Why Twitter for Your Business & How to Get Your First 1,000 Followers FAST
I’ve tried promoting this blog on most popular social media platforms, and surprise, surprise, Twitter is hands down, my personal favorite out of the bunch.
Why? Because, unlike Facebook, Twitter’s organic reach makes it an attractive platform to personal brand yourself and promote your business for FREE.
But if you’re starting out on Twitter, you’ll most likely face these problems:
- Not many followers, no matter what you do
- Your tweets doesn’t reach many people and have low engagements
- No sales and minimal traffic back to your website
So how exactly do you grow your followers on Twitter?
Worry not, I tried a bunch of stuff on Twitter and looked at my analytics. Then, I reverse engineered what worked.
So in this article, you’ll save massive time learning how to craft tweets that will reach a lot of people and get high engagements.
Let’s get started:
Why Twitter is Great for Promoting Yourself?
![](https://helmihasan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/jeremy-bezanger-MX7AXTG8OzY-unsplash.jpg)
I’ve tried TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest & LinkedIn to promote myself as an authority in the personal finance niche.
Each has its pros & cons.
But in the next section, I’ll list down all the benefits of Twitter that is too good for an online marketer to ignore:
Twitter’s Massive Free Organic Reach
You can reach far more people on Twitter if you tweet about the right topic, at the right time, with the right emotional triggers.
Take a look at how many people I reached on Twitter vs. Instagram in the last 30 days for almost the same effort:
![](https://helmihasan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Twitter-analytics.jpg)
![](https://helmihasan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Instagram-analytics.jpg)
With this proof, what would you rather do?
- Create instagram content to reach 3,000 people a month, or
- Write a bunch of tweets and reach out to 162k people a month?
I’m not saying that other social media platforms are not worth it, but if you can only focus on only one platform and are a little witty with words, I’d say Twitter is a great way to market your business.
Let’s move on to the next reason why Twitter is great:
Twitter’s Audience is More Open Minded
The nature of Twitter where people can tweet about whatever comes to mind makes it a great place to discuss topics that you would otherwise get roasted on other social media platforms.
Like when I tweeted to young Malaysians to forget about investing in under-construction properties:
Property Investing is No Longer Profitable for Millennials & Gen Zs
— Helmi – www.helmihasan.com (@HelmiHasanBH) September 2, 2021
Investing in property is old advice that used to work 10 years ago.
Unfortunately, with sky-high prices and stagnant low wages, property (especially undercon) is no longer a lucrative investment
A thread: pic.twitter.com/6IRdvdifBj
That tweet reached almost 60,000 people and had 4,000 engagements!
![](https://helmihasan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/output-onlinejpgtools-1-1024x243.jpg)
Plus, I didn’t receive any hate comments for that tweet. That shows how open-minded the community is, or I just got lucky
What Topics do Well on Twitter?
If you don’t know what to tweet about, these are fail-proof topics that will surely get high engagements on Twitter:
- Money & personal finance
- Business tips & motivation
- Self-improvements (i.e., developing good habits)
Now that you know what topic to talk about, let’s see examples of my tweets that did well:
How to Create a Successful Tweet:
Forget about going viral. Consider getting viral a nice bonus, but not your main objective. Here are the metrics you should look for and why:
- Impressions: How many people were reached & saw your tweet
- Engagements: How many people interacted with your tweet. Aim higher than 5%
- Retweet (RT): How many people ‘shared’ your tweet so it can reach newer audiences
- Quote Retweet: Similar to RT, but a QT can give you an opportunity to start a conversation
Here are all of my tweets that I think did pretty good (for a Twitter beginner):
Tactic | Reach | Engagement % | RT | QT | Profile Clicks | Tweet |
Common pain points + local language | 118,018 | 11.9% | 678 | 38 | 1,123 | Link |
List + emojis | 25,263 | 4.5% | 63 | 3 | 164 | Link |
Benefiting the public | 23,116 | 7.7% | 138 | 1 | 33 | Link |
Show some stats | 15,797 | 5.4% | 60 | 16 | 37 | Link |
Mentioning popular brands/people | 12,987 | 17% | 16 | 2 | 24 | Link |
Personal struggles + question | 6,416 | 3.6% | 5 | 1 | 51 | Link |
Ask a relatable question | 3,045 | 11.7% | 0 | 0 | 10 | Link |
Here are my key findings of what makes a successful tweet based on the small followings that I have:
- In Malaysia, talking about common pain points in the local language will reach many people
- The deeper the pain, the better the attention. A topic that I see doing well: Discussing salary
- Make the tweet about the audience and not about yourself
- People like stats, lists, and before and after photos
- More impressions, more people checking out your profile & following you
Let’s take a look at each of my top-performing tweets and see why they work:
The Pain Point of the Masses
Kerja overseas relax-relax 4 tahun, cukup savings down payment 2 rumah + savings kawin + start business.
