If you’re starting out in the social media world, it’s easy to feel intimidated by all the influencers and major brands that seem to have an endless stream of followers.
Imagine how great it would feel to get that first hundred followers on your blog or vlog. You’ll be able to see the power of social media in action and know you’ve really made a difference in someone’s life.
But, how do you get more social media followers? In fact, how do you attract those first hundred? It can be hard to know where to start or how to get your initial following. It may seem like an unachievable task, but with these five simple steps, you can achieve the goal:
1. Create an attractive profile
One of the best tips to increase social media followers is to have an attractive profile. A good profile picture can go a long way in helping people decide if they want to follow you. Keep your profile simple but eye-catching, with a clear face shot or brand logo that will make people stop and take notice. Followers are likely to take note when they see a well-maintained profile pic pop up in their feed. Size matters. Make sure your profile and cover photo or video don’t get cut off, which is why we recommend using tools to resize them but without losing quality. It’s also essential to have a short, catchy bio. This is where you can really shine and increase your chance to get more social media followers. In addition, tell people why they should follow you. What makes you unique? What do you have to offer that other people don’t? Avoid being too sales-y but be confident in what your profile or page has to offer.
2. Make sure your content is engaging and compelling
Your content will be the main draw of people who click over to your social media page or blog site. The more unique and cutting-edge it is, the better chance you’ll have at drawing attention away from all the other influencers out there vying for people’s attention online.
In the beginning, get creative with your content, find your voice and see what people in your niche are buzzing about. Then, you can start fresh with new ideas in the mix.
Keep your content in line with your brand. You will be able to quickly grow social media followers if they think that what you offer is in line with their own interests or values.
This will make it easy for the viewers to engage with your content and become long-term followers instead of just one of the many who entertained your idea for a minute.
3. Upload your content regularly
It’s also essential to keep updating your social media pages with fresh content. If you haven’t already gained a following, uploading new content consistently will build anticipation and help you increase social media followers.
Posting often will also help you grow that initial following in the beginning when it seems like few people are paying attention to your page. Therefore, set yourself up for success by choosing a schedule that works best for you and your life.
A good number of posts per week is four or five, but if this is too much for you, try posting less frequently until you increase your follower base, so there are more eyes on your page at all times. Keep this in mind as you plan out how often to post on social media in a week.
It can be hard to balance posting enough times without becoming annoying or spammy on social media sites like Twitter or Instagram. If possible, mix up when you post, so people don’t get tired of seeing your name pop up all over the place 24/7.
4. Share your content with friends, family, and acquaintances to get the word out
If you’re just starting out, chances are you don’t have a huge following yet, share aggressively. You may not know anyone in your niche or be connected with any other influencers, but this doesn’t mean you can’t ask your friends and family members to follow you.
Chances are they’ll be willing to help out their loved ones, even if what they offer isn’t something that immediately appeals to them. Plus, when people trust that you’re really into social media, the online world will come together to support your page.
If you’re nervous about asking people to follow you, try being a bit sneaky. If you have friends that love productivity hacks, then post about that on social media so that they can relate better with you and engage with your post.
When you share your page with more people, there’s a higher chance of them liking the content enough to check it out on their own. You never know who will stumble upon your page or blog site unless you put yourself out there!
5. Take time to network with other influencers
You may be burned out or don’t have time for networking now, but this is a vital step to take if you want to attract followers. The best way to do it is by commenting on posts by well-known influencers, sharing their content too, so they notice you, and voila!
Before you know it, they’ll check out your page and follow you. You can also share articles that align with your brand’s message as a way of saying “thank you” for sharing their work. If your brand is different enough from theirs, there’s still no harm in reaching out and building a connection. That’s how you get more social media followers in the long run.
The benefits of networking with influencers in your niche will be twofold: you’ll be able to get their following, which is huge for when you have new content to post. But they’ll also want to hear from you in return since you’re investing time into making that relationship grow.
6. Be patient — it takes time to build up a social media presence
Now that you have started your social media initiatives, it’s important to have patience. It can be discouraging if you haven’t had any significant interaction with readers or gained new followers in the first few weeks of creating a social media page or blog site.
Building a following on social media takes time, and while some people may see your page one day and follow you the next, don’t get discouraged when it doesn’t happen right away.
Chances are there will be some back-and-forth between you and anyone who decides to check out your content but eventually, they’ll know that they can depend on seeing new posts from you when they look at their feed.
Once you’ve noticed the increase in social media followers, don’t stop there. Continue posting quality content and engaging with your readers so they know they can rely on seeing fresh posts with their favourite hashtags or catchphrases.
You’ll continue to grow your following if you keep up the steady pace of putting out new material when people are interested. I hope this information has been worthwhile in your quest to garner most social media followers.
Remember, social media marketing takes time and patience, so don’t be discouraged if you haven’t seen the outcomes you were hoping for yet.
The most important thing is that you’re consistently posting exciting content regularly because the key to success is consistency — not quantity! Keep up the excellent work. Now is the perfect time for you to start working on that first hundred.
Jennesa Ongkit is part of VEED.io – an online video editing tool. She loves to learn the latest about social media and share it through her writings. Her favourite topics are social media, startups, and travel — not always in that order.
