How to Grow an Audience on LinkedIn and Twitter

How to Grow an Audience on LinkedIn and Twitter as a Solopreneur

Growing an audience on Twitter and LinkedIn can seem daunting, starting from zero followers. It's easy to get discouraged and overwhelmed when your posts receive little engagement or response.

Many solopreneurs try posting content but see few results. They use different content or tactics again but find themselves stuck in the rut. It's easy to feel like social media success is some unfair game stacked against you. The key to building your audience on LinkedIn and Twitter is identifying and executing the highest leverage activities.

These are the specific growth tactics influential social media accounts use across industries like marketing, business, and technology to build massive followings from scratch. 

Following this blueprint can remove the guesswork and frustration from audience building on LinkedIn and Twitter.

7 Steps on How to Grow an Audience on LinkedIn and Twitter 

Here is a strategic 7-step framework to grow an audience effectively on LinkedIn and Twitter as a solopreneur. Let's dive right in!

Step 1: Create a Detailed Content Strategy and Plan

The first step to growing an audience on LinkedIn and Twitter is developing a documented content strategy and plan. This provides focus and direction right from the start to ensure consistency.

Without a plan, it's easy to become scattered, trying random tactics and posting infrequently. This ends up wasting time while stunting your growth. Set aside time upfront to map out a thoughtful social media content plan. 

Here are the key elements your plan should include:

Define Your Niche and Audience

Get very clear on your niche, industry, and ideal target audience. The more narrowly you can define your niche and audience demographic, the better. 

For example, instead of the broad niche of “social media,” go deeper into sub-categories like “social media marketing for coaches.” And define your target audience details like “life coaches attracting female clients between 30-45.”

This level of clarity helps you create content that resonates deeply with a well-defined audience looking for solutions tailored to their unique problems.

Brainstorm Content Topics and Ideas

Next, brainstorm a list of potential topics and content ideas you can create content around. You can take inspiration from any Write For Us platform for content creation. 

Aim to come up with at least 50 initial topics and ideas. Don't self-filter at this stage. Use tools like AnswerThePublic, BuzzSumo, and Ubersuggest to generate more inspiration based on keyword and industry data.

Look at questions people ask online in your niche for insight into topics they care about. Review forums and communities like Reddit to surface everyday struggles and pain points.

Determine Content Formats

There are endless types of content you can create for social media, including:

• Multi-part threads
• Short-form written posts
• Infographics
• Videos
• Live video streams
• Quotes or excerpts
• Curated content
• Polls and questions
• List posts/roundups
• Podcast clips

Outline a mix of formats you will use. This variety keeps your audience engaged across different consumption preferences.

Establish a Posting Schedule

One of the solopreneurs' most significant mistakes is posting content sporadically without a set schedule.

Determine upfront a consistent posting cadence and the optimal times to post content based on when your audience is most active. For example, commit to posting:

• 2 Twitter threads per week – Tuesday at 11 am, Friday at 3 pm
• 1 Instagram post + story daily – 9 am daily
• 2 LinkedIn articles per week – Monday and Thursday at 7 am

Having a schedule makes it much easier to maintain regular posting habits long term.

Plan Content Promotion and Distribution

Your social media content plan should include tactics for maximising the reach of each piece of content. Ways to extend content reach include:

• Sharing posts across your social profiles
• Promoting new content via email or text
• Running social media ads
• Pitching articles to industry websites for syndication
• Asking partners or influencers to share your content
• Participating in relevant LinkedIn and Facebook groups
• Engaging followers and encouraging social sharing

Map out how you consistently promote and distribute each post for maximum visibility.

Invest time upfront into crafting a thoughtful social media content strategy and plan. This will become the blueprint guiding your actions as you build an audience.

Step 2: Optimise Your Social Media Profiles

In addition to consistently posting great content, optimise your LinkedIn and Twitter profiles. Your profile serves as the first impression visitors have of your work. Ensure your profile looks professional and approachable to convince visitors to follow you.

Here are tips for optimising your main social profiles:

Use a Professional Profile Photo

Replace the default placeholder or logo image with a real high-quality photo showing your face. Humans connect far better with actual people rather than anonymous brands.

Dress professionally, use good lighting, and pick a friendly, approachable facial expression. This profile shot is a critical first impression.

Write a Compelling Bio

Your bio description must quickly convey who you are and the value you offer to your audience. Structure your bio following this formula:

• “[Your niche or title] who helps [the audience] achieve [result].”

Then, include a solid call to action for visitors to follow you or connect. For example:

• “Join over 5,000 CEOs who get my weekly insights by following me today.”

To grow your audience on LinkedIn and Twitter, your bio should act as an elevator pitch. It must explain why your audience should pay attention to you. Keep it succinct while highlighting the return visitors get by following you.

Include a Strong Call-to-Action

End your bio with a clear call to action to reinforce what visitors should do after reading your profile. For example:

• “Get my five free LinkedIn growth tips – follow me now.”