— Helmi – www.helmihasan.com (@HelmiHasanBH) May 5, 2021
Balik kerja Malaysia nak makan restaurant pon berkira.
Lol… reality or Malaysian employees’ pay
Metrics | Stats |
Impressions/Reach | 118,018 |
Engagement Rate | 11.9% |
Profile Clicks | 1,123 |
Why It Works:
- It’s talking about a pain point faced by many Malaysians; low wages.
- Plus, it’s in the Malay language, which is the majority language spoken in Malaysia.
What Could Be Improved:
- My spelling & proofreading could be better.
- I’d avoid ‘lol’ in the future.
Here’s another example of a common paint point quote retweet:
Offense vs defense
— Helmi – www.helmihasan.com (@HelmiHasanBH) September 18, 2021
Earnings in Malaysia are low, which is why I became a content creator on the side
Doing something you love while earning a living is a dream for many
So far, my online effort is making USD 120 a month
Looking forward to the blog to beat my salary! https://t.co/ZpVghhV3GP
Metrics | Stats |
Impressions/Reach | 16,173 |
Engagement Rate | 3.4% |
Profile Clicks | 61 |
Why It Works:
- A more influential person has picked a winning topic. All I had to do was to add my spin and add more value to the reader.
- This tweet works because I talked about the low Malaysian salary & I provided a solution or hope for the reader.
What Could Be Improved:
- I think this tweet did pretty well, but it’s a little wordy. I can further trim down the text without losing the message.
Ask a Relatable Question
What gadget that you’ve bought that was worth the money and made your life easier/more enjoyable?
— Helmi – www.helmihasan.com (@HelmiHasanBH) August 25, 2021
For me, its the robot vacuum:
share me yours pic.twitter.com/GyzeFNfT4N
Metrics | Stats |
Impressions/Reach | 3,045 |
Engagement Rate | 11.7% |
Profile Clicks | 0 |
Why It Works:
- People like tech gadgets and the robot vacuum is a hot item right now.
- Repurposing my Instagram story video is smart.
- Asking a question is great for engagements.
What Could Be Improved:
- The text could be shorter & proofread my tweets
- I could list down more gadgets
Personal Struggles
This particular tweet didn’t do that well, but it’s an example of what a personal struggle tweet looks like:
As a one-man band hustling to make my website + YouTube business a thing (on top of having a full-time job), sometimes, I do get burned out.
— Helmi – www.helmihasan.com (@HelmiHasanBH) August 6, 2021
All you solopreneurs, how’d you keep yourself going? I’m genuinely curious.
Metrics | Stats |
Impressions/Reach | 6,416 |
Engagement Rate | 3.6% |
Profile Clicks | 51 |
Why It Works:
- Many content creators are struggling with burnout, but no one is talking about it
- Asking a relatable question will make you seem more human and approachable
- Asking a question invites people to a conversation, which leads to a high engagement
What Could Be Improved:
- Less text in a paragraph
Announcement Benefiting the Public
DEBT CRISIS HELP
— Helmi – www.helmihasan.com (@HelmiHasanBH) July 14, 2021
AKPK is a gov agency that can save some Malaysians who can’t repay their debts from eventually going bankrupt.
