We are a generation of social media users, who can not even spend one minute without using social media. Social media is so deeply engraved in our lives that we just can’t function without it. It has expanded its web throughout our daily routine and has covered all areas of our lives.
According to the Statista Research Department 2021 Report, there are 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide, which is 59.5 percent of the global population.
Humans are social beings and need the companionship of others to thrive in life. We are more likely to feel happy and healthy if we have strong connections. Connecting with others can alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression, boost self-esteem, provide comfort and joy, prevent loneliness, and even extend your life. Social media makes the world smaller and builds relationships faster and is also an excellent way to raise awareness on important issues.
Nowadays not only big brands, advertisers, and publications use social media but also influencers, budding entrepreneurs and marketers use social media regularly for their businesses. When you have lots of followers, you can interact with more people and get feedback about your posts and account. This creates opportunities to expand your business in a way you have never imagined before. Therefore, social media platforms are the best possible choice for people to grow their audiences.
There are innumerable benefits of using social media platforms. Some of the benefits are as follows:
- It helps you to promote brand awareness
- It brings your brand to life; gives it a human touch
- It increases traffic to the website
- Improves Search Engine Rankings
- It helps you stay on the top of the mind of the audience by posting regularly
- It aids in creating leads
- It focuses on maximizing sales
- It helps to engage with the influencers
- It supports sourcing content
- During the crisis it one of the best ways to deal with it via communication on the social media platform
- It leads to better engagement with the customers and audiences
Most of you want thousands and millions of followers on your social media page. But what is the procedure to achieve them?
Here are 15 hacks to increase your social media followers:
1. Identify the Audience
In the social media world, each type of network has a specific audience. It is then easier to select the platform that will work best for your business and the type of audience you hope to reach.
Let’s take a look at all the major social networking sites.
Facebook: Those with higher incomes are the majority of users. Female users represent more than half of all users, and most users browse on their mobile devices.
Twitter: Twitter users tend to be older and have higher incomes, although the gender split is evenly split between men and women. It also has a global audience.
Instagram: Instagram tends to attract younger, highly educated audiences with a lot of female users. The users also come from quite a range of income brackets.
YouTube: YouTube users are mostly millennials and a great deal of what they watch is determined by YouTube’s recommendation engine. Men make up the bulk of YouTube users, and mobile devices are preferred.
2. Add Images, Infographics, and Videos
Make your post visually appealing by adding images and infographics. A picture speaks a thousand words; therefore eye-catching, colorful visuals help us to attract audiences in a much better way.
Video is the most effective and engaging type of content on social media. Always keep on uploading some kind of video on a regular basis on your account to maximize engagement.
3. Be Active to Respond on Social Media
Remaining proactive on the social media platform is one of the key hacks to remain at the top. We live in an instant era where people do not have the patience to wait for a long period, thus the audience seeks a response within a few hours. On Facebook, 85% of users expect a response from you within six hours of posing a question, while on Instagram 78% of users expect a response within an hour; on Twitter 64% of users expect a response within 30 minutes.
4. Update your Profile and Cover Pictures
Among the best and most-viewed components of your social profile are your profile pictures and banners. People often follow the habit of using the same profile picture for years; because they feel comfortable in the same, however, if you wish to stay relevant then you must update your profile and cover pictures.
How often should you update them?
Updating your pictures with a change of season is always a good idea. Updating on special occasions such as Christmas, Diwali shows that there is a real person behind the brand who makes your business seem trustworthy and personal.
Although changing your profile picture is recommended, make sure you keep the same profile and cover image across all social media platforms.
5. Connect with the Audience
Find out what your audience would be needing, what they are looking for, and offer solutions to them. The buyer’s persona would come in handy here, create profiling of your potential customers and list out their requirements. If you decide to post and share content on each network, take into account the reasons your audience uses each, then develop a plan to consistently post and share the type of content that appeals to them.
6. Post Trending Content
Post the content which is trending on the internet, be it a social issue or any entertainment stuff. Be fast enough to post on the trending stuff so that you always show up in the trending section and more and more people can see you.
7. Use Hashtags and Tag People
Tag other users in your content as a social media marketing technique that can help you gain more followers because those experts’ audiences are interested in your field, their audience will be as well, exposing you to a large number of new prospective followers.
8. Use fun-filled and Entertaining Content
People want variety on social media, posting the same old regular stuff could be boring; therefore you must post something quirky; humorous and entertaining in nature so that you are able to engage people on your post.
9. Paid advertisements
It’s always worth attempting paid advertising to increase your followers if you have enough budget. To help you target the correct audience, all of the major social media networks offer paid advertising choices. However, rather than self-promotion, focus your advertising strategy on engagement.
10. Guest Blogging
You must always allow guest blogging. Guest blogging helps others to know about your brand and expand your reach. Not only should you allow guest blogging but you should also do guest blogging that is linking your profiles in guest blogging on other websites.
11. Add Social Media Share Buttons
The number of people who have shared the information on social media is indicated by the social share buttons. They inform the website’s owner of which social media platform contributes the most to the site’s success. It’s also an excellent predictor of what kinds of content people like.
12. Run Contests & Giveaways
Run viral competitions and giveaways as another social media marketing strategy to increase your following. People love freebies, and they flock in droves to giveaways, increasing your traffic and following.
13. Connect with influencers
Because influencers have a large network of engaged fans who are impacted by their choices, businesses are increasingly using influencers to promote their brands. However, how can you make contact with them?
You must first locate them. To filter your results, simply enter a topic and click the Influencers tab. Then, to help improve their trust in your brand, begin cultivating relationships with influencers. Don’t bother them with requests to distribute your stuff; this will turn them off. Instead, demonstrate your enthusiasm for your company by sharing information from your own networks, subscribing to their blog posts and leaving thoughtful feedback, and referencing them in your content, and tagging them when you publish. Only until you’ve developed a secure relationship based on mutual trust can you ask them to promote you.
14. Post regularly
Regular social sharing ensures that your material is seen by as many people as possible. However, determining how frequently to post is not easy.
For the best results, post on Facebook 1-2 times every day, 5–10 times a day on Twitter, 1-2 times per day on Instagram, and once a day on YouTube.
15. Quality over Quantity
Last but not the least, always prefer quality content over quantity. Make sure that the content that you post has a meaning behind it and is connected to a broader objective. Do not bombard the audience with content from competing brands instead focus on innovation. The audience will always get attracted to a brand that creates a niche for themselves in the market by being authentic.
Want to learn how to create social media posts? Enroll yourself in a Digital Marketing Course today.
Source: Digital Ready
