How to Increase Social Media Followers for Business

Social media is quickly growing to be one of those marketing platforms where people are. No matter what kind of business you’re in, you are sure to find a target audience that will listen, as long as you have the right social media strategy. However, many business owners are in the dark about how to grow their social media pages. Many assume that outdated techniques such as following people, liking users’ posts, and all of those time-consuming tasks can help social media growth.

Although these things would help to a small extent, there are far better methods for growing your social media presence in the long term. In this post, you will find a step-by-step guide on boosting your organic followers in social networks.‍

How To Grow Your Social Media Followers Organically: Effective Methods

Integrate your branding on social media‍

Many online entrepreneurs wonder how to increase social media followers for business without actually analyzing what it entails. When you walk into a department store, some shops stand out, and you wonder why. The same can be said for business’ social media channels--users engage and follow when something stands out about that profile.

Thus, it is crucial to integrate your branding into your social media account, whether business or personal. Here are some ways to do that:

1. Placing your logo on profile pictures: Even before creating a social media profile, it is essential to have a logo that speaks about your brand. Place your logo on all the profiles or main pictures of pages. A logo that’s clear and easily recalled is your best bet if you own a startup business.
2. Use a content design that matches your brand: When you plan to post photos of your product, services, or have something for engagement, make sure that you have the type of content that matches your brand. These can include color schemes, design, fonts, or any kind of visual media that will reflect your business consistently. Again, these details help strengthen your brand presence on social media.
3. Tone and content: Aside from the visible part of your branding in social media, an equally important aspect is your tone and content. Is your brand serious and professional, or fun and quirky? No matter what you are trying to portray, having this consistent type of content helps users identify you even more.

People follow brands they love, and the prerequisite to loving is recognition. As you continue to grow your social, make your business easily recognizable with your branding on marketing platforms.‍

Cross-promote your valuable content‍

Ever wonder why some businesses seem to be posting content non-stop? Creating valuable content and giving it to your audience consistently is one of the key ways to grow organically. When people love what you post and find it useful, they are more likely to stick around. So, how can you do this? The secret of many successful businesses with large social media followings is cross-promotion. What they do is post a similar idea or piece of content on all their digital marketing platforms.

These can include:

1. Blog posts: Find an impactful quote from your recent blog and share it as a static Instagram post or a swipe up in your Instagram stories. The same strategy can also be done in your Facebook page posts.
2. Videos: If you have a Youtube channel, you can get the same thumbnail and place it in your social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also put some 15-30 second short previews with a link to the Youtube channel video.
3. Embedding social media posts: Aside from importing content to social media, you can also embed posts from any social channel you have. For example, Instagram allows posts to be embedded in websites and blogs. This exposes your accounts to other users who have found your content on your other domains apart from social media.

Cross-promotion helps you maximize your content, provide value to your users, and mutually make your marketing platforms grow side-by-side.‍

Engage your audience‍

Another way to increase social media followers for business is to engage your audience in your social media accounts. If you own a company that offers products and services, this is a crucial tool to show potential customers that you are responsive.

Below are the different areas where you can engage your audience:

1. Respond to comments: Liking and responding to comments, whether positive or negative can help show that you’re a responsive business. Be sure to be discreet, kind, and accommodating to potential customers who want to know more about your business.
2. Going to where your clients are at: Besides being content-focused, you can also grow by going to the right social media platform. For example, many business-to-business (B2B) brands have found success in social selling via Linkedin by finding key decision-makers and turning them into partners.
3. Include engagement questions in your posts: Another way to retain and grow your followers is to have engagement questions in your posts. Questions for your audience such as how was their day, their experiences, or if they relate to your post can help increase interest in your business.
4. Feature your audience: Something that may take more work but worth the effort is featuring your audience. You can create a social media post about your customer’s reviews, opinions, or anything that can help recognize them. This strategy can also strengthen your potential customer’s trust as they will discover that other people have already tried your offers.

Building relationships by answering questions, highlighting your audience, and asking engaging content on your social media can genuinely boost your following while keeping your brand’s authenticity.‍

Ride with the trends‍

If your social media content is not making any waves resulting in a low follower count, what you can do is ride with the trends. What does this mean? It is easier to get people to share your content on social media by posting something relevant to your niche’s recent movements.

Here are some examples of shareable content that will allow your potential audience to find you:

1. Breaking news: Post a breaking news topic about your niche. For example, if your place is in the tech industry, you can create a social media post about a new gadget product release by big brands.
2. Hot topic commentaries: Commentaries are also popular because they help people form and discuss their opinions on social media accounts such as Youtube, Facebook, or Instagram. If you are a content creator, providing valuable commentaries can increase your social media following.
3. Niche trends: Aligning your offers with the trends in your niche helps social media growth. For example, businesses in the fashion industry can create social media posts on product releases regarding the latest trends.

Like steps on a staircase, riding with the trends allow you to gain a solid footing towards the scene where your audience is at.‍

Social Media Growth: Understanding What Works‍

A large part of social media growth is having a direction with your marketing strategy. These tried and tested tips can help increase social media followers for business organically.

If you are looking for social media growth and overall small business website optimization, our E-marketing Associates team is ready to help. Simply reach out to us and we can formulate a strategy for your business.