The Social Media Beat

How to Increase Your Twitter Followers: A Simple Plan

How to Increase Your Twitter Followers: A Simple Plan

By Billy Grogan

Billy Grogan

Billy Grogan is the Chief of Police for the Dunwoody Police Department in Georgia. Follow Chief Grogan on Twitter @ChiefGrogan.

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You have taken the plunge. You or your department has begun using Twitter. Now what? Of course you can tweet messages all day long but if no one is following you, what benefit is there for you or your community? Here are a few simple ideas to help you grow your followers.

Advertise your Twitter account everywhere. This is a simple suggestion but an effective one. Your Twitter URL should be featured prominently on the departmental Web site. It should also be listed in the signature block for all employee e-mails as well as featured in all department publications such as annual reports, crime prevention brochures, and other similar materials. In addition, it should be mentioned by staff in any public presentations.

Follow others. This is a crucial component to adding followers. First, look up all of the media outlets and personalities in your community and follow them. They will all be interested in what you have to post. Second, follow all of the organizations and businesses in your community. This can increase your connection to your community and your followers. Third, follow other law enforcement agencies and criminal justice organizations. Lastly, follow those who follow you. Although it may not be to your advantage to follow all of them, strategically following ones of interest can expose others to your department.

Post interesting content frequently. If you are able to do this one thing effectively, your followers will retweet your posts which will lead to more followers who will retweet your posts and before long your followers will increase substantially.

Interact with your followers. This is extremely important. There are many things you can do to increase the interaction with your followers. One technique is to use humor in your posts. Of course you should only use humor that is in good taste. Other techniques include asking questions, doing surveys, and of course respond to your followers when they post comments or ask questions.

Tweet during peak times. The optimal time to post a tweet is between 10 am and 4 pm. This is the period of time when the most people are twittering. If you really want to take advantage of this idea, post your tweets between 1 pm and 2 pm which is the power hour of tweeting. You will then have a much better chance of your tweets being seen by your followers, retweeted which could translate into more followers.

In closing, if you are able to follow these five simple steps, you will increase the number of followers you have on Twitter and significantly improve the effectiveness and reach of your tweets in your community.
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    About This Blog

    So you have found, or perhaps stumbled upon, The Social Media Beat, the blog for the IACP Center for Social Media Web site. The Social Media Beat is about three things: social media, law enforcement, and perspective. Here you will find a fresh outlook on the issues that are affecting law enforcement agencies and their personnel when it comes to social media.

    Social media is taking the world by storm. Social networks, blogs, photo and video sharing sites, and virtual communities are changing the way people live, work, and play. These tools present unique opportunities as well as challenges to the law enforcement community.  The Social Media Beat brings together a team of bloggers who will speak directly to you about hot topics and current issues.

    Bloggers include IACP staff and practitioners in the field who can provide a unique front-line perspective. Our team cares about social media and wants to ensure that law enforcement across the country are knowledgeable and well-equipped to incorporate this technology.

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    About the Authors

    Dionne Waugh

    Dionne Waugh is the social media guru for the Richmond Police Department. As a member of the Department's Public Affairs Unit for more than three years, she created and developed the agency's successful use of social media and continues to try and find new ways to improve the way Richmond Police communicate online. Waugh is a former newspaper reporter who wrote about crime, police, and the court system for six years. That experience and an ingrained curiosity for what makes people tick has fueled her desire to improve communication between people. Waugh graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, with a degree in mass communications. Follow Dionne on Twitter @RichmondPolice.

    IACP Center for Social Media

    IACP's Center for Social Media serves as a clearinghouse of information and no-cost resources to help law enforcement personnel to develop or enhance their agency's use of social media and integrate Web 2.0 tools into agency operations. The Center is funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

    Tracy Phillips

    Tracy is a Senior Project Specialist with the IACP. She is responsible for managing the day-to-day operation of the DiscoverPolicing.org Web site and coordinating the site's social networking plan. In addition, Ms. Phillips provides writing, editorial, and technical assistance on a variety of association projects and activities, including police management studies, job analyses, executives searches, federal grants, and various research projects and proposals. She has more than 10 years of experience in state and local government, including work as a management analyst, performance auditor, and crime analyst. Ms. Phillips holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of Georgia and a bachelor's from Clemson University.

