With over 3 billion users worldwide, social networks are not only a way to connect people but also a go-to destination for businesses looking to improve brand awareness and drive valuable traffic & conversions. If anything, social networks have become an essential component for both online and offline marketing.
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There’s no shortcut formula to hack the social media world. You have to put in work and ‘enjoy’ the massive learning curves headed your way. When it comes to growing your social networks and achieving the objectives you desire, the process can be both intimidating and exciting.
With the countless number of social media networks, such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Google Plus, not mentioning other minor sites, everyone wants in on the action—to achieve an online recognition for their business. So, how do you achieve this?
Tips to rapidly grow your social media networks the right way
It’s one thing to have a great social media presence for your business, but you need to develop a massive following and understand how to give them what they want. Below are some great tips and tactics to rapidly grow your social network.
1. Set goals and objectives
The first step in growing your social networks is to identify what your goals and objectives are. You should have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve. This also includes doing your research to understand how each platform works, which audiences are where and what your goals are.
Setting specific goals ensures that you can follow up and make necessary adjustments along the way. Remember, the growth of your social network is a long-term game. Your goals and objectives can maybe include increasing brand awareness, growing followers, boosting engagement or even generating leads.
2. Follow relevant accounts
Growing followers becomes easier once your brand is considered legitimate. To prove your legitimacy, follow other brands and accounts. Ideally, the people or brands you follow should be relevant to your brand and business. This provides an opportunity to establish your credibility.
3. Optimize your social platforms
This means using relevant keywords that align with your business. Consider what your target audience is searching for online on either Google or other search engines. Carry out extensive keyword research and use these keywords to optimize the content that you post.
4. Provide valuable content
Post with a purpose and not just for the sake of posting. What do I mean? The post that you publish on your social media network needs to either educate, entertain or inspire. People visit webpages to learn about something and possibly find a solution to an issue they are facing. Remember that quality content triumphs frequency—it’s always better to post one or two quality posts rather than five shoddy ones. Providing valuable content on both your blog and social networking accounts enhances your business’ authenticity and value in the industry.
5. Interact with everyone
You want to continually engage with the people who post on your social media platforms. This means responding to their posts and replying to their comments on yours. Ideally, engaging with your audience is a way to connect with them and ensure they feel connected to the brand. Doing this proves that you are human which will make your audience want to visit your website or read your blog.
6. Understand your audience’s needs
Understanding the needs of your audience will help you interact with them better. This includes knowing what your audience wants to see or read to tailor content that meets these needs, highlights issues and provides actionable solutions. Once you grasp this concept, you’ll be able to drive traffic to your business.
7. Include icons on your website
Always include the icons of your social media networks on your website. Look at it this way; your website already has some traffic so, how about channelling this traffic to your social media accounts? These icons create an easy way to increase your social media presence and followers. They simplify the process for those interested in your content to like and follow your social media networks.
Including your social icons should also apply to your emails. Assuming you have tons of subscribers who you’re already sending multiple emails to every month, including the icons in these emails could prompt them to check out your pages which could result in more followers.
8. Link your profiles and website
Link all your social media networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to your site. This makes it easier for your audience to learn more about your business.
9. Establish an integrated social media strategy
Have you ever tried working without a plan? Well, I have and to say the least, it was chaotic! Same goes for trying to grow your social networks without a plan. Consider the fact that every social network should serve a purpose. You can ensure each platform serves its purpose by creating a social media calendar where you can include all the upcoming events, blog posts, and so on. A clear strategy will help you stay organized and help you understand what to expect from each social media platform as well as highlight the areas that need improvement.
10. Piggyback on trending hashtags
On platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, hashtags matter a lot. So, every time you post on these platforms maximize on incorporating hashtags. This will drive people to your social media platforms and successively to your website.
11. Share your profiles
One way of improving your brand’s social media presence is simply to share the social media handles with people you know. However, be strategic in your approach; you don’t want to come off as pushy and definitely don’t want to span them. Sharing your profiles increases awareness of your presence on social media networks and you may be lucky to land referrals through this process.
12. Branch out
Don’t restrict yourself to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter alone, leverage more networks. There are tons of interesting social media websites and apps that you could also venture into such as Foursquare, Pinterest, Tumblr and many more. You could also opt to register on social review sites or social bookmarking sites. The goal is to expand your social networks, so don’t limit yourself.
Listen: It’s difficult, not impossible, to rapidly grow your social networks but we’ve provided the insider secrets of the top brands making a killing on social media platforms in the list above to help you grow your social networks fast.
About Fazreen Razeek
Fazreen Razeek from Grafdom has served the digital industry for over 5 years. He collaborates and works alongside agencies, event organizers, and suppliers to develop and execute their marketing strategies. He is extremely passionate about education technology and also writes for various local and international publications. A graduate with High Distinction from the Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia, Fazreen holds a Bachelor’s Degree with a double major in Marketing & Management.