Whether you’re just starting your page on social media, or if you have been on social media for years, we are going to tell you some helpful tips and tricks for acquiring more followers for your business on social media.

1. Choose the Right Social Media Platforms

Sometimes it can be hard to know where to start. It is not always best practice to be on every single social media channel, especially if you can’t keep up with all the posting and engagement that may be required of you. A good place to learn which social media channels you should be on, is by seeing what your competitors are doing, and use that as an indicator to potential network audiences.

For example, if you had a Nail Salon business, you may be interested in platforms like Instagram and Facebook where you can strongly represent your business visually, or provide news or informative information.

Instead, it is important to know where your customers are looking for you and who your competition is. If you learn who your competitors are, and how they display themselves on social media, you can mimic that, and use their experience as a guideline.

2. Have a Strong Brand Identity

Brand identity is important, and it is more than just having your logo displayed on social media. Your brand identity should be consistent and carry throughout your social media platforms, website, and anywhere else you can be found. It has everything to do with colour schemes, graphic design, tones and engagements, images, etc. Every time you post, you should think about whether your brand’s identity has been reflected or not. People trust brands with a strong identity.

3. Actively Engage Your Followers

Your social media channels should be more than just a place to advertise. They should be a place for your customers to receive information and learn more about your business. When people post comments or ask questions, actively engage them – make them feel heard and openly invite their conversations and opinions. Your social media channels can become communities, where you create real relationships with your customers and audience.

4. Schedule Social Media Posts in Advance

It can be quite cumbersome to constantly remember if you posted enough times or at the right times on social media. Sometimes it can be hard to remember if you posted at all, especially if you have more than one social media channel for your business. Using an online social media planner can take the weight off your shoulders. Using a social media planner will allow you to see all of your posts to be, right in front of you.

There are many well-known social media planning tools, like Hootsuite for example. It can be worthwhile hiring a reputable Marketing Agency like Xciting Media to help with your social media planning and post creation.

5. Use Analytics to Focus Your Strategy

Understanding which of your posts had greater performance than others and why, can greatly help you make decisions regarding your future posts. The information provided by the social media platform or by some social media planners can include facts and data about your current audience(s), when the best time of day to post is, the demographics you’re reaching, and much more. These insights can show you what you are doing right, and what could use some improvement.

6. Follow Relevant Accounts

You can’t expect to gain followers without following other people yourself. That is not to say you must follow every person back, but rather, follow relevant accounts. You can think of this as a type of networking. By following relevant pages, you may also receive new followers who are looking for services such as yours.

Groups and communities on various social platforms can be a great place to find relevant pages to follow. Often when you join these groups, you can post your own content, exposing your business to a new group of people. You can also look to see who influencers (relative to you) are following. They often represent a specific niche (clothing, vehicles, cooking, etc.) and will be following high quality pages that are of interest to you and the people you want to target.

7. Be Genuine and Sincere

The people that are coming to your social media pages are real people, and they expect to talk and engage with real people. Use language that your audience uses and make them feel like a part of the group.

It is also important to be sincere. If you receive a negative comment or response to one of your posts or products on social media, stay cool. It can be tough not to disagree with a disgruntled visitor, but if you respond with a positive and genuine message, it could fix that damaged perception that the customer had.

8. Choose Focused Hashtags

Hashtags can be a good way to get your posts to a new and larger audience. It is important to focus on hashtags targeted towards your audience, as opposed to generic ones. The more generic the hashtag, the more competition you will face when trying to get your post viewed.

For example, if you owned a Marketing business in Red Deer, Alberta and you wanted to get more customers or followers that are likely to use your business, you wouldn’t use #marketing, you would want to use something more specific like, #marketingreddeer. You could still use #marketing, but you will want to make sure you include those focused hashtags for more relevant results.

By following these tips, you could see an increase in your social media following. It won’t happen overnight, but if you are committed to growing your brand, and to putting in the effort, you will see results. If you need help getting started, or don’t have the time to successfully run social media on your own, there are many marketing agencies, like Xciting Media that are happy to help, many of them local to your area.

You can reach out to the Xciting Media team with any digital marketing related inquiries. You can also visit Xciting Media in person at B102, 5212 48 ST, Red Deer, AB.