    Want to hear more from Tracy Phillips? Follow her and the Discover Policing team on Twitter, Facebook, and on the Inside Discover Policing blog. You can also network with other police recruitment professionals in the Law Enforcement Recruitment LinkedIn group.

    Lynn Hightower

    Lynn has been the Communications Director and Public Information Officer for the Boise Police Department since October, 2003. Lynn also serves at the PIO for the Boise Fire Department. Lynn often acts as media spokesperson, and advises officers from patrol to command staff on effective media and communications strategies. Lynn joined the Boise Police Department after 17 years as a television reporter, producer, anchor, and news director. Lynn is a certified media relations and communications instructor from the Idaho POST Academy. She regularly instructs new officers at the Boise Police Academy and has given media relations and communications instruction to dozens of federal, state, and local emergency responder agencies. Follow Lynn on Twitter @BoisePD.

    Billy Grogan

    Billy Grogan is the Chief of Police for the Dunwoody Police Department in Georgia. Chief Grogan was hired on December 17, 2008, after serving 28 years with the Marietta, Georgia, Police Department, to start a brand new department. On April 1, 2009, the Dunwoody Police Department began operations with 40 sworn officers and eight civilians providing police services to the 40,000+ residents of the City of Dunwoody. The entire process took about 90 days. Chief Grogan embraced the use of social media from day one of operations. The Dunwoody Police Department began using Twitter the first day and has added Facebook, YouTube, and a Chief's Blog to their arsenal since then as effective tools to market their department and engage their community. Chief Grogan has participated in a number of social media focus groups and lectured on the subject as well. Follow Chief Grogan on Twitter @ChiefGrogan.

    Mark Economou

    Mark Economou is the Public Information Officer for the Boca Raton Police Department in Boca Raton, Florida. His media and public relations background spans nearly 20 years. Spending nearly 15 years in radio and television news, Economou held many positions from assignment editor, reporter, anchor, and executive editor. After that, he served as the Director of Media Relations for Cote & D'Ambrosio, a Public Relations, Marketing and Advertising firm in Wickford, RI. He then served as head of Media Relations for Citizens Bank of Rhode Island, the 9th largest bank in the United States. Follow Mark on Twitter @BocaPolice.

    Frank Domizio

    Corporal Frank Domizio has been with the Philadelphia Police Department for 16 years. He is currently assigned to the Department's Office of Media Relations and Public Affairs where he is the Social Media Community Manager. Frank is also a regular lecturer at Drexel University's LeBow College of Business on the topics of social media and content strategy.

    Tim Burrows

    Tim Burrows is a Sergeant with the Toronto Police - Traffic Services Unit. His primary role is the supervisor for strategic communications and media relations related to traffic issues within the geographical boundaries of Toronto. Tim was appointed to the Traffic Services Communications Office in 2008 with the mandate to raise the profile of traffic issues within the mindset of the general public. In an effort to enhance traffic safety and to control the timing and full scope of messaging, he has developed a targeted information stream using social media to expand the Toronto Police Service span of influence within the Toronto community and beyond with the goal of reducing collisions, injury, and death in Toronto. Using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Blogs, Tim has pushed information about traffic safety to the citizens of Toronto and has opened the lines of communication to allow for collaborative efforts with community groups, road users, and individuals.

    Guest Blogger

    The Social Media Beat periodically features guest bloggers who share their perspective on the topic of social media and law enforcement. These individuals are law enforcement professionals; sworn and civilian personnel from agencies of all types and sizes throughout the world. If you are interested in guest blogging, please send your request to socialmedia@theiacp.org. All bloggers must be affiliated with a law enforcement agency or educational institution. We cannot accept blog entries from vendors or others working in a for-profit capacity.

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