Ever since the pandemic, with people stuck at home, social media usage trended up tremendously — and stayed there!
The best way to grow a social media following is still organically — not paid. You never want to buy followers — they are fake accounts and the networks regularly purge fake and bot accounts. Moreover, it’s a waste of money.
How do you grow a social media following?
First, you need to post relevant content daily of interest to the audience you want to attract. If you don’t post, there’s no reason for someone to follow you. Before you start posting you need to ask yourself…
- Who is your target market is and what interests them? Get a Free Define Your Target Market Workbook here. Even if you’ve defined your target market before, their needs, problems and pain points have changed!
- What type of content are you going to create — blogs, videos (YouTube is owned by Google & helps get exposure), podcasts or graphics? Now’s the time to try something different! Lots of folks are doing videos from their living rooms and home offices.
- Who are your trusted sources of good, quality, relevant content of interest to your target market?
How to get People to Notice you on Social Media:
On X, make sure to thank people for following you, re-posting (sharing) your posts and mentioning you via a post — not with a direct message (DM). Plan ahead to take advantage of what trends on Twitter regularly. I also write an article at the end of each month with what’s going to be trending as to awareness and observance days. Search for this month’s through my search bar in the upper right.
X (formerly Twitter)
Follow the people you’re targeting. This works on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. They’ll get a notification when you start following them and they’ll decide if they want to follow you back or not based on what you’ve posted. Keep posting great content and your followers will become advocates and share your content with their friends.
If you’re B2B, on Facebook, you can follow a company’s page with your page. They’ll get a notification. For B2C, you can’t reach out to individuals without doing paid ads. You can invite your friends and family to like your page. However, realize that not all of your friends may be interested in your product or service.
Facebook groups are very popular.
Should you start a Facebook Group?
If you want to start a group, it helps to have a core number of people which will, in turn, invite other people. Don’t expect to start a group and it will fill with members automatically.
Did you know that Facebook offers workshops for Group managers?!
Join Existing Groups
Search for and find groups with…
- your target market
- potential referral sources
- industry peers
Some Facebook groups allow you to join as your business page.
Share content there 2-3 times a week (and not just your stuff). Make sure you read the group’s rules and respect them. Share useful information — DON’T SELL! You can use a tool like Sendible (affiliate link) to automate and schedule sharing to groups on Facebook as well as your Facebook business page.
On LinkedIn, users get notified when someone views their profile. But the best way to get noticed on LinkedIn is in groups. Use the same strategy as for Facebook. You join LinkedIn groups as yourself.
Unfortunately, there’s no easy or automatic way to share to groups on LinkedIn or schedule posts. You have to log into one group at a time and copy the URL of the webpage you want to share into the post box. Read this article on LinkedIn to know which groups to join and how to maximize this tool.
Pick 5 of the most populated and active groups and once a day, share something to each group. Make sure it’s relevant!
Time-saver tip: Save the bookmark to the group’s page on your browser you can return to it quickly. Also, don’t log out of LinkedIn.
Also, like and comment on other people’s posts. They’ll notice you that way.
How often Should I Blog?
Ideally, at first, especially if you’re brand new and Google doesn’t know you, DAILY — for at least 2 weeks. Then 2-3 times a week. Once your analytics tell you that Google is the main source driving traffic to your website, they you can go down to once a week.
Share every blog post on your social networks. Use Dlvr.it to automate posting to your social media accounts and your Google Business Page.
Adjusting What Type of Content You Create
- Put your audience first. That’s where that important research comes in. Be helpful. Be compassionate. Get on the social networks and see what people are posting. Follow your category hashtags and see what people are posting.
- Do a new Keyword research. The list provided of keywords, phrases, and questions you may not have thought of is invaluable to
- Change the type of content you create. If you’ve been blogging anything less than once a week, you need to definitely increase. People are looking online for content — all types. Moreover, try another format like videos, live streaming, and/or podcasting.
- Connect with other colleagues and see what they’re doing. Check out your competition!
- It’s not a total rebranding or new launch. It’s a pivot, an adjustment of the type of content that you’re producing. Rebranding is expensive and this it not the time to do it.
Here’s a tip to help with SEO:
You need to manually share it on Pinterest and your Google Business Profile. However, using Dlvr.it, (free to a point) you can automate the sharing to the social networks and Google.
Here’s another tip that many people forget:
Have both social media share and follow buttons on your website. Make it easy for people to follow you and make it easy for visitors to share your content with their friends.
These are also legitimate links that Google notices for SEO.
How long does it take to grow a Social Media following?
I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that it’ll happen overnight because it won’t. If starting from scratch, plan to spend at least 90 minutes a day for the first 30 days — and that’s just on social media, not blogging. Yes, it’s a little sweat equity, however, once you’ve got a following built, using the free tools, you can manage your social media marketing in 30 minutes a day. (And blog once a week.)
What if I don’t spend this time up front?
The longer you wait to build your following, the longer it’s going to take you to start seeing results.
How many is a good social media following?
In 30 days, you should have:
- X – 100 followers
- Facebook – 100 likes
- LinkedIn – 50 connections and 20 followers on your company page (invite your connections to follow your page)
- Pinterest – 25 followers
- Instagram – 100 followers
- YouTube (if you’re planning on monetizing your channel) – 10,000 views
On most of these, you need at least 100 followers to get decent analytics. However, with the general increase in social media usage, it may not take you that long.
It’s so overwhelming! Where do I start?
- Clearly define your target market. This free workbook will help.
- Do some research and figure out what interests your target, where they hang out and what keywords they’re most likely to use when searching for what you have to offer.
- Create target market personas based on your research.
- Set Goals.
- Develop a strategy to reach those goals.
- Determine your tactical plan to implement the strategy.
- Set-up, brand and optimize your social media profiles.
- Learn how to properly and EFFECTIVELY use the tools. Here’s where my 1:1 training will come in. I can guide you through your social media accounts and help you maximize them.
- Just do it. Implement, connect, build relationships, create and curate content.
- Monitor and measure. Check your analytics every month to see what’s working and not working. Then, adjust your strategic and tactical plans accordingly.
If you build it they will come – NOT!
If you’re not sure which way to go or where to start, click here to schedule a free 15-minute phone consult and analysis of your social media efforts.
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