Do you want to grow your social network but are unsure about how to go about doing it?

I built my Twitter following to 48K+, and it wasn’t as difficult as you might imagine, here are some tips you can use to grow your ‘following.’

One frequent question I get asked regarding my social media usage is; “How did you get so many twitter followers?” Sometimes I joke with the person asking me, I’ll say; “It will cost you, how much will you pay for this valuable information?” Although, no one has taken me up on my offer, nor would I charge someone.

There are lots of benefits of having a strong social network, such as creating a platform to give you credibility, share knowledge, communicate, do business, entertainment, and even the good feeling you get after tweeting. And an even better feeling when you get a positive response from a tweet. Having a good 'reason' will keep you motivated to work on your goal. Since I have been asked the question many times, I figured I would share my experience.

Developing good twitter habits can help ensure your success by providing a simple easy to follow ‘process.’ Basics include, for every tweet make sure the tweet is ‘relevant’ to your audience, tweet at least 3 to 5 times a week during the hours your audience is active on Twitter.

Three Tweet Styles to get you started.

Tweet Style #1 - Content, share information you find interesting.

Tweet Style #2 - Engage with others, mention them in a tweet, or comment on a post they shared.

Tweet Style #3 - Share something personal about you, this way you won't be mistaken for a robot.

For starters, create three tweets based on each of the three styles. Try those out, then create three more based on the styles and tweet those, continue until you get the hang of it. You will soon figure out what’s working and is not, with experience you can change your strategy accordingly.

7 Tips to Sharpen Your Twitter Strategy

1. Topics: Focus on 3 to 5 topics at most, if you have too many you’ll have a hard time keeping up with it all.
2. Twitter Mentors - Find twitter mentors (people who you might aspire to be like). Follow, and interact with them. Search and follow individuals with keywords that match your focus areas (they are more likely to retweet).
3. Content -  Content is King. As you go through your day and look up information, perhaps others would also enjoy the information, share it socially.
4. Sharing Tactics - To have a friend you must be a friend, this means that you should be engaging with your like-minded mentors and followers.
5. Other social media sites - Share your thoughts in blog posts, articles, commenting and engaging with others.
6. Tools to Automate - Use tools to help with grammar/spelling, automatically schedule tweets, and other tasks.
7. Maintenance - Review the Twitter tweet rules, there are limits to how many people you can follow, and unfollow any time, check Twitter’s website for the latest.

I've only covered a few basics, what are some tactics that you use?

John M. Hawkins is the author of Coached to Greatness (expected 2017), Building a Strategic Plan for Your Life and Business, and Affinity. John writes about strategy, goal setting, personal development, business, and technology. Follow him by subscribing johnmhawkins.com/, on twitter @hawkinsjohn.