the knowledge they’re seeking? Even if it’s an expert on ridiculous cat memes, people will know to look for when they’re in need of one. It also attracts your target audience and generates engagement (retweets, responses, etc) from current followers.

Make your content shareable

Speaking of relevant content, you want your content to be shareable when it’s relevant to someone else. Make sure you have share options for all major social media channels in your post. There have been too many times I’ve gone to share a post only to not find a single share button around.

Free plugins are just fine, but if you’re looking for a little bit more power, I would highly recommend using Social Warfare as it increases social proof. You can see it in action on this post. Social Warfare also includes a Click to Tweet option which is great for getting more shares on Twitter. It allows you to do something similar to this:

[clickToTweet tweet=”Want to grow your Twitter followers organically? You HAVE to check out these tips >> ” quote=”Want to grow your Twitter followers organically? You HAVE to check out these tips >> “]

Also, try to ensure that your Twitter handle pulls in with your shares. This allows you to be tagged when someone shares your content. Then, you can Retweet it so your followers will see other people are engaging with your content (more social proof!) You can also return the favor like I mentioned above, generating a deeper relationship with your followers.

Tweet more

The more I tweet, the more I connect with others. And by that, I mean intentional tweeting. Not just new blog posts or a quick share of an article I found interesting. Tweet personal things. Tweet your thoughts on someone’s blog post. Tweet your wins or your struggles. The lifespan of a tweet is SO short that you have to regularly be tweeting and engaging with the hope that someone will Retweet or engage with your tweet and extend its lifespan.

One way to tweet more often is to promote your old content to on social media. This can equal pageviews and make sure your account looks active. I use SmarterQueue to do this. Just be sure that you aren’t automating your entire feed!

Share others on your blog + tag them

Did you find a blog post particularly useful? Link to it in a blog post and tag them in social media letting them know you’ve included them in the post. They may be curious enough to check out the blog post (pageviews, YAY!) and then share with their followers. Not only is it a great way to grow your Twitter followers organically, it’s also a great way to network and make some new friends.

[clickToTweet tweet=”A great way to gain followers on social media is to share other’s content! Get more tips here:” quote=”A great way to gain followers on social media is to share other’s content! Get more tips here:”]

Add a photo or gif

Even boring tweets can be spiced up with a relevant photo or gif. We’re visual people when it comes to social media so we need more than just text to gain our attention. A thoughtful or funny image or gif is an easy way to encourage more interaction with a tweet.

Related Reading: 25 Posts to Kick Your Social Media Up a Notch

Share your Twitter handle everywhere

Have a website? Make sure people know how to follow you on Twitter. Have a business card? Add your Twitter handle. Have an email account? Link to your Twitter handle or include tweets via a program like WiseStamp. Active in forums? Make sure your link is included in your profile or signature. Add it everywhere you can so people have no reason to say “I had no idea you were on Twitter!”

Speaking of – did you know I’m on Twitter? ;)

Utilize a Tribe to help you grow

Facebook thread groups are great and will help you grow some. But a true tribe is where it’s at if you’re looking for growing your Twitter followers organically. I’m a part of a few and they really do work! Mostly because tribes are generally made up of like-minded people. So, if you have five people in your tribe and the other four share your tweet with their audience – you just got put in front of four different audiences that have a high likelihood of being a part of your target market.

Related Reading: How To Build Relationships With Other Bloggers

Finding a tribe can be a bit difficult though and it took me awhile to truly find mine. However, it is by far one of the best ways to grow your Twitter followers organically. I suggest starting on Facebook and looking for things relevant to your niche and blogging. For example: Travel Bloggers or Mom Bloggers or Food Bloggers. Then, you can join these groups and network with the other members to form a tribe or join one that’s already thriving.

Join Twitter Chats

Twitter chats are a great way to network with more like-minded people (see also: people with similar audiences to your target market.) Hosts and participants are very likely to reciprocate following. Both are also a great resource to finding others to follow that are in your niche. To find Twitter chats, Google something similar to what you did for finding your tribe and add Twitter chat instead. For example: Travel Twitter Chats, Parenting Twitter Chats, etc. Or ask your friends or followers for recommendations. 

Look at who your friends are following

To find new people to follow, look at who your friends are following. Or who top influencers in your niche or brands you love are following. Essentially, find someone with a similar target market and see who they think is worth following. Follow them and who they’re following to continue to grow your Twitter followers organically with the right audience.

Lists, lists, lists and more lists

Even better than the following page is the list page. Here are the best lists to look at to find new followers:

  • Lists you’ve been added to
  • Lists your friends are a part of
  • Lists top influencers in your niche are a part of
  • Lists put together by brands you’d like to collaborate with

All you have to do it navigate to the profile page on Twitter and you’ll see the word Lists after Following, Followers, and Likes. Click on that and then you’ll see Subscribed To + Member Of. I almost always use Member Of, but you can use both. Then select a relevant list that would contain people with similar audiences, follow the other members, and you’re all set!

[clickToTweet tweet=”Lists are a great way to find people to follow on Twitter! Find out why here:” quote=”Lists are a great way to find people to follow on Twitter! Find out why here:”]

Ask for Recommendations

Everyone likes to share their favorites so this one is probably one of the easiest ways to grow your Twitter followers organically. Just ask people who to follow and you’ll usually get some awesome recommendations for relevant people. Be sure to get specific though! Don’t just say “new people to follow” – specify what type of people. Maybe it’s people who live in the same state, or food bloggers, or WAHMs – doesn’t matter, just be specific so your friends or followers can give you the best suggestions.


Whew! I know this was long, but there’s hopefully at least one or two tips in there that you haven’t tried yet that can help you grow your Twitter following organically.

The main point of all of these tips is to get the word about you out there more, but only to the right people. It’s truly about quality over quantity here. My hope is that with that quality will come quantity when you start regularly implementing these tips.

I’d love to know if you have any other tips on how to grow your Twitter followers organically!