How does one build a social media following?

Ask a Strategist!

One of my followers asked me: “How does someone grow a large following? Is it just luck?” This is a great question, but the answer may disappoint some of y’all. Sometimes, it really is luck. But on this blog, we are strategists, so my answer to you will be a little more involved. What you need is consistent effort and time. That’s really what the “magic equation” would be if there was one. Hear me out.

Community First, Always

Anyone can buy followers or post something funny that will momentarily grab attention. When building a brand, however, the goal must always be community. You want to build a community surrounding your brand that will keep coming back, whether it be to buy your products or to engage with your work. This is where the effort and time comes in.

Connection won’t happen overnight. A solid social media plan takes planning and patience. You may feel like other people’s platforms grow overnight, but what their current presence on social media won’t show you is where and how they started. If you want something to stick, you need to stick around.

Where do I start?

I find that the best way to begin thinking about this is to ask yourself who it is you want to be engaging with. Who is your target audience? Where can you find this audience? What hashtags or community pages would reach them? These are the things to consider when you want to cultivate a following for yourself. You can find this by researching both within the platform and online. There are plenty of free resources out there to help you learn more.

This isn’t new information, either; PR practitioners and social media strategists have been doing this for years! But to the layperson using social media, these things aren’t front of mind. This is the work done behind the scenes of large companies and brands. Social media work is just that, work! It requires creative and strategic thinking. I have never once seen an account perform well without that effort at play.

Do yourself a favor and look at the insights and analytics on your various platforms. They can all mostly be found on your account page or in the settings area of the platform. This will tell you the demographics of your following to some degree, and also what works that you are already doing. Here you should then ask yourself the above questions and plan your goals. Measurable goals are key. Do you want to gain 200 followers on Instagram by the end of the year? Great! Where are those followers on the platform? How can you get your content in front of them?

This my friends, is how you build your following on social media. People do get lucky, but luck tends to run out, so putting in time and creative effort will always be the best way to grow.