In the modern business world, everyone wants a piece of the social media action. There is no shortage of articles on how to succeed in social media. Many of these, however, neglect to mention that the first step in any social media marketing journey, is to grow one’s presence. So how exactly can one net those followers, friends and likes? Here are five of the most useful tips;
Targeting
The first step when looking to grow one’s presence is learning where to look. Targeting means identifying the goals and objectives of the social media campaign, and with that knowing whom to go after before posting. First, understand how each platform works before opening an account or signing up one’s business. When targeting, it is important to tailor one’s social media account to target the people who would most likely be the customers in the business. Understand the habits of the target audience, their preferences and interests. This will make it easy to capture their attention.
Show the human side
The internet is a powerful platform, and reaches billions of users every day, round the clock all across the world. It is also an anonymous platform. One can only hope what they see is genuine, there is way of truly determining whether the content displayed on a social media site is genuine or not. The thing is, customers need to trust a brand if they are to engage, and the only way this can happen is if they find the account genuine. Show them the human side of the business. Do not always maintain a cut throat business minded attitude. Every once in a while, show the audience the softer side. Do not simply throw on a product description link and hope people like it. Social media account managers should get their hands dirty and really interact with their followers on the ground. When audiences understand who the other person at the end of the line is, they will want to know more about the business.
Linking
For most people, search engines are the first place they go to when they are looking for information. With a strong search engine optimization strategy, one will likely be among the top results when users search for a related keyword. When customers visit one’s website, one of the ways to turn these visitors into repeat customers is to have them follow one’s social media accounts from there. This calls for social media icons on the website, which will make it easy for one to keep the lines of communication open. Think about the reverse too when looking to improve one’s following. People will only follow accounts that are most useful to their needs. When one has links to the website, or more importantly to the pages displaying the products posted on the social media sites, then it gets easy for them to find and fulfill the needs the social media posts ignite in them. Taking advantage of the connection between one’s website and their social media is important when looking to improve one’s numbers.
Contests
Contests, especially those that have rewards and gifts in the end, are a way of encouraging the growth of numbers on social media. They improve brand visibility, and when combined with other popular social media tools like the hashtag, can be hugely beneficial in the end. It is important to remember two things when organizing contests though;
- Have a reward in place that the target audience will be highly motivated to win
- Tailor the contest such that it brings in more followers
Most contests require participants to have liked the company page or followed their account. Another clever technique is to have participants tag their friends, comment on statuses and share content.
Share with everyone
Sometimes, the old fashioned way can work wonders. Simply sharing one’s content with other people, especially those with whom one has a personal relationship, can be a great way to reel in some of their followers. Do not be too spammy when requesting people to share content with their followers. Having said that, social media marketing managers should not be afraid to leverage personal relationships to their benefit online. Chances are that when venturing into a business, there will be people those who are either beginners or more established in that line of work. One can either have them post content onto their account or suggest an agreement that would be beneficial to both parties. For instance, a travel blog can partner with an up and coming photographer. The photographer would then post content from their travels on their blog or social media account and tag the travel company. When the travel company posts photos (taken by the photographer), they would also tag them. A situation like this is a win-win for both parties.