Growing a following on social media can be tough and time-consuming. But it can be easier than you think if you have a sound strategy in place. Why should you care? Because building a solid social media following can help you grow your business — whether it's by getting more traffic to your website or by improving your brand awareness and visibility.
Here are 10 ways to start growing your following organically:
1. Ensure Your Profile Page is Completely Set Up
Profile photo should be of your logo or of you – this legitimizes your business and gains trust from potential customers.
Write a brief bio about what your business is and what you have to offer – people should gain a good idea of what you offer within seconds of being on your page.
Link your website – this is a great way to direct traffic to your website and allows people to explore your products/ services more.
Other profile settings: Now you can show other accounts, choose a business category, create a contact button, create an action button, and more. By filling out everything you can, you’re allowing more people to find you, letting them easily understand who you are and providing multiple means of contacting you.
2. Follow Like-Minded Businesses
Follow businesses who have similar offerings and goals as you. Review their page and the type of content that they are posting. What seems to work well and what doesn’t? Make your page look better than theirs. Then, comment on their posts so their followers start to notice you too. A little friendly competition never hurt anyone right? 😉
3. Host a Giveaway
Giveaways offer access to audiences outside of your followers, more than any other type of social media marketing tactic.
According to surveys, 94.46% of the time users share the promotion immediately after they register. (outgrow.co, 2021)
Think of the all the exposure that’ll bring you! Think of giveaways as a sort of "kickstart" for your account.
4. Tag Locations
Tags are an amazing creation. Think of how many times you’ve searched a location on Instagram and all the posts that popped up using that tag. By tagging your location on social posts, you’re allowing for more people to find you and potentially follow you as a result.
5. Tag Other Accounts
Tagging other accounts on any social platform is a good idea. By tagging accounts, you’re allowing their followers to see you as well. Who knows, maybe the account you’re tagging will even share the post to their stories! The more you can maximize your exposure the better.
6. Request Other Accounts to Tag You
Just hosted an event with another business? Or collaborated on something fun? Whatever it is, ask the company/ individual you worked with to tag you when they post about it on social media! This will allow their followers to find you, which of course can mean more business for you.
7. Use Hashtags
Similar to tagging, hashtags are a tool used for searches on social media. Instagram will allow you to post up to 30 hashtags, which means you have 30 chances of being found on search. Instead of creating random hashtags, however, try to use location-based hashtags or trending hashtags that people are actually using. If you’re not sure, try searching them yourself or do a little research online to find out what people are currently hash tagging.
8. Use Keywords
Trying to come up with a creative caption? As you’re deciding what to write about, be sure to incorporate some keywords that you think people might look for online. As you may or may not know, posts can pop up on search engines if the proper keywords are used!
9. Take Advantage of Stories, Reels, and Carousels
Due to the algorithm, your feed posts are seen by an average of 5.20% of your followers. That’s why it’s important to utilize all sorts of posting methods. Here are some stats to prove the popularity of different types of posts:
50% of Instagram users visit a website after seeing it in Stories
Carousels perform better than video or image
58% of users say they’re more interested in a brand after seeing it in a Story
57% of people like seeing polls and quizzes from brands on Instagram
10. Post Consistently, But Remember Quality Over Quantity
Because the algorithm favors engagement, it’s important to post interesting content that evokes conversation and likes. While consistency is still important, if you’re posting everyday and not receiving any reactions, you’re most likely not being seen. So, when creating posts, try to ask questions in your captions, or create polls in your stories. Everyone loves giving their opinions, so if you give them an opportunity to respond, chances are they will.
Remember to keep this up because if you don’t, Instagram will forget about you! Their favorite accounts are those who cause some motion, so as long as you’re staying active, they will make sure you’re being seen.
Not sure if social media is right for you?
Check out our blog 5 Top Reasons Your Business Needs to be on Social Media