We all want to grow our social media presence effectively. A social media presence is almost essential nowadays for business, be it big or small, whether you’re a mom and pop operation or a multibillion dollar company. Having a social media presence is taken as a given: you WILL be on Facebook. You WILL be on Instagram. You WILL be on Twitter.
Don’t let this worry you! Because despite what I just said above–IT’S NOT ACTUALLY TRUE. Yes, content is king and you need to find a way to get your content out to your potential customers, but you DO NOT NEED TO KILL YOURSELF. Having a social media presence can be as simple as some well-timed interactions and monitoring during the day, or it can be completely overwhelming when you’re on social media all the time and it’s draining the life (and time) out of you.
So how do you grow your social media presence with content, knowing that you want to have a life outside of Twitter?
I’ve broken it down into 5 steps.
#1. Produce content.
If you’re going to grow your social media presence with content then you need some content, right? Now, don’t be afraid of content–it’s not a dirty word. Content can be any number of things. Content can be really great Tweets. Content can be a Facebook post. Content can be a blog post. Content can be a video. A TikTok. A photo. Content can be any number of things–it’s almost infinite what counts as content.
The key to producing good content is simply this: give the people what they want. Sometimes they know what they want (one trick I’ve found for coming up with content topics is to go to Google and type in “What is…” or “How to…” in my industry and see what Google fills in for me, because that indicates that those are questions that people are asking. But sometimes people don’t know what they want until you give it to them. Maybe they have no idea that they want to see the zany video you’re producing dropping bowling balls onto trampolines. But when they see it, they like it.
A good way to measure your ability to create content is your personal investment in the business or product or lifestyle that you’re promoting. Because if you’re interested in it, then that means that something that is interesting to you will be interesting to your potential customers. Just be honest, talk with them about your passion, ask them to share what their challenges are about your shared passion!
(There’s a lot more research you can do to find just the perfect content, but that’s a good starting-off point for a beginner.)
#2. Link All of Your Social Media and Content Together.
Make a hub. If people find you on Instagram and they like what you’re posting there, don’t let the interaction die with them scrolling past–give them something else to look at! The link in your bio is key, but so is your tagline: “For more Plus Size Fashion Blogging follow me at…”, or “For more Home and Apartment Decor Tips, follow me at…”
Interlinking content is the key to growing your social media presence. Finding a blog is good, but blog readers who got there from a Google search shouldn’t have to dig through your site to find your social media links–they should be right there. This is what we call an integrated social media strategy, and it totally works!
#3. Engage! A Sure-Fire Way to Grow Your Social Media Presence
No one is too small or too insignificant for you not to interact with them (unless, I suppose, you’re a mega influencer who has a personal assistant posting your social media for you). Even if someone comments and you just give it a “like” or a “Thank you!” it shows that you’re not merely a billboard broadcasting information to the masses. You’re actually a real person who is interested in the individual. People like it when you’re interested in them. It will grow your social media presence.
#4. Post Consistently on Social Media (But Don’t Burn Yourself Out).
There’s nothing more disappointing than finding a blog post or a YouTube video that you love only to see that no one has updated the page in over a month. There’s a window of time in which people get interested in you, and in modern society with the fast pace of social media, that window of time is getting smaller and smaller. If you want someone to come back to your blog, then you’d better be producing new content on your blog. If you post a video a week, then stick to the schedule. If you’re on Twitter every day, several times a day, and then go silent for ten days, people are going to forget about you. Of course you don’t want to burn out, but you do want to be reliable.
#5. Do Research / Gather the Data
What is this? A homework assignment? No–when you’re producing content you need to produce content that people can’t get anywhere else (or at least not easily). Say something different from what other people are saying. And the way you do something different is by having different experiences, reading different sources, combining the thoughts of many people into one new idea that is all your own. If you do the research and make sure that what you’re presenting isn’t a rehash of stuff people can find just anywhere else, you’ll be golden.
Want more tips about how you can grow your social media presence with content? Check out our awesome “Show Up” Video Marketing course, or learn how to create great content by working with our team on your online business growth!