I read AKPK’s website, called them up & talked to an officer & interviewed a friend who’s currently enrolled in the program. Here’s what I found out:
Metrics | Stats |
Impressions/Reach | 23,116 |
Engagement Rate | 7.7% |
Profile Clicks | 33 |
Why It Works:
- A nice bold headline that sticks out.
- Saying that I interviewed a friend makes it sound valuable & people are curious about the results.
What Could Be Improved:
- Fewer blobs of text.
- I need to angle this topic more relatable to the masses.
Stats
Survey says you need a household income of around RM 12k to live ‘comfortably’ as a couple in KL, Malaysia.
— Helmi – www.helmihasan.com (@HelmiHasanBH) May 17, 2021
Car – 27%
Housing – 25%
Necessities – 14%
Luxuries – 8%
Savings – 15%
Money for family – 10%
Full article: https://t.co/1Q9nVSCLmZ
What do you think?
Metrics | Stats |
Impressions/Reach | 15,797 |
Engagement Rate | 5.4% |
Profile Clicks | 37 |
Why It Works:
- The cost of living is a hot topic.
- People are curious about the survey results.
- People generally like stats.
- The features image is eye-catching in my opinion.
What Could Be Improved:
- The lead-in text to ask people to click on my link could be more persuasive
- The copy seems a little anti-climatic. Can further put salt in wound to really get those emotions going.
Lists
[New Blog Post]: Here are all the investments that I’ve tried:
— Helmi – www.helmihasan.com (@HelmiHasanBH) April 8, 2021
Gold
ASNB
Stocks
烙 Robo-Advisors
Property & Airbnb
Website & YouTube channel
I hope my journey can help newbies make an informed decision on what’s right for you.https://t.co/WuVvkZ7rd1
Metrics | Stats |
Impressions/Reach | 25,263 |
Engagement Rate | 4.5% |
Profile Clicks | 164 |
Why It Works:
- People want to invest their money
- People like lists
- The emojis are eye-catching to the targeted audience: Young people starting their investing journey
- The featured image is attractive & unique, in my opinion
What Could Be Improved:
- I don’t need to mention [New Blog Post]. It does not add value to the reader.
- The hook at the beginning needs to be more persuasive.
For example: Do you want to start investing, but it’s so confusing & don’t know where to start?
Mentioning Popular Brands or People
I followed Che Nom’s lasagna recipe to a T & it works!
— Helmi – www.helmihasan.com (@HelmiHasanBH) February 26, 2021
Raw ingredients: RM 80
Freezable meal portion: 6
Cost per meal: RM 13
Difficulty Level: Medium but lengthy process
Thanks Che Nom! Her YouTube link in the thread: pic.twitter.com/ErWMBpSAga
Metrics | Stats |
Impressions/Reach | 12,987 |
Engagement Rate | 17% |
Profile Clicks | 24 |
Why It Works:
- Piggyback riding from someone who’s famous get’s your tweet shown to a lot of people. This tweet got 13k impressions.
- People like the photos to show proof of what I’m talking about.
What Could Be Improved:
- I forgot to tag @chenom! Such a rookie mistake!
- The English could tailor for more Malaysians
What Do I Plan to Do Next?
Writing this blog post helps me see what’s working and what isn’t.
Now knowing what I do, here’s my plan to further scale my Twitter followers in the future:
- I need to tweet more, a LOT more
- I’ll try more tweets in the local language
- I can repurpose my old blog content as new tweet material
- I need to batch content & automate my tweets
- I need to use shorter sentences, improve my spelling & grammar
Although I only have around 1,600 followers on Twitter, I think this blog post will be beneficial for people & businesses who have just started their Twitter profile and want to shortcut their success.
I hope this blog post has been helpful. Please share this with your friends online, and leave a comment below to give me any feedback 🙂
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