The surest way of measuring the effect of your presence on twitter is to track the number of mentions you get. A mention of your twitter handle indicates that you are a part of conversations, and this is how you want it to be. All the benefits associated with being on twitter flow from engaging people in conversations resulting in exposure from retweets, replies, and an increased follower count steadily accrue as you start getting more mentions.

 Here are some surefire actionable tips that will enable you to get more mentions on twitter.

1. Use hashtags – The use of hashtags makes your tweets searchable. Data reveals that tweets flavored with hashtags get retweeted more often than plain vanilla tweets. The hashtags also serve as conversation starters. One valuable hashtag that works for all niches is the #FF (Follow Friday) which is recommending commend folks worth following; they are very likely to acknowledge you via a thank-you tweet.

2. A period before @mention – A regular @mention tweet to a person will show up on your respective timelines. A simple period before the @ will have the tweet appearing on the timeline of all your followers. Consider the benefits of getting a tweet with a period before your name. If the sender is someone with a follower count running in thousands, you’ve managed to appear on that many twitter timelines. The trick is to entice, coax, or even instigate such a tweet.

3. Use media – Tweets with images, links to videos, and carrying pithy quotes catch a reader’s attention and increase your chances of getting a mention.

4. Ask for retweets – Probably the most powerful tip to boost mentions. Big brands do it and reap huge benefits. You should too. If you’ve come up with good content that you feel should be shared. Ask the opinion influencers among your followers to retweet it. Conversely, let it be known that, if approached, you are open to retweeting good content.

5. Mention your new followers – Make this a habit. Tweet to your new followers. Take a quick look at their profile and tweets and construct a relevant tweet. It gets the conversation going.

6. Craft catchy tweets – You have 140 characters. Used creatively, you can pique curiosity and elicit retweets or replies. This is particularly relevant when sharing a link. Express your opinion about the subject.

7. Position yourself as an authority – Whether on twitter or in the real world, subject-matter authorities attract people. You want to strike up a conversation with an acknowledged expert. If your opinions are respected and considered worth thought, you will get mentions. Tweeters will look to initiate conversations with you.

Use the above-mentioned tips judiciously and you will find that it is quite easy to have your twitter handle appear across multiple timelines. And it is important that this happens because twitter timelines get updated fast; you don’t want your mentions buried under other tweets. Therefore, an increase in the number of mentions and a wider spread across as many timelines as possible will help you gain valuable exposure on Twitter.