Do you wish your company had more followers on social media? You’re not alone. This is a big concern we hear from entrepreneurs nearly every day.
While we’d argue that the size of your following is mostly a vanity metric—i.e., a metric that just makes you feel good—a larger following can somewhat help your bottom line. (It’s not a direct correlation and doesn’t factor in paid advertising. We’ll explain more in a future article!)
Regardless, what can you do to get more followers?
1. Make it easy for people to find you. Are your social media icons clearly displayed on your website, and we mean every page of your website? Do you include your social media links in your email signature and mass email blasts? People are busy and frazzled, so the more you can spoon-feed your social media pages to them, the better.
2. Proactively invite people to like your pages. Don’t wait for people to come to you! You’re an entrepreneur and need to take charge. Invite all your Facebook friends to like your company page. Regularly invite friends, colleagues, and clients to connect with you on LinkedIn. You can do this!
3. Cross-pollinate. Write a Facebook post that asks people to follow you on Twitter. Write a LinkedIn post that asks people to follow you on Instagram. You get the drift.
4. Give people a reason to follow you. Take an honest look at your social media. Is it one big advertisement for your company? Surely, you don’t like it when someone brags about themselves nonstop…so don’t be that person, either. Post content that positions your company as more of a giver than a taker. People will then be more apt to follow you. For instance, you can share links to helpful online articles. You can share relevant, humorous memes to brighten your audience’s day. You can post live-stream videos that answer frequently-asked questions. Got it? Let your competitors destroy their social media with braggy content, while you take the high road.
5. Advertise. Let’s face it. Social media is becoming more “pay to play.” You sometimes need to spend money to get enough of the right people to notice you. The most popular form of advertising is promoting a post (also known as “boosting” a post on Facebook). When more people see your posts, more people will follow you.
Again, remember that the size of your following isn’t nearly as important as engagement rate, click-through rate, and other metrics. If you need more guidance, reach out to us! We’ll help you build a social media program you can be proud of.
