This post was originally published on November 8, 2021, and updated on April 22, 2023.

Information for this blog post was obtained from Sproutsocial , Hootsuite, and Hubspot.

Social Media has slowly become a part of our everyday lives. Whether you're using it for social experience, marketing, or everyday news its impact cannot go unnoticed. As you begin your journey on the path to success, it's always great to make connections. Social media has broken that barrier for you to be able to connect with anyone worldwide at the touch of a request button. Growing your social media following and connections are not only important for your personal life but your business life as well. These seven tips will help you with ideas to not only grow your social media audience but tips to better engage to help increase your reach!

Tip #1: Know YOUR Best Time to Post

What are the best times and days to post on social media? It all depends on your industry, platform, and target market. There are a slew of articles and reports out there on the best times to post on various social media networks. However, this does not guarantee that it will work for your account or industry niche. According to Sprout Social, This is why it’s critical to find your best time to post. Look at your social media metrics on the platform or software you use to track this data scheduling feature which analyzes your specific account’s best time to post for you. It’ll provide insights into the days and times your posts get the most clicks, shares, and comments. Use this to guide your future publishing schedule, get eyes on your content and ultimately build a social media following that is highly engaged.

Tip #2: Post Consistently With a Purpose

You've certainly heard a lot of myths and rumors about how frequently you should post on social media to get results. However, posting frequency entails more than just how frequently you post. It's all about reliability and value. If you post every day but your audience doesn't find your content useful, motivating, or actionable, they won't interact with or follow your accounts. If you’re struggling to find engaging social media post ideas, try these simple tips:

• Ask customers what type of content they enjoy using surveys and polls. This gives insight into what topics interest them and, more importantly, what doesn’t.

• Look at analytics data to see what types of content perform best. Are people clicking on images? Videos? Links? Text only? What kind of content gets shared the most? How many likes does each piece receive? Which pieces generate the highest engagement?

• Study each platform to see what types of content perform best on each.

• Look at competitor activity to see what types of posts they share. Do they focus on product launches? Customer service updates? Sales promotions?

Scheduling social media content that is intentional and driven by data and insights will pay off in attracting an authentic, engaged audience of social media followers.

Tip #3: Constantly Engage Your Audience

Social media is a method of two-way communication, not a bullhorn. Make use of your platform to speak to (rather than at) your audience. Responding to comments, liking/commenting on photographs, sharing relevant articles, answering questions, and starting new dialogues are all examples of how you might do this.

This demonstrates to your audience that you care about their interest in your business, whether it's reacting to urgent customer support queries or simply expressing gratitude for nice mentions. On social media, audiences anticipate a quick response time, so make sure your staff is prepared for success. Using social media platforms like Sprout, which notify you when you receive tagged comments, this is much easier to manage.

By actively engaging with followers, you’re doing something impactful for your business which is building lasting relationships. Connecting with your audience humanizes your brand, and it’s key to transforming followers and customers into loyal advocates.

Tip #4: Make Sure to Add Social Share Buttons to All Your Content

You should enable your site visitors and email subscribers to share your content with their personal networks as simply as possible according to HubSpot, just as you should promote your social presence in as many areas as feasible.

By encouraging your audience to share your material, you'll have a better chance of reaching those outside of your immediate circle of fans and followers. (And if they enjoy the stuff that their friends share with them, they might become direct followers of yours as well.)

Add social sharing buttons (e.g., "Share on Facebook," "Tweet This," etc.) to all of your content -- on individual blog articles, in email messages, on landing pages for ebook and webinar downloads, within the pages of your ebooks, and so on.

Tip #5: Optimize your Instagram Profile for Search

Your Instagram profile (aka your Instagram bio) is the best place to include relevant keywords and search terms according to HootSuite.

Instagram bio SEO starts with Instagram name SEO. Choose a handle and profile name that’s relevant to your content. If you’re well known by your brand name, then that’s the best place to start. If there’s room for a keyword in your handle or name, include that too.

Notice all of the accounts that appeared in my top search results for travel—from both profiles—include the word “travel” in their handle or name or both.

Also, make sure to include relevant keywords in your bio. Who are you, and what are you all about? What kind of content can people (and the Instagram search engine) expect to find in your grid?

Finally, be sure to include a location in your bio if it’s relevant to your business. Only Business and Creator accounts can add a location, so this is just one more reason to make the switch to a professional account if you haven’t already done so.

Tip #6: Interact With Your Followers

Making connections and having conversations are the main goals of most social media platforms. You should be monitoring your presence and talking with your fans and followers on a regular basis, just as you should be sharing instructive, insightful information. This will assist you in attracting a devoted and engaged audience.

HubSpot suggest you should ask questions, be engaging, and participate in discussions to create a presence worth following. Be sure to monitor mentions of your username, company name, and any unique hashtags every single day.

Also, take the time to reply when people @-mention you on Twitter or Instagram, or otherwise engage with your brand name. Thank them if they say something nice, answer their questions if they have them, and even respond to the negative comments.

Tip #7: Drive Traffic From One Platform to Another

You regularly publish on Instagram and are seeing great results. Your followers are growing, and more people are engaging with your content. But you’re not seeing the same on TikTok. Why?

Maybe your audience doesn’t know it exists. Cross-promotion is an excellent social media strategy for driving traffic from one social network to another.

By cross-posting your content you can help highlight the different types of content followers could get if they connect with you on other platforms. It could be more visual content on Instagram, detailed professional content on LinkedIn or shorter, viral-ready videos on TikTok. Leverage your current top platforms to build your following on other social channels.

References

Barnhart, Brent. “20 Social Media Ideas to Keep Your Brand's Feed Fresh.” Sprout Social, 30 July 2021, https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-ideas/

Cox, Lindsay Kolowich. “How to Get More Followers, Fans, and Likes to Increase Your Social Reach.” HubSpot Blog, 29 Oct. 2019, https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/27094/8-guaranteed-ways-to-increase-social-media-reach.aspx

Lanier, Saphia. “9 Simple Tips to Grow Your Social Media Following.” Sprout Social, 3 Nov. 2021, https://sproutsocial.com/insights/get-more-social-media-followers/

Newberry, Christina. “5 Instagram Seo Tips to Increase Your Reach.” Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard, 1 Nov. 2021, https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-seo/

West, Chloe. “9 Tips to Build Customer Relationships with Social Media in 2021.” Sprout Social, 20 Apr. 2021, https://sproutsocial.com/insights/build-customer-relationships/