5 ways to grow your Twitter audience by answering questions

The good news is that the Web is littered with strategies for growing your Twitter audience. The difficult part begins after you’ve tried all the obvious techniques. Once the well runs dry, you need to search for the unorthodox.

Recently, I stumbled across the below infographic about the growing popularity of questions.

According to the survey, 80 percent of individuals trust businesses’ responses as much or more than responses from their own followers. Ouch.

It gets better. When a business answers a question, the grateful questioner is more likely to follow and purchase from the business.

Which leads me to wonder: Why aren’t bloggers and Twitter users answering more questions?

Here are ways solving problems can kick-start your Twitter following:

1. Regularly search for topical questions.

Get in the habit of using search.twitter.com for common questions. For example, gardening enthusiasts can search Twitter for “How to grow (fill in the blank).” Look through the questions, and offer answers or relevant links.

2. Answer without strings attached.