When it comes to marketing, there are a lot of factors that go into the success or failure of your campaign. One element is what we might call “social media presence.”
This is how much you’re able to build up and engage with followers on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more.
But this can be tough for many small businesses because they don’t have the time or resources to spend hours each day on these platforms.
Luckily, there are ways you can grow your social media presence in 3 easy steps!
1. Conduct Audience Research on Social Media
The first step is understanding why people follow others on social media.
The top response among 90% of marketers in Hootsuite’s 2020 survey was building awareness. Next was managing the brand’s reputation (77%), followed by building and managing an engaged community (71%). Increasing sales and conversions were a distant fourth at 61%.
The goal, then, is to have followers who are interested in your content.
The reason they might be following you on social media can provide insight into the types of posts and topics they’ll want to see from you.
If people follow me because of my expertise as a writer, one post about an article I wrote that went viral for example, might be helpful.
If they follow me because of my expertise as a business owner, another post about how to price your product or hire the right employees could be more relevant to them.
By identifying what people are following you for and then addressing their needs in your posts, you’ll find success much easier.
2. Create Your Content Strategy For Social Media
This includes the types of posts you’ll be sharing, frequency of posting, and timing.
Hootsuite has a helpful post on “How Often Should You Post On Social Media?” that gives some ideas for how often to share new or relevant content.
I would recommend following these general guidelines:
- Post at least once a day if you have less than 500 followers
- Post twice or three times per day with between 501 and 2000 followers
- Post four to six times per day for more than 2000 followers
This will help your posts get seen in the feeds of those who follow you, which leads us to our next step.
The next step is to create a content strategy to boost your social media presence.
Simply put, a content strategy is your plan for what you’ll be posting.
Here are some examples:
Promote blog posts or articles on Facebook with a link
Share your story about how you started your business on LinkedIn with a photo
Take and share photos of yourself at events or participating in charity work for social media sharing platforms
Ask questions to start conversations, like “What’s the best memory from last year?”
I have written an article here on how to create content strategies that will help you succeed.
3. Collaborate With Other Social Media Influencers
If you’re a small business, it might be hard for people to find your social media pages.
That’s why collaborating with other influencers in your industry can help!
You’ll get exposure by sharing their content and they’ll do the same for you.
This will lead to an increase in followers, likes, and comments which will help you grow your social media presence.
For example, I might reach out to another social media influencer in the digital marketing space who has a large following.
I would ask them if they want to collaborate on content like this article by sharing it with their followers and then I’ll share one of their articles with my followers as well.
It’s all about collaboration on social media these days!
Conclusion:
This post was more about the background of this topic rather than a definitive answer to how to do it.
But by following these three steps you can start building up your audience for success on social media!
Ali is a digital marketing blogger and author who uses the power of words to inspire and impact others. He has written for leading publications like Business2Community, Inc. Magazine, and Marketing Profs. When not writing, he enjoys spending time with his family.