One of the social networks that gets little respect from financial advisors is Twitter. Many advisors do not understand this online marketing tool and often  do not have much success with it. The obvious reason to use Twitter is to learn from its amazing real-time information stream. The less obvious reason is get new business. To do that, you need a following.

Twitter, in fact, can be used to get more Web site hits, build up virtual relationships and increase new leads.

Here are 10 Twitter tips to gain more followers:

1. Follow others.
The easiest way to get awareness that you have an account and exist on Twitter is to follow others. Some tweeters automatically follow back. Even if they do not follow back, it allows you to get valuable tweets that you can share to then get more exposure yourself.

2. Use hashtags.
By simply using a pound sign in front of a word or any combination of letters and numbers, that item becomes a clickable link. It takes people to a stream of other tweets using the same hashtag. A good way to get noticed is to pick hashtags of interest. This works great at conferences and events, as the hashtag creates a back channel of communications for organizers, speakers, attendees, and even non-attendees.

3. Keep tweets short.
The shorter the tweets, the easier they are to digest and the more likely they will be retweeted.  Also, shorter tweets allow others to copy and paste your message, while still having room to add their own message.

4. Broaden topics.
The narrower the range of topics you tweet on, the less of a chance for others to find you and want to follow you. It is not a bad thing to be selective, but sometimes it is also OK to show your brand personality and go outside normal financial services content.

Consider something as simple as sharing breaking news or famous quotes.

5. Cross promote.
When you see something you like online, tweet it and promote the Twitter handle of the person or organization that created it. By doing so, you’ll show up as someone that created a mention and will likely be noticed. Usually, those that appreciate this type of acknowledgement follow back, thank and sometimes retweet something of yours.

Also, use traditional marketing to promote a Twitter handle.

6. Engage others.
By sending a public mention using a Twitter handle, that person or organization will likely respond by replying to your tweet. In doing so, they might also follow you if they like the online dialogue.

Try making a statement and then asking, ‘what do you think @_______?”

7. Play favorites.
By favoring a tweet, it will again show up on the originator’s “Connect” section of Twitter.  Most tweeters appreciate that their tweet was liked by another and often choose to follow back.

8. Create lists.
If you add others to a list, it is a way of you telling them that they are important and you want to pay extra attention to their tweets.  They might respond by following you and adding you to a list.  Being on a list is great, as others can subscribe to lists that are not even theirs, making it one other way to be found.

As you follow more and more, lists also help you stay on top of certain tweeters that are more important to you, based on the categories you put them in.

9. Ask for followers and retweets.
Maybe it seems too obvious, but studies show that if you ask for followers or retweets, people are more likely to do it.  You probably do not want to abuse this tactic, but give it a try.

10. Be yourself and tweet.
You cannot control who follows you, but if you and your firm stick to what makes you valuable to the world, you are likely to find followers that are interested and want to learn more. Be careful though, as this does not give you a license to be 100 percent self-promotional. 

If you share information that is original, that is ‘infotainment’ (a combination of informative and entertaining), and that helps businesses, individuals and their families, there will be a demand to digest your content. 

The stronger the content, the bigger the following. Plus, the more positive you are, the better. Stay active and tweet. Those that send out one tweet a month are never going to get many followers.

Hopefully these tips make it easier to figure out the Twittersphere and be more successful online.

Mike Byrnes is a national speaker and owner of Byrnes Consulting, LLC. His firm provides consulting services to help advisors become even more successful. Need help with business planning, marketing strategy, business development, client service and management effectiveness? Read more at ByrnesConsulting.com and follow @ByrnesConsultin.