Or 

• “Learn how I built this business to over $50k/month – click follow.”

The call-to-action prompts visitors on the desired action, whether following you, clicking a link, or messaging you. Don't assume visitors will intuitively take actions – explicitly tell them.

With a professional profile photo, value-focused bio, and strong call to action, your LinkedIn and Twitter profile will instantly look more authoritative. This helps convert casual visitors into engaged followers.

Step 3: Learn from Top Influencers in Your Niche

Rather than taking guesses at the type of content your audience might enjoy, let data guide you.

Study influencers and accounts in your industry who have already built large social media followings. Analyse the content that resonates best with their audience. Then, create your content informed by these proven ideas.

Here's what to look for:

Study Their Top Performing Content

Sort an influencer's content by most likes, comments, and shares to see their top performers. Review several of these posts:

• What topics do they cover?
• What content formats are used?
• What calls to action do they include?

Reverse engineering the content of influencers who have already succeeded shortens your learning curve.

Analyse Post Formats and Engagement

Look for any observable patterns in the posts that tend to perform best. For example, Quote graphics attract high engagement for a particular account. 

Review Content Topics and Themes

Look for any common topics, themes, or keywords that come up repeatedly in their top content. This reveals the type of subject matter their audience most cares about. Take notes on these resonant topics to create content around the same themes.

Research Their Posting Schedule

This is very important to grow an engaged audience on LinkedIn and Twitter. Note the days of the week and times the influencer typically posts their content. Test posting your content on the same days/times for optimal visibility. Their audience is already tuned in at that time.

Look at Posting Frequency and Length

Observe how often this influencer posts. Is it multiple times per day, once a day, or a few times a week? Also, note the general length of their posts – short snippet posts vs in-depth long-form.

Replicate the successful format of influencer content in your strategy. Match the patterns of content their audience already responds to.

In short, let your competitors do the market research for you! By diligently analysing their top content, you can extract proven ideas and topics tailored to your mutual audience. This eliminates guesswork when creating your social content.

Step 4: Provide Value to Grow an Audience on LinkedIn and Twitter

Posting valuable, helpful content that serves your audience needs to become the foundation. Too many solopreneurs focus exclusively on self-promotion before providing value. Think of LinkedIn growth as building a relationship. Wait to ask for the sale or follow. 

First, build trust and authority by consistently offering value. Here are impactful ways to deliver value with your social media content:

Solve Key Audience Problems

Demonstrate that you understand your audience's biggest struggles, frustrations, and pain points. Then, provide tips, advice, or solutions that directly help address those problems.

Even if you offer paid services around the problem, give away free value to build authority first. For example, a sales consultant could share fundamental objections he sees and how to overcome them vs pitching services.

Share Actionable Tips and Tactics

Create posts, graphics, or videos highlighting specific, actionable tactics your audience can immediately implement.

Short, digestible tips focused on tangible results build trust quickly. Make following you feel like gaining instant access to insider secrets that improve their lives.

Create Educational and Instructional Content

Before you grow your audience on LinkedIn, build your credibility by teaching them essential topics and skills in your industry. For example, share guides, list posts, carousels, or videos that educate them on important concepts they may lack as beginners.

Entertain Your Audience

Don't feel that all your content needs to be serious or formal. The occasional funny meme, entertaining video clip, or lighthearted post helps your audience see your human side. Showing personality and giving people a mental break goes a long way. 

Just ensure that entertainment complements your core educational focus.

Be Helpful and Responsive

LinkedIn and Twitter are conversational social media platforms. So, be responsive to any questions or requests for help.

No matter how large your audience grows, take time to respond to comments and assist where you can thoughtfully. This fosters community and loyalty.

Master these core methods for delivering generous value without expectation. Social media growth ultimately comes down to the value and goodwill you build with your audience. Keep their interests front and centre.

Step 5: Use a Content Scheduling Tool

Creating consistently excellent content takes significant work. Planning and organising your social posts in advance is a must. Scheduling tools allow you to efficiently plan, manage, and analyse your social media content calendar:

Benefits of Content Scheduling to Grow an Audience on LinkedIn and Twitter

Pre-writing and scheduling posts weeks or months ahead provide huge advantages:

• Maintains a steady stream of content in slower periods
• Allows more thorough editing and optimisation
• Enables scheduling content for maximum visibility
• Saves time by batching content creation
• Reduces stress by having a content buffer

Planning social content is essential for consistent publishing in the long term.

How to Use LinkedIn and Twitter Scheduling Tools

Tools like Hypefury, SmarterQueue, and Typeshare make scheduling easy:

• Drag and drop posts based on planned dates/times in a calendar view.
• Use a social inbox to queue incoming post ideas in one place.
• Bulk upload posts saved as drafts to fill your queue.
• Publish your queue across accounts on different platforms.
• Shorten links and schedule social images as well.

