The truth behind growing a social media following
If it were easy to build an audience online, everyone would have thousands of followers. We talk to hundreds of business owners every month, and almost all of them know the value of cultivating an online community. They know the positive impact it would have on their business to have 50,000 or even 20,000 potential new clients following them on social media and engaging with their content on a daily basis. Why do so few of them actually take the plunge and do it?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Because growing a following on social media is hard work. You can't just throw up a couple of posts here and there and expect to go viral. Followers are the result of putting in time and effort. It takes most businesses at least a year of consistently posting, engaging, and creating high-quality content to gain a substantial following.⠀⠀⠀
The good news is that because so many small businesses don't put in the work required to grow and thrive on social media, it leaves a huge opportunity for those who do! So yes, you can establish yourself as a true leader in your industry - you just have to be willing to put in the work, dedicate the time, and show up. And you have to do these things even when you don't feel like it and even when it feels like no one is listening. So don't give up now. Just by staying in the game and being consistent, you will beat out 90% of the competition!
These are the most important things to consider when growing your social media following:
Consistency
You don’t invest in social media for short term financial gain. You invest in social media because you’re in it for the long haul. Because you’re building more than just a business. Because you’re building a brand, an empire, and a legacy. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was any good social media presence. When it comes to social media, the power of consistency and showing up, is half the battle.
One of the best ways to ensure consistency, is to schedule your content out. For example, you can set aside one day a month to plan and actually schedule every post, guaranteeing a month worth of consistent content. For more on the importance of scheduling content and how we recommend going about this check out this post and this post.
Diversifying
We’ve all heard the saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket." Yet when it comes to social media marketing, 90% of businesses have all their eggs in one, maybe two baskets or in this case, platforms. Remember, just because you have an account on a platform, doesn't mean you really own it. All of your accounts are simply a rental space, and a free rental at that. The landlord (aka Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc) can choose to evict you at any time without notice. And considering how much money, time, and resources users invest into building their social media presence, the idea that it could all be taken away is quite scary. This is why it’s so important to diversify yourself across MULTIPLE PLATFORMS! And here’s the best part - a good piece of content can be repurposed and adjusted to fit multiple platforms.
Engagement
Did you know that engagement is just as much your responsibility as it is your followers. If you want people to stop and double tap your posts then you have to give them a reason to do so. To boost engagement try the following:
Add Value - You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to provide value to your audience, but you do need to show people the value that your business provides and give them a reason to follow you, and hopefully buy from you. And beyond just offering this value, you have to make it clear that you are giving them something in the first few sentences of your caption. If you wait until the very bottom to offer them something, most of them will never even see it. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Ask Questions - If you want people to like or comment on your posts you have to ask them to do so! Every single post you share should end with either a question or a call to action!
Respond - Engagement is a two way street. You can’t expect people to comment on your posts if you never take the time to respond. You should be answering every single comment that your receive.
Let us know in the comments if you needed this reminder today! And if you feel like it's time to take your businesses' social media to the next leave, reach out to us today at hello@amrdigitalmarketing.com to get started.
Written By: Analiese Ross, AMR Digital Marketing, Founder & CEO