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[et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]Building up your followers on social media is a key goal for many companies. A strong presence on social media can dramatically raise the profile of your brand, as well as generating leads and sales.
Everyone wants more followers on social media, as not only does it mean that your messages are reaching more people, but a large number of followers is also a sign that the page and the company is one that offers something useful and entertaining – one that is worth following. In this blog, we’ll take a look at tactics to increase your followers on social media by using a range of marketing channels and content. We will also consider methods for engaging with your social media audience and expanding your reach by working with influencers.
Plan For all Platforms
Most companies have at least an established Facebook and Twitter page. It is important to be active on these platforms (and also on LinkedIn, Instagram and Youtube where appropriate), yet an effort should be made to figure out which networks your target audience are most likely to spend their time on. Conduct some research to try and identify your target buyers. This can include carrying out keyword research, asking existing customers about their experience and looking at industry trends and analytics.
No matter what industry you are in, there are always people who will want to speak to you, or about you, on social media. It’s important to meet the customer halfway by giving them the option to get in touch with you on whichever network they prefer.
Project a Professional Brand Image
Ensure that you make your social media profiles look interesting by working on the imagery and text in the main profile sections. This involves choosing a professional username that is easy to remember and uploading an appropriate profile and background picture. Use all the space you have available to you to tell your business’s story in the bio section and don’t forget to include a link directing people to your website. If the profiles of the company’s management or employees are featured on the company’s page, then make sure to also give them a bit of a polish.
Also take steps to optimise your social profiles by including relevant keywords in your bio and in posts. This can help your social pages rank in results from search engines.
Create Engaging Content
When creating posts, or putting together images and videos, try to make sure that they are useful and interesting, rather than posts that are clearly focused on selling. The best content provides helpful information which readers are likely to share. Think about what unique insights from your industry experience that you could use to give advice to potential customers on a range of topics. Post as much compelling visual content as you can, as images and videos are much more effective at grabbing the attention of people scrolling through social media feeds. Also, try to include some fun posts here and there to keep things interesting.
Share other interesting content when you come across it too, remembering to give the appropriate credit to the original poster.
Promoting Engagement
Social media is all about discussion and building relationships. You should make an effort to regularly interact with your followers. Encourage your existing followers to get in touch by asking questions and take the time to reply to people who mention you in their posts, even if their comments are negative. Make sure that you reply to all comments promptly, especially if it is a complaint.
Following other users is also a great way to establish yourself as part of an online community. Making an effort to follow 20 people a day will see your follower count grow rapidly as people return the favour.
Get Found
Make it as easy as possible for people to follow you on social media by providing your information anywhere it may be useful. Include your social media information wherever you can, including in links on your website and blog, at the bottom of emails, on business cards and posters on your business premises. You can also make a point of encouraging people to follow your pages when attending conferences or during presentations. It can also be helpful to promote each of your social media pages using your other platforms. That way you can use Instagram to build your Twitter fans or get your LinkedIn connections to give you a like on Facebook.
Influencers
Finding and following leaders in your industry can be a great way to build relationships and expand your sphere of influence on social media. Influencers can be found easily by searching hashtags or by joining Facebook and LinkedIn groups that are relevant for your industry. Following some influencers may prompt them to follow you back, but more importantly, it provides you with a good environment on social media to get involved in relevant discussions for your industry.
Interact with influencers by liking their posts and commenting. At the very least these interactions serve as links back to your page. This could also lead to opportunities to write guest blog posts for influencers, extending your reach and enabling you to attract more attention to your social media pages.
Keeping Followers
Once you’ve put in the hard work to build your following, you must strive to be consistent on social media in order to keep them. This means making a commitment to remain active by publishing quality posts on a regular basis. Yet, you must be careful not to overdo it by bombarding your followers with constant updates. You might find it useful to schedule posts in advance in order to avoid this. Experiment with the frequency of your posts to see what tactics result in the most shares and engagements for each platform. Also make sure to keep your posts and content fresh and interesting. It’s often a good idea to avoid mundane personal details, or controversial political posts, which may alienate your followers.
Analyse and Improve
Reviewing your overall social media strategy on a regular basis can help to speed this process up. Take a look at your analytics to see what tactics have proved to be the most popular. Try to develop a better idea of your target audience as you go, adapting your posts and content to appeal to them directly. You may find that you would benefit from hiring a dedicated social media manager to manage all of your social media, contribute content and find other ways to expand your influence. Increasing your followers can take some time. Be patient and slowly build up a network of genuine followers and don’t be tempted to simply buy followers. That just boosts your follower count without any benefits when it comes to engagement and sales.
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