Social media growth is the magical elixir that all brands are focused on … or at least should be. However, looking at the analytics of several brands I know or follow, especially those that grew rapidly in the early days of Instagram, it seems they’ve contented themselves with either flatlining or declining slowly. When pressed, many will simply shrug and then mention something about algorithms.
Is that it? Have those dastardly algorithms finally risen up and won? Do you have no shot at growing your reach and followers unless you push paid content? The good news is the answer is no. However, it’s going to cost you. No, not money, but time. A lot of time.
You see, social media growth isn’t that mysterious even though it’s as though we talk about it in hushed tones like we have secret intel on what’s happening in Area 51. There are no secrets. No hacks. Sure, you could spend a lot of money boosting posts and paid ads (also viable strategies). You could also experiment with influencer marketing. Truth be told, they all work with varying degrees of success since there are too many factors to elaborate on. So what’s the secret to growing your reach and growth on social media?
Engagement.
That’s the answer. While the answer is simple, this is where the work begins.
Now, let me unpack what I mean by engagement. First of all, when I look at our followers, whether for Loam Coffee, Trail Builder Magazine, or my personal account, I don’t simply see numbers. I see people. Sure, there are bots and spam accounts that follow. But each follower is a person, and at that, someone who thought we were worthy or interesting enough to click “like” or “follow” and tag along. They permitted us to show up on their feed. That’s more significant than you realize.
Engagement is viewed as likes, shares, comments, and so on. It’s when people interact with you on social media. What you’re trying to do as a brand is drive up engagement. It’s not that mysterious. You’re responding to comments and DMs, resharing (when it makes sense) when people tag you or your products, and spending time liking and commenting on accounts related to your brand.
I’d say I’m a lightweight when it comes to this. I usually spend collectively about two hours a day engaging on social media on the number of accounts for brands I have. I love Gary Vaynerchuk’s mindset and approach to social media. While his hype turns some off, he genuinely engages with people on social media and has for years. Before he got too big, he’d respond to every comment and DM. I’m using one of his books for an undergrad course I teach each fall on social media and startups. In his book Crush It!, Gary discusses spending countless hours EACH DAY on social media engaging. It works.
The point is straightforward. Engage.
Sure, you could work hard, drive engagement, and not care about the people following you and your brand. Over time, people will be able to see through this. As businesses, we only exist because customers follow, care, and buy our products or services. Social media is a great tool to personalize our brand and show people how much we care and value them.
