Building a strong social media presence and following is a great way to increase your brand’s visibility online. However, gaining a large number of followers on each of your chosen networks is only part of a top social media strategy.
To really succeed in the world of social media, you need to build a following, and then maintain it. As the old saying goes, quality is better than quantity, and having hundreds or thousands of followers on Twitter or Facebook is really only worthwhile if those followers are active and engaged.
So once you have built up your following on your chosen networks, how can you keep your followers interested? With a little creative thinking and forward planning, it’s not as hard as you might think, and it is certainly worth investing some time into making sure you do!
Be sociable
The biggest clue to social media is in the name – you really do need to be sociable and involved to be a success! If your timeline consists of nothing but automated promotional tweets and links to your website, chances are people will not take the time to keep up to date with your ‘news’. Assign a set amount of time, whether daily or weekly, to simply get involved with your followers. Read other people’s tweets, check out what’s trending, join in with conversations, or start your own! Even a business account should give the impression of being a real person to encourage engagement.
Be valuable
Create the sort of top quality, shareable content that people enjoy and find useful, and they’re certain to keep coming back for more. Your content could be blog posts, infographics, funny photos, anything appropriate to your brand that your followers will find interesting.
Be inquisitive
Posting an open ended question is a great way to open up new conversations with your followers, and indeed to gain insights into their consumer habits that could prove to be invaluable free market research. Also keep an eye out for any of your followers asking questions of their own and offer answers or advice wherever you can.
Be genuine
Above all else, find your own social media voice and stay true to it at all times.
These tips should help you get well on your way to a healthy, engaged social media following in no time!
