How to Build and Authentic Social Media Following
Many of us tend to focus on the number of followers we have on our social media platforms and always getting those numbers up. But how many are really engaged, interested and potential-client followers?
By: Tatiana Cortes
Ghost followers are just a waste of your time, you want authentic followers that feel more like you’ve built a community. Using the following tips can help you build an authentic social media following.
Speak your own language
Avoid the complex lingo and fancy-overextended words, social media needs to sound like you. If you know, you know! There is no doubt that people will notice that, so there is no need to impress or portray something you are not. Displaying the genuinely-you in your social media platforms attract the right people. Read your captions before posting and ask yourself does it sound natural? Is this something I would say in real life? And edit accordingly.
Be human
This is a big one! Worst mistake to make on social media is coming off as a faceless business/brand with zero personality. Transparency is the new black – people want to get to know your company on a more personal level. Crack jokes and talk your followers as you would to your friends. Show off your face behind your social feeds, office photos or snaps when working on a special project can help you build a much-needed connection with your followers.
Seek relationships, not just followers
We can argue whether follower count is a vanity metric. Bottom line is that having 100 followers who regularly engage with you and your content is definitely more valuable than 10,000 that ignore you. Don’t leave the “social” out of your social media presence, build relationships with your followers. You can @mention people you reference in your social media posts, respond to your followers, reply when people @mention or share your content, don’t just Retweet and like – Reply with a comment to start a conversation.
Focus on helping over selling
Your social media presence should not be about the “hard sell.” It makes sense to occasionally push offers and deals to your followers, but most important is to answer any questions they have and to offer solutions to their problems. If your followers ask questions, you should respond in a timely manner and if they are buzzing about a particular problem, you should put together content that speaks directly to it.