How do you engage with your social media audience?
Oh… I’m baaaaackkkk!
The last time I published a blog post here was on the 1st of January. It was a blog post on my bucket list, which I’m supposed to update! HAH!
Since I am no longer working for Post Planner, this means I can write and share my thoughts here more often.
Let’s get back to the post, I got an email a reader asking me how to create an engaging audience on social media from scratch. They are new to social media, and everything feels intimidating. They were hoping I can point them in the right direction.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it. If you want to do well on social media, there’s no other way than to scale the unscalable.
What is scaling the unscalable?
Scaling the unscalable means you’re doing things that will take time and effort that others will think is a waste of time.
I used this method to grow my Twitter followers to over 470,000 followers. This is how I got featured in large publications like
- Forbes
- Inc
- Huffingtonpost
- Success.com
The same method allowed me to grow my Instagram followers to over 40,000 followers.
Here’s the thing. People are delusional about social media. The problem is, people are fed with dumb posts by social media experts who tells us that we just post a type of post at the right time get a gazillion likes, fans and sales.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case. That’s not how it works.
You’ll never be able to do this if you’re not putting the effort in building a foundation of fans. This is why your first 2,000 followers will be the foundation of your entire social media network. Focus all your efforts in building a powerful relationship with your first 2000 followers.
So how do you scale the unscalable?
You need to imagine social media like moving into a new town where no one knows who the heck you are.
What would you do? I’m sure you’ll start by:
- Getting to know the place by exploring around
- Start saying hello to others first
- Be interested in others first.
How can you apply the same concept to social media?
How to Create an Engaging Audience on Social Media from scratch
1. Post relevant content
To start off, you need to fill your social media accounts with relevant content that people will find interesting. This is how people can find relevant things to talk to you. Imagine if they found out you’re into crossfit like they are.
Since I was into fashion, I started a fashion Instagram account to share what I wore. My goal was to share style tips for short men. That was that I did.
Remember, when starting out, never have the goal to start selling first.
2. Follow other people first
Since you’re new and no one knows who you are on Twitter or Instagram. You need to start following others first. That’s the only way you can build a foundation of people who will actually engage with your content.
There’s no other way. Unless you’re on Facebook and you can invest in ads. Then do that. But remember, this is all about scaling the unscalable.
3. Listen and engage
Okay. Now comes the hard part. The REAL WORK of scaling the unscalable, which I call ‘let’s get serious and cut the bullshit method‘ or “LGSCBSM” (lol)
Most people make the mistake of waiting for people to engage with them. They will then respond back. That is the wrong approach.
My method is different, mine to go out there and engage with these people. I’ll break this part into different parts.
- Part 1:
You first need to make sure you have point #1 and point #2 right. Then go out there, find similar people in your industry and start talking to them. Respond to their tweets/posts/blog posts.
- Part 2:
When people follow you back, drop by their account and comment on their tweets/photos/videos.
- Part 3:
When someone likes your photo or retweet your tweet, drop by their account and say hello.
To take it up a notch, you can also find them on other social media platforms like Twitter or Instagram and say hello.
YES! this is a lot of hard work. That’s good news. Since it takes a lot of time and effort, not many are willing to do it.
You now have the upper hand to build a healthy community that wants to engage with you / your brand.
Does this crazy method work?
If you’re a reader of my blog, you know that I usually share things that work. This means I’ve personally used and tested it and know that they work.
I don’t really like sharing tips and tricks based on theories found on other blogs. Those are for the social media unicorns out there. Unless of course it’s a good idea that I think you should try it.
Using the same method that I used for my Twitter account, I grew my Instagram account to over 40,000 followers in just a short few months.
Some of you might be thinking, but I already have a based of followers on Twitter right?
To be fair, I started a fashion account that NO ONE knew that was me. I followed NEW people and no one in the marketing industry.
My photos didn’t even have my face on them as well. The reason was I just wanted to share my fashion with other short people like me. The results were astonishing. I was able to find and engage with other short people who were like me, and they loved it. I loved it too!
Summing up:
If you’re read up to this point, you’ll find that I’m no smarter than you or the guy standing in line in front of you at Starbucks.
I’m like you, a hustler who wants to create a better life for my family. It’s that simple. No fluff. Just pure hard work ethics.
That’s all from me. I hope you found this blog post useful.
If you did, don’t hesitate to share this blog with your fans or engage with me on social media like Twitter or Instagram.
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