The 5 Most Strategic Ways to GROW Your Social Media for FREE
What sets apart those who succeed on social media, and those who don’t? We are going to break down 5 tips that explain why some people find extreme success online and why others just sit there with their “wheels spinning”.
THE THREE TYPES OF SOCIAL MEDIA GROWTH
Social media accounts generally grow in 3 different matters:
Going Viral
Slowly and Consistently by Using High Quality Content and Engagement
By Buying Fake Followers and Likes
BUYING FOLLOWERS AND ENGAGEMENT
The absolute worst way to grow your online falling is by purchasing followers and engagement. The entire point of building an audience is to communicate and influence people that you can eventually profit from. When you buy followers you don’t receive any of that. DON’T DO THIS. Put in the work and be patient.
GOING VIRAL
Going viral is what most people think of when becoming social media stars. However, this is the least likely (and least sustainable) way to grow and benefit from your account. Why? Because you have NO control over it. Essentially, going viral:
Isn’t repeatable
Can cause you to build the wrong audience (especially true on platforms such as Facebook)
The main takeaway is that viral content is uncontrollable. This means when you are trying to grow an audience, and something goes viral, you have no control over the type of audience you are going to get. This can often times lead to the wrong audience. Being in control is a good thing.
SLOWLY AND CONSISTENTLY
Just remember that at the end of the day, you want a real audience that you can monetize. That means you have to know your audience and have their respect. You do this by producing content, improving, and being strategic. You are in control of the audience you build, and therefore are in control of how you connect and monetize that audience. This opens up doors to sponsorships, ads, client work, selling courses, and more…
“Viral is uncontrollable. This means when you are trying to grow an audience, and something goes viral, you have no control over the type of audience you are going to get.”
HOW I GREW MY ENGAGEMENT
I receive HIGH REACH and ENGAGEMENT on all platforms for FREE… However, it wasn’t always that way. It took time, patience and consistency. It’s also quick proof that it isn’t about the follower count but rather the amount of engagement you can receive on YOUR account.
I break down my five tips on how to do this below.
5 ITEMS YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GROW YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
ORGANIC CONTENT IS STILL KING
Coming up with your own quality, creative content is still the basis of a successful account. Essentially, the best content creators that engage with their audience will find the most success. This holds true on all platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, you name it…)
Most importantly, this unique content needs to be shared directly to the platform (called organic “content” or “native” content).
The more engaging the content - the faster you are going to grow.
Therefore avoid linking out too often, avoid sharing too frequently, and choose wisely when you post. This will improve your engagement, shares, and therefore overall account growth.
Two main takeaway points:
Create organic content (creative quality content) instead of relying on others content
Limit how much you link out
2. INTERACTING WITH YOUR AUDIENCE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER
There is a DIRECT CORRELATION between comments and interactions with Facebook reach. That means, the more people that interact with you, the more people Facebook will show your content to. Therefore it’s important that you respond to as many comments as you can in a timely matter.
There is no excuses not to do this… It takes all of 5 minutes out of your day to quickly respond to messages with your desktop. That 5 minutes results in a HUGE return. It’s worth it.
This is also true of Instagram and Twitter. The more interaction, the better the results. For Instagram it’s time spent on post (so write engaging captions), and on Twitter it’s getting peoples attention with content and conversation. Master the organic content game and you’ll have plenty of growth.
Main Takeaway Point:
Respond to your fans - that’s how you keep them.
3. YOU NEED AUDIO, VIDEO, AND WRITTEN CONTENT
Some people prefer audio, some prefer video, and others simply love reading. Sometimes audio is the only way to consume information (like when driving), sometimes video is king, and other times the only way to consume media (like while at work) is reading.
What does this mean for the creator? It means you should cover all three as much as possible. By covering all three you have the ability to tap into a much larger audience - while having the resources to help you stand out from your competition.
By having audio and video on your blog, you are also increasing time spent on page, value, and ultimately helping you improve your Google SEO.
Main Takeaway:
4. INTERACTING WITH OTHER AUDIENCES IS NECESSARY FOR GROWTH
I have written numerous posts on engagement and the need to reach out to other groups to grow quicker. These are the people who DON’T already follow you, but you would like them to.
This stood true three years ago and it still stands true today. Social media is just that: social. Whether you are on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or something else… reaching out and being social with other people is the key to improving your online engagement.
Takeaway:
Take 20 minutes out of your day to interact with the people who you want to become your audience.
Also check out:
5. MORE SATURATION MEANS A MORE DEFINED NICHE
Finally, the farther we get into the online game, the more it becomes necessary to find that perfect niche. There are more content creators now than there has ever been before. Because there is such an influx it’s important to find an audience you can leverage. This means niching down. Find a more targeted group of people, and connect with them. For example, if you are a lifestyle blogger than consider niching down to health, fitness, cooking.. etc. If you are a health blogger consider niching down to fitness, nutrition, or even farther. Figure out an audience that you can stand out in - then monetize it.
ORGANIC REACH IS STILL POSSIBLE - BUT YOU NEED TO PUT IN THE RIGHT EFFORT
Time and time again I hear how organic reach isn’t attainable anymore. This couldn’t be more wrong. It’s just that over the last couple of years the rules have changed. Yes, it’s harder, takes more work, and more time. However, on all of these platforms it’s entirely possibly to reach tens of thousands (even hundreds of thousands) of followers for FREE. I just takes strategy.
Again, if you are looking to understand what these platforms are looking for - check out my post on social media algorithms here.
If you are looking to grow your pages, I also recommend:
