With any social media platform, the aim is always to consistently grow the audience that you are publishing to, which can be done through increase the number of likes, follows and shares.
There are many ways to do this, and with the ever-increasing number of businesses fighting for traffic and link clicks in the modern age, it can be easier said than done. With that in mind, here are five ways for brands to build a sustainable social media following.
5: Follow/Connect with others in the industry
In order to thoroughly understand the industry that you operate in, it is essential to follow others in the sphere to see both who they are and what content they are producing. It is likely that others in the industry will follow you back, which could provide the basis for making worthwhile contacts and connections. Like-minded followers may be more inclined to retweet your work, which could in-turn increase the number of impressions, comments and link clicks that you receive when posting to social media.
4: Use hashtags effectively
As we alluded to in our recent blog, hashtags are a great way of providing a home for content of a similar nature, giving readers an alternative way of accessing a variety of work on a certain subject. Utilising hashtags effectively could be the different between increasing readership or missing out on a section of the target market altogether. As mentioned previously, using generic hashtags like #togetherstronger or #weareunited might mean content gets lost in the crowd. Using unique hashtags will provide a central hub for all your content, aside from your actual news feed. Giving readers and users this alternative method of accessing your content might be the difference between gaining follows or not.
3: Use analytics to influence your posting times
Using sites like Google Analytics could prove to be invaluable when it comes to maximising your viewership. Identifying peak times for traffic during the day gives you a good idea of when and when not to post your content. These tools are there for a reason, so make the most of them. By identifying when your audience are most active on social media, you can publish your content accordingly, which should lead to a higher number of link clicks.
2: Be creative with your content
This is a must if you want your content and brand itself to stand out from like-minded businesses. The notion of being creative doesn’t have to be solely restricted to the content itself, it can even be how it is posted on social media. Using relevant emojis are a superb way of making whatever content you are producing seem more visual. According to social media specialists Digital Boss, Research shows that messages with emojis in the subject line get 56 percent more opens. It may be a simple thing to do, but these minor visual additions could draw the audience’s eyes to your content.
1: Ensure you post regularly
Without a shadow of a doubt, anyone wanting to grow a social media following need to keep their message in front of followers on a regular basis if they are to start becoming memorable in the eyes of an audience. Posting once or twice a week isn’t ideal if you want to become prominent; your content will merely get lost in the multitude of other articles or stories out there. In an ideal scenario, businesses – regardless of the field they occupy in – need to create a content plan and stick to it. The more times you post, the more opportunity there is for a potential client or reader to click on your work. There are many websites and tools (Hootsuite, Buffer, TweetDeck) which allow you to schedule posts in advance, so you don’t have to worry about trying to remember to send out your posts every day. With the tools in place, it would be naïve not to take advantage.
