Your followers took the time to check out your profile and thought you were cool enough to follow, but how are you treating them in return? Have you allowed your large number of followers cause you to develop Twi-lebrity Syndrome? Suddenly, you’re too good to respond to or retweet anything and you think everyone should stop what they’re doing and retweet your tweets? If so, then you’ve probably begun to notice that for some strange reason the number of your followers are dropping. Why? Because you’ve been ignoring them. Followers are special – they can do more for your business than you could alone, that is if you would do more for them. I admit, when I first joined Twitter, I was totally confused by this new platform of reaching people. I’m sure I’ve offended several people with my random and even borderline spammy tweets. It wasn’t until someone took the time to say hello in a direct message that it finally clicked for me.

When I received that DM, it caused me to notice them…I took a moment to visit their profile and noticed there was some cool stuff there, so I clicked on several links, visited their blog and realized… that person gained more exposure to their blog all because they took a moment to say hello to me. Next thing you know I was retweeting their content and still enjoy interacting with them to this day.

But up to that point, I had been ignoring my followers. I noticed a big difference in the way people respond to my tweets and increased retweets when I changed my methods. This is what I did:

1. Profile Check: Whenever someone became a follower, whether I was already following them or not, I took a moment to check their profile.

2. Sent a Direct Message: I sent a Direct Message, thanking them for following. I took the time to write an authentic message and would comment on something I found on their profile. I’d say something like, “It’s wonderful to have you as a follower! Thanks for stopping by, I love your background by the way.” It’s even okay to post a link to your blog if it appears they might be interested – but don’t over do this one. If you’re posting a link in ever DM you send, you’re probably overdoing it.

3. Followed back: If I found that our interests were similar or if they’d piqued my interest, I’d thank them for following further by following them back.

4. Retweeted a tweet: If while on their profile, I found an interesting tweet – I’d retweet it.

5. Tweeted a blog post: If they had a website or a blog, I’d visit it, and if I found something noteworthy there, I’d tweet it.

6. Follow Friday: On Fridays, I’d take a moment to post a Follow Friday tweet for new and noteworthy Followers.

7. Responded to tweets: If I ran across an interesting tweet or question – I’d take a moment to respond with a reply or answer their question. People like to be heard, they won’t know that you’re hearing them if you don’t respond.

8. Added them to a List: So you can keep better track of followers create a list and make it a point to keep up with each one. You can do this throughout the week. For example, on Mondays, stay up on your “Crafters” list, or Tuesdays, check in on your “Bloggers” list. Whatever lists you’ve created, use them to help you stay in touch with followers.

9.Helped 5 a Day: Everyday I made it a point to visit 5 profiles and retweet 5 tweets; respond to 5; or visit 5 of your followers blogs or websites.

10. Tweet 3-4 of my own original updates. No one will know you’re there if you don’t Say something. Ask a question. Post a blog update. Do something at various times throughout the day. Use Hootsuite.com to schedule tweets if you know you won’t be available later – do what you have to do to remain active.

The point is, if you want your followers to respond to you – you’ve got to respond to them. You get what you give on Twitter. If you ignore people – you’ll be ignored. If you love people, you’ll be loved in return. It’s that simple.