Businesses, organizations, and personal brands use social media to communicate with their target audiences, raise brand awareness, create leads, and boost sales.
If a brand has an engaged following on social networks, it can effectively share information about campaigns, new initiatives, and product updates. The secret to success is creating an online community of qualified leads who engage with your content actively, share it with their networks, and eventually, they convert into paying clients.
Remember, though, that establishing a solid social media presence requires work, but the rewards can be enormous. So, you want to broaden your social media presence. This post will guide you with ways to increase your social media following and succeed long-term in this game.
Build a loyal base from your email list.
Your email list can be an excellent source of that initial traffic to your social media accounts. Apart from that, you can build better rapport with your audience as your social media presence increases and help them engage with your content easier.
An affordable email marketing tool can help you set this step on autopilot. You can craft an email campaign with curated content and your social media buttons, encouraging readers to interact with your social media accounts.
Give people a reason to follow you.
Give your existing and potential fans a reason to follow you across several media. Don't just upload generic content and links on your social media platforms. Adapt your material to the viewers of each channel.
For instance, use Facebook to tell more interesting, in-depth stories about your work while leveraging Twitter to communicate the most recent news and real-time notifications.
Each social media platform should be used strategically depending on its advantages and user base, and you should give your intended market a compelling incentive to engage with you there.
What benefit do you offer? What do you have to offer that will keep people watching?
Consider the motivations behind each network's use, then set up a strategy to regularly post and create content that will appeal to your target audience wherever they hang out online.
Leverage contests and giveaways.
Contests and giveaways are terrific methods to keep your existing audience interested while attracting new people to Like and follow your accounts.
Experimenting with contests on each social media platform you use regularly can set you apart and help you increase your following to unprecedented numbers.
These are some examples of social media competitions to grab some inspiration:
- Participants must comment or respond to a question
- Contest for captions: The caption with the most likes
- Photo contest: The winning image is either the greatest (you decide) or the image with the most likes.
To create a successful social media contest, you need to promote it to your network and encourage your audience to take action. Use your website, your email list, and all your social networks.
Also, pay attention to the kind of prize you pick for the winner. For example, if you offer a new iPhone, you might encourage a lot of participation and engagement, but it's unlikely that these people will become customers or lifelong fans.
Apart from that, you must ensure that you follow the guidelines for each social media channel.
Pro Tip: Follow up with participants who don't win by sending them a thank you note for entering and information about your company's or organization's initiatives.
Include a visual with every post.
Visuals perform well on social media, so make sure each post has an attractive photo, video, or infographic.
94% more people view articles with relevant photos than without them. Visual content is more than 40 times more likely to be shared on social media than other sorts of content.
On Instagram, pictures featuring faces receive 38% more likes than posts without the human element.
Encourage tagging and social sharing.
Encourage people to tag others who might benefit from your posts or share your content with their inner circle.
If you publish a video regarding marketing, invite your online community to name a friend (or better yet, friends) who are into marketing and with whom they would like to share your message. For example, if you post an inspirational remark, write, “Tag a friend who needs this today.”
Ideally, you can entice these new people to join your online social media following. However, a word of caution: use this technique sparingly and only in appropriate situations. Otherwise, it may come out as spammy.
Share more video content.
Every social media site encourages video material as it is the most engaging. It's a good idea to produce at least some video content to increase engagement.
Instead of posting a link to an external website, upload your video content directly to your chosen platform. This will draw additional attention to your video as people stumble over it while scrolling through their feeds.
It can be a testimonial video, or a video explaining the benefits of your products or services. Many views can boost your brand's reach, engagement, and exposure and ultimately increase your online presence organically.
Give value to your online community.
Did you know that 71% of Twitter users and 83% of Facebook fans now anticipate hearing from a brand the same day they ask a question on each platform?
32% of Twitter users currently want a response within 30 minutes. Being incredibly responsive on social media will provide your followers with an excellent user experience. Pay attention to what they need, then give it to them.
Additionally, you should thank those who leave comments on Instagram and YouTube and publicly acknowledge those who retweet and mention your organization on Twitter. Your online audience is more likely to become passionate fans and your most devoted social media ambassadors when you make them feel heard and recognized.
Optimize your profile photos and cover photos.
Your social media profile pictures and banners must be the best and most popular social profile components. Use these visuals to illustrate your perspective, part of your portfolio, and the experiences of the people who profit from your product or service.
Consider changing your Facebook cover photo at least once each month, and remember to provide a compelling caption. Use your Twitter profile picture and banner image to showcase your passions and the topics you love discussing.
Use a striking graphic, following all the latest design trends, and personalize each channel as much as possible. Another essential tip is to use appropriate social media image sizes corresponding to each platform.
Explore social ads.
Finding a budget for ad expenditure, no matter how small, is often necessary to increase social media success.
Spending a small amount on sponsored social media marketing is one of the most efficient tactics to expand your audience and increase awareness. Paid social ads can help you promote your content, boost conversions, and grow your audience.
If you utilize Facebook's pixel, you may target those who have visited your website, joined your email list, and are already friends or followers. This allows you to concentrate your advertisements on these “warm” audiences.
Getting in front of qualified leads is crucial to get more traction for your social media accounts, and paid advertisement is the easiest way to achieve that.
The Takeaway
Social media are becoming a key component of everyday life, and having a solid social media presence is crucial. Achieving high numbers is a consequence of effort and persistence but having the right blueprint is also essential.
This article has everything you need to build your social media following and attract more people to find your content online. Remember that it takes time, and you must always deliver high-quality content and give value before you ask anything from your audience.
Until the next one, keep sharing on socials.
