How to Grow Your Social Media Organically | Part 2

In part one, we talked about the importance of setting your foundation if you’re looking to grow your social media accounts. Click here to read part one “how to grow your social media account organically.” In this second and final part, I will share my secret to grow social media organically and how you can begin implementing it into your digital strategy.

The Secret To Growing Your Social Media Account

Alright- I know I’ve built up a lot of suspense at this point, and you’re probably wondering what the secret sauce is to growing your social media accounts to thousands of followers. Well, to be honest, there is no secret. You simply have to use social media. I know that’s probably not what you want to hear. Still, the number one reason your social media account is not growing, assuming you have taken care of the foundational items we covered in part one, is that you’re not using social media. 

So what does it mean exactly to use social media?

1, Ask Questions

People want to know that you care about their opinions. Asking questions is a great way to spark engagement and get your audience talking. It may feel weird initially, especially if you have a small audience, especially if no one responds. But as your audience grows, people will start putting in their two cents!

2. Respond to ALL of your comments & DM’s

You would be surprised at how many people don’t do this! Someone took the time to write out a comment, and responding to that comment is just polite! Sometimes we don’t think about how in-person etiquette translates to the online world. You wouldn’t ignore someone who is standing right in front of you saying, “wow, I love your outfit!” Exactly. And you shouldn’t ignore them when they comment on your photo or post online either! Not only is this polite, but it will keep you at the forefront of their mind.

3. “Like” what your audience is posting

The whole point of social media is to be “social.” The least you can do is like someone’s post! The basis behind social media is to engage in online networks that help you build communities and connections. If you’re not participating in any of the above strategies, you’re simply promoting your own agenda, which may or may not be effective. But if you know anything about psychology, a relationship is a two-way street. To get the most out of social media in the quickest organic way possible, you’re going to want to give just as much attention as you receive. 

4. Proactively engage with your audience and target audience

Don’t wait for your audience to come to you! Go out and find them! You should have a list of what your ideal customer or community looks like. Find hashtags and other brands that emulate that and start engaging with those people. Comment on their posts, like and follow them, or shoot them a message. 

If you’re still reading at this point, you’re probably thinking this is a lot of work. And that’s because it is! There is no denying that this takes a lot of time and energy. Depending on what phase you’re in, I have some solutions to make this all a little easier.

Do It Yourself

If you’re looking to take the reigns into your own hands and do all of this yourself here are some tools I recommend implementing to make everything a bit easier:

1. Dollar Eighty: Based on Gary Vaynerchuk’s $1.80 social media strategy, this platform helps make it easier.
2. Loomly: Loomly is my go-to social media management tool. Its user friendly and has a tremendous and reliable social media scheduling tool. In addition to that, it has features to monitor any conversations happening on the platforms of your choice.

Outsource it

If you’re looking to be completely hand, off, you will want to find a freelancer specializing in social media growth strategies. Their proposal to you should include information on how they plan to produce content and how they plan to engage with your audience daily. Here are some places you can go to find an expert in social media management.

• Facebook Groups
• Upwork
• Linkedin

Do it for a client

Alternatively, if you’re looking to implement growth strategies for a client, your proposal should include your plan for content production and your plan for engaging their audience daily. I recommend as a baseline 5-10 minutes of engagement and proactive engagement per day.

Caveats

There are exceptions to every rule. Some things to keep in mind: 

1. Even if you’re doing all of the above, whether or not you’re seeing success can vary by industry. For example, some industries are more challenging to grow simply because they aren’t as compelling or they are more niche.
2. You’ve already been doing all of this. Kind of like weight loss you may have just hit a plateau. If that’s the case and you’re looking at all of this and thinking “I’m doing all of the above” then the solution is to switch it up a bit. Look at the analytics, do more, etc.

I hope some of these tips help you provide more value when working with your clients. Are you looking for more ways to provide value to your social media clients? Download my Free Social Media Audit Template.