7 Ways To Grow Your Social Media Following
One thing the whole world can agree on is we all want more followers. And hey, it’s totally okay to admit it. Whether it’s your personal account or business account, the reality is the more followers you have, the wider your message has the potential to spread and more opportunities will come your way.
Create Great Content
Put some effort into creating thoughtful and interesting blogs, videos, images, graphics or anything else your talents will allow. Give people something they’ll feel compelled to like and – even better – share with their own networks. The ultimate goal is to connect with people on an emotional level. Whether it be through humour, ideas, behind-the-scenes, how-to’s, opinions, or inspiration: anything that improves their day will add value.
Write A Killer Bio
You’ve got to put on your marketing hat on and make yourself or your brand sound awesome here. This is what people will look at when they are deciding whether to follow you, so you must sell sell sell! Tell them why they should follow you and make sure it’s clear what you do and what they can expect. Don’t give too much away or go over the top with adoring description filled with buzzwords that mean nothing. You want to still be a bit mysterious: the point of them following you is to hear more from you. This will depend on the platform you’re using, but make sure you fill out all the sections on your profile. Include contact details and website if they are applicable.
Consistency
It’s super important to use the same profile picture, cover photo, bio and @handle across all platforms to maintain a consistent identity and avoid confusion – especially if there are fake or duplicate accounts out there. But consistency is not only important for the look of your platforms, you also need a plan for content style, subject, quality, and frequency. To have a strong presence and get more followers, it needs to be clear what you are all about: Set expectations and standards for your followers and don’t let them down.
Use Hashtags Like They’re Going Out Of Fashion
Hashtags can seem a bit tacky but if you want to grow and reach people who don’t already follow you you’ve gotta suck it up and use them #sorrynotsorry. Most platforms will suggest popular hashtags when you start typing one in, but if you’re serious about getting eyes on your social profiles then do your own research. There are heaps of sites that will tell you the best-performing hashtags and if you’re smart you’ll not only include them with your post, but develop future content to leverage popular hashtags.
Don’t Just Create, Curate!
Share things that you love or that relate to your industry. Chances are if you love it then your followers will too: Just be absolutely sure to credit the original creator and provide links to their profile. You do not want to steal other people’s work, plus there’s the bonus that the original creator will be exposed to your profiles. Curated content doesn’t take as much time and effort as created content, and it can say a lot about who you are or what you believe in. However, your social media strategy should be about 80% created and 20% curated content, so don’t get too carried away.
Collaborate
Make a creative project or campaign that brings people together from your field. This will expose you to new audiences, create new professional contacts and you’ll hopefully be able to cash in on their follower bases. Collaboration works best with content marketing: depending on what industry you are in you should be able to think of several ways to expand your network and profile. Stuck? Podcasting, guest blogging, speaking events, sponsorships, and interviews are a good place to start. Put yourself or your brand out there and proactively seek opportunities that will get you more exposure.
Be More Active
Follow and comment on posts instead of just liking the content. You have more chance of being seen this way. It’s more personal and shows you’re taking the time to really engage with the content and whoever posted it. But spread positive vibes only! Do not waste time writing negative comments – nobody cares if you don’t like something. It’s so rude to go to someone's profile and tell them how bad it is… Keep it encouraging and complimentary and everyone is happy.