A common question we often hear is “How do I grow my social media following?” It’s a fair question, but before we answer it, let’s tackle a bigger one.
Why do you want more followers? If the answer is simply “because bigger numbers look good,” you’re focusing on the wrong thing.
Thousands of followers who never engage, enquire, or buy from you are worth far less than a few hundred followers who genuinely like you and care about what you do.
That means the goal isn’t necessarily to build a big audience. It’s to build the right audience.
Here are ten practical ways to do exactly that.
1. Show up where your customers already are
You don’t need to be everywhere. You need to be where your ideal customers spend their time.
For some businesses that’s LinkedIn and for others it’s Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or TikTok.
You don’t need to master every social media platform. A smaller presence on the right channel will outperform a bigger presence on the wrong one every time.
Even if your ideal customers are across multiple platforms, identify the one or two where your biggest audience is already paying attention and focus your efforts there.
2. Connect your platforms together
If you must be across multiple social media platforms, make sure they don’t operate in isolation.
- If you’ve published a blog on your website, share it on LinkedIn.
- If you’ve created a great LinkedIn post, reference it in your newsletter.
- If you’ve uploaded a video to YouTube, share snippets on Facebook and Instagram.
Every platform should help drive people towards your other platforms. Think of it as creating multiple pathways back to your business.
3. Engage like a human, not a marketing robot
Social media is called “social” for a reason so if all you’re doing is broadcasting content, you’re missing half the opportunity.
- Comment on posts.
- Respond to messages.
- Join conversations.
- Ask questions.
- And most importantly, be genuine.
Real conversations create real relationships and relationships create opportunities.
4. Create more useful content
One of the simplest ways to grow your audience is to create more content that reflects their experiences or makes them think “That’s exactly what I’m dealing with’ or “That’s really helpful.”
This is content that:
- Answers questions.
- Solves problems.
- Shares insights.
- Offers advice.
- Help people understand something they didn’t understand yesterday.
Businesses that consistently provide value tend to attract attention over time.
5. Learn from what already works
Rather than reinventing your social media every Monday morning, pay attention to the content that performs well in your industry.
Notice what topics get engagement and the questions people respond to. Then create your own version through your own lens and expertise.
6. Focus on serving, not selling
When businesses focus solely on growing followers, the content often becomes forced. When businesses focus on helping people, growth tends to happen naturally.
The businesses that build strong audiences are usually the ones providing the most value. Serve first as growth will follow.
7. Know the purpose of every post
Before you publish anything, ask yourself “What is this post trying to achieve?”
Is it to:
- Educate?
- Entertain?
- Build trust?
- Start a conversation?
- Drive website traffic?
- Generate enquiries?
Not every post needs to sell. You’ll bore your audience if that is all you do as people hate being constantly sold to.
8. Create conversations
Social media works best when it’s a two-way street. Easy ways to do this are to:
- Ask questions.
- Invite opinions.
- Ask for experiences.
- Seek feedback.
- Encourage discussion.
People are far more likely to engage when they feel part of a conversation rather than being talked at.
9. Show more of the humans behind the business
People connect with people more than logos and corporate slogans.
Show your team. Share behind-the-scenes moments. Talk about lessons learned. Celebrate wins and acknowledge challenges.
The more human your business feels, the easier it is for people to like and trust you.
10. Invite the right people to follow your page
Many businesses overlook one of the easiest ways to grow their audience. If people already know you, have worked with you, or regularly engage with your content, there’s a good chance they’ll be happy to follow your business page too.
These are often some of your most relevant and engaged followers because they already have a connection with you or your business. Take advantage of the tools already available to you.
For example:
- Invite your personal connections to follow your LinkedIn company page. LinkedIn provides monthly invitation credits for this purpose.
- Check the reactions on your Facebook posts. You’ll often be able to invite people who have engaged with your content to follow your page.
Final thought
Growing a social media following is really about building trust, relationships, visibility and creating an audience that sees value in what you do.
If you focus on helping the right people, showing up consistently, and providing useful content, your audience will come, along with the opportunities.
Need help turning followers into customers?
A strong social media presence is about more than likes, comments and follower counts.
It’s about building visibility, trust and meaningful connections with the people most likely to become customers.
If you’d like help developing a social media strategy that supports your wider business goals, we’d love to chat.