Create Content in Bulk

The easiest way to build your queue is to designate time consistently to create content in bulk.

For example, spend 2 hours brainstorming and writing ten posts every Monday morning to schedule across the week. Or designate Friday afternoons for batch-creating content for the next week.

Draft social post ideas in a document, then load them into your scheduling tool. This content inventory powers consistent posting.

Schedule Content at Optimal Times – Best Hack to Grow an Audience 

Use your Twitter Hashtag Analytics Tool to determine when your audience is most active on each platform—schedule content for those high-visibility windows.

For example, you may find your LinkedIn network is most active on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, whereas Twitter sees an engagement spike on weekend evenings. 

Post when your followers are online to maximise reach and response.

Writing consistently in bulk and scheduling tools can systematise your audience-building process for efficiency. This lets you focus energy on high-level creative ideas vs repetitive posting tasks.

Step 6: Connect and Engage With Your Audience

Simply broadcasting content is not enough. Creating genuine relationships and community with your audience would be best. The audience growth on LinkedIn and Twitter thrives on engagement.

Below are some of the effective ways to meaningfully interact with your growing audience:

Respond to Messages and Comments

No matter how big your following grows, stay responsive to direct messages and comments on your posts. These exchanges build rapport and trust with followers who feel heard. It shows you care beyond just content promotion.

Join Relevant Social Groups and Discussions

Position yourself as an expert through thoughtful group engagement.

How?

Actively participate in social groups like relevant LinkedIn and Facebook groups to connect with your niche. Share your perspective and valuable advice.  

Comment Thoughtfully on Posts – Key For Audience Growing on LinkedIn

Proactively engage the content from accounts you respect rather than just pushing your posts. Share feedback and insights that demonstrate your experience. Aim for quality over quantity in engaging others.

Support and Share Relevant Content

Support influencers who produce extraordinary content by sharing it with your audience. Look for opportunities to curate and amplify relevant posts that interest your followers.

Provide Personal Value Through Stories

Social media creates space for storytelling, allowing you to connect on a human level. This builds an emotional connection. Share: 

• Personal experiences, 
• Behind-the-scenes looks at your work, 
• Helpful lessons learned over the years. 

Focus on relationship-building to grow your audience. Follow the 80/20 rule by sharing 20% self-promotion and 80% value for others.

Step 7: Aim for Consistency to Grow an Audience on LinkedIn and Twitter

Ultimately, success boils down to diligently implementing this framework daily and weekly over an extended period. Avoid the common mistake of stopping and starting your efforts. Growing an audience on LinkedIn requires remarkable consistency spanning months and years. 

Here are tips for sustaining consistency:

Post Consistently on a Schedule

Stick to your planned posting schedule as much as possible. Here is how:

• Publish consistently to train followers to expect and look forward to your content.

Missing days or weeks signals to the algorithm that you are not a reliable source. Maintaining momentum is critical even as your audience grows on LinkedIn and Twitter. 

Use Productivity Tools for Accountability

Leverage productivity apps like Asana, Trello, or Notion to track tasks and hold yourself accountable. Schedule social media-related tasks on your calendar to avoid skipping them. Set reminders for upcoming posts.

Find Accountability Partners

An accountability partner, mastermind group, or business coach provides external motivation through encouragement and constructive criticism. Celebrate milestones together while also troubleshooting hurdles and setbacks. 

Shared accountability helps persist through the ups and downs.

Track Performance Data as Motivation

Monitor your progress by Consistently analysing follower growth, engagement, and other metrics. Visibility into metrics like monthly new followers clarifies the return on consistent efforts. Numbers propel you forward.

Make LinkedIn Marketing a Daily Habit

Like any skill, treat LinkedIn growth as a customary practice. Set aside time for it each day like you would for email.

Integrate tasks into your daily routine to ensure you move forward without distraction. Consistency compounds over the years.

Avoid viewing LinkedIn and Twitter growth as a short sprint. Transform it into a regular daily or weekly regimen and treat it as a marathon.

Key Takeaways 

• The platforms reward consistency, generosity, and persistence above all else. Avoid short-term thinking for overnight viral success.
• Commit to mastering social media's unique relationship and community-building dynamics for lasting growth.
• Become obsessive over consistently delivering value and service to your audience above all else. Put their needs and preferences first – the growth will follow.
• Social authority comes not from guessing what may work but from doubling down on proven engagement and relationship-building principles month after month.
• Stay patient and keep providing incredible value to your niche community. Your audience will find you when you focus wholeheartedly on them. 

Conclusion

To grow your audience on LinkedIn and Twitter comes down to persistently focusing on value-driven relationships rather than vanity metrics. This 7-step blueprint walks you through the critical fundamentals from crafting an intentional content strategy to optimising profiles and engaging your audience. Apply these steps over an extended period. Iterate and improve them based on data and feedback. Your social presence and follower count will steadily grow.