Growing an audience is one of the most difficult tasks for businesses and organizations. In order for social media to work for you, you need an audience — otherwise you might as well be talking to a brick wall. Not only are you competing with other brands for your audience’s attention, but you’re also up against content from their friends and family.
Here’s how to grow your audience on social media, organically:
Think about your existing audience. What are their buying personas? Now picture your perfect audience. Maybe you would prefer a demographic that is older than what you are currently attracting, or maybe you are releasing a new product or service that is high-end, so your ideal audience is those with a higher income.
Your messaging is very important when it comes to reaching more social media users. Knowing your audience and creating content for them will help you hone in on the messaging and channels that will reach them. Provide value and encourage the followers you have to share your content with those who would also find value in your content.
It is important not to come off as a faceless business or organization, so don’t be afraid to get personal with your followers to form much-needed communication. One of the easiest ways to snowball your reach on social media is to get engagement. The more your content is being engaged with, the more likely each newsfeed is to recommend your account. Seek the creation of relationships, not followers —having 100 followers who engage with your content on a regular basis is far more valuable than 1,000 that scroll past you,
Think about social media engagement as a long-term relationship. Start a conversation! Remember your perfect audience? Without being salesy, leave them helpful comments. Take a few minutes out of your day to attract what you expect. Positive interactions lead viewers to recommend your brand to friends and family or share the great experience with their following. Your goal is to get as many eyes on your brand as possible.
In order to see success growing your audience organically, you have to show up. Creating a post schedule helps. There is no one-size fits all formula for when to post, but there are tactics to assist you in building a presence. Your analytics are a great place to start, so dig into your data!
Analytics are available to your business page no matter what platform they exist on. Find when your followers are online, look at when your posts are getting the most engagement and start a posting schedule. Don’t be afraid to keep experimenting. Most importantly? Post consistently.
Pro tip: Want to try a scheduling tool? At Hello Social Co. we suggest using Tailwind. Tailwind is a smart way to manage your presence across social platforms, offering a complete suite of marketing tools including Smart Scheduling, Analytics & Monitoring, Hashtag Suggestions and more.
About the Author:
Katey Crean is a Social Media Specialist at Hello Social Co. When she’s not crafting social media content for clients, she can be found teaching kiddos musical theater.
Tags: Marketing, Social Media, target audience