Every day people are looking for new and exciting ways to boost social engagement, grow their audience and take the social media world by storm. There are a ton of ways you can go about increasing your numbers and finding your social sea legs, but there are some tried and true rules we abide by around here that are a perfect place to get you started.
- Don’t Spam: Period, there’s no wiggle room here. Sure, you just want people to see the new necklace you’re promoting, but if you really need a wide range of eyeballs on it, $20 worth of paid ads will get you further than a 24 suspension.
- No Robots: Unless it’s your wicked awesome robot vacuum, absolutely no robots. They aren’t as clever as you’d think and, in the end, you just look like another spammy company on the internet (and that’s bad for your brand image). This rule applies to third-party auto-responders, like and follow bots, purchased likes and followers, etc.
- Speak Genuinely: If you own a cafe, chances are you are interested in food, or coffee, or something related to your business. Engage with the people who like that type of content. Comment on their stuff, offer them advice, or just interact with their postings. If you do it genuinely, you’d be surprised by the responses you’ll receive.
- Offer Something in Return: The people who follow you or interact with you will remember you more if you’re grateful for their effort and interactions. A quick note (IG Quick Replies are great for this) to thank them for following is more than enough, but you can always throw in a link to a free download, coupon or something else.
- Post Engaging Content: Know your market and what they’re going to want to see. Use your analytics (available on all social channels) to see which posts perform the best and when to post more of that kind of content consistently to see your numbers begin to trend in the right direction.
- Tag Other People: Own a cafe? Tag the manufacturer you buy your coffee from. Better yet, tag the donut shop down the street and send people their way for a snack. Use social media to build a community of customers and allies. There’s a good chance the goodwill you build will come right back at you.
If you follow some of the basic rules of social etiquette above, you’ll be able to grow your audience organically, without the fear of being banned or damaging your brand with spammy maneuvers.
Do you have some techniques we haven’t written about? Let us know in the comments
