Everyone wants to get more followers on social media. For business owners, it’s not about being popular but about reaching more potential customers. It’s natural that any business would want more people to be consistently shown their content.
But getting those followers is not always easy. After all, you want genuine followers, not a bunch of gimmicky followers playing a numbers game or a bot that’s programmed to like as many accounts as possible. Having thousands upon thousands of followers won’t do your page any good unless they are:
Giving you genuine engagement in the form of likes and comments
Converting into customers that support your business
If you’re on a mission to increase your following on any social media platform, whether that’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, or TikTok, there are a few smart methods you can employ. None of them are likely to take you from zero to 10,000 in a day or two, but you’re better off having slow, steady growth that lasts rather than 15 minutes of fame.
Create A True Community Using Social Media
Be consistent in posting.
Don’t use all of these strategies for a week and then slack off. You need to post content with regularity, giving your followers more opportunities to like and comment, which will in turn boost your exposure thanks to social media algorithms. A feed of fresh content also means that people who look at your page will be more likely to give you a like because they see you as worthwhile.
Make sure your content is good.
This should go without saying, but it’s not enough to post often. You need to make sure those regular posts are content that people genuinely like and care about. Remember to be entertaining, informative, and fun. Having one high-quality post a day is better than have 10 or 20 boring or annoying posts a day.
This may be the hardest part of building a community but it is worth it. A strong content marketing campaign can change the way people see your business
Understand your audience.
If you’re going to put out content that people care about, you need to know your target audience. Who is looking at your page? What are their interests? What do they care about? Analytics are built into most social media platforms these days, giving you insight into which posts of yours are the most popular so you can generate more like them. Use these analytics to learn more about the people who are engaging on your posts.
Be engaging.
Social media is not a one-way street. If you expect people to engage with your page, you need to do some engaging yourself. When somebody asks a question, reply to them. If somebody tags your account, be sure to give that post a like. Like and comment on content put out by other brands in your field. This will not only show you’re a good social media friend, making people more inclined to follow you and engage with your posts in return but it will also get your name or handle out in more places.
Follow others.
Why not be proactive and seek out others in your field or industry so that you can follow them? If they don’t follow you back right away, engage with them by liking and commenting. They will likely realize you’re there for genuine engagement and give you the follow you’re looking for. You will also gain the attention of several of their followers who are already interested in your field.
Link your social media accounts everywhere you can.
Be sure to include links to all of your social media platforms in the places where people who are interested in you are looking — on your website, in your email signature, in your email blasts, and pretty much anywhere else you can include a link. You never know who is going to be reading those and interested in more content. Also, along those lines…
Cross-promote your social media platforms.
You probably have some Facebook followers who aren’t even aware you have an Instagram platform and vice versa. Be sure to give your other social media platforms a shout out from time to time so people know to look for them.
Don’t underestimate your bio.
Is the bio section of your social media page completely filled out? Thanks to the way algorithms operate on most platforms, the more detail you provide, the more likely you are to show up in searches. It also lets people know you’re for real and not a fake account.
Use hashtags.
This is such an obvious method, but you’d be surprised how few people adhere to it. Use somewhere between 10 and 30 hashtags with an Instagram or LinkedIn post, and somewhere between two or three hashtags with each tweet. Hashtags allow your content to show up right in the feeds of people who are interested in that topic and who just might be interested in following your page. Look at the hashtags that some of your competitors are using so you have a better idea of what’s trending.
Try promoting a post.
Even if you don’t have a huge budget, Instagram and Facebook both have very inexpensive options for promoting your posts, putting them in the feeds of thousands of people interested in your niche for only a few dollars. If you promote the right content (i.e. high-quality content that people like) you can garner a lot of new followers that way. Try it every so often to see what it does for your numbers.
Agree to cross-promote with another business.
For some business-to-business support, partner with another business and find a way to spotlight each other and tag each other’s pages. Maybe you’re a real estate agent and you know some great home improvement contractors or home decorators. Or maybe you’re a restaurant and you know a great ice cream parlor to hit up after dinner. You’ll gain some of their followers and they’ll gain some of yours.
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