Social media did not start out solely as a network for connecting with friends, but it quickly turned into one. Businesses saw it as an opportunity to reach a massive targeted audience at a fraction of the cost compared to non-digital methods. It soon took a paradigm shift with mobile devices entering our lives, and since then, the growth has been exponential.
Even today, social media marketing is one of the most preferred choices for businesses to promote their products and services. For all businesses, big and small, many have seen a significant increase in revenue with the right marketing methods.
Using the right tactics in your business is a necessary step to achieving all of your business objectives. Here are five methods that you can follow to grow your social media following, thus increasing your online presence.

Create valuable content

The content you post must be unique and appealing to your target audience. Note that content that broadcasts how fantastic your brand and products are is unlikely to get people talking and engaging. Instead, try to create something that adds enough value and makes your audience learn something new. 

With compelling images and fast-paced video content, you will be able to engage your audience in a better way. You can also use user-generated content to make it more shareable and improve your social media following.

Develop a content calendar that includes a mix of text, images, videos, and other forms of content that aligns with your target audience’s interests and needs. Use storytelling, humor, and other techniques to make your content more engaging and shareable.

Become a paid influencer

With influencer marketing budgets on the rise, joining an influencer network and promoting specific products and services is highly advisable. Make sure to create content that is engaging and adds enough value to the end-user otherwise your social media following might not increase as expected. 

There are two methods to start as an influencer when your following grows:

  • Keep posting high-quality content and engage with your audience constantly. 
  • Make it a point to actively seek out businesses in your field (especially those with a history of using influencers to spread the word)

Create sponsored posts

Sponsored posts are a no-brainer if you want to engage and improve your social media following. A business may pay you to post something related to their brands, such as a product announcement or a service upgrade. Remember that sponsors often anticipate complete control over the way the post is designed, hence, you need to have the final say on whether or not to publish it as the influencer.

Start promotions & giveaways

Promotions and giveaways (your own or for a particular brand) can be a good tactic to improve your social media following. To grow your account and make your posts even more engaging, you can always ask your followers to participate in promotions and giveaways. You can do this by running contests such as giveaways and sweepstakes to win product samples, free coupons, gift cards, or even eBooks.

Invest in creating courses and workshops

Following up on eBooks, digital courses, and workshops is yet another effective way for you to improve your social media following. Many fitness influencers, for example, share fitness-specific content with their audience across multiple platforms. Similarly, there are a plethora of beauty influencers who specialize in creating content related to beauty and makeup. As soon as they amass a good following, they start offering freemium workshops. Soon, they start offering paid social media courses and one-to-one advice sessions.

Takeaway

Successful social media campaigns are the ones that keep the audience engaged. As more people turn to social media platforms to discover new brands, social media marketing becomes an inevitable component of brand development. Choosing the right agency to help with your social media following is equally important. Make sure you follow the above steps and find the perfect strategy that helps you take your following to the next level.

Image by Joseph Mucira from Pixabay