At Symbiotic Marketing, we focus on building up your social media following organically. This means our focus is quality over quantity. We want to build an audience that is active and engaged with your social media. Before discussing how this is done, let’s discuss the difference between a quality audience over quantity.
As a business owner, I have been on the receiving end of many emails, phone calls, and messages offering to assist with lead generation. The businesses contacting offer ways to increase my leads and assist with getting new clients. This sounds wonderful in theory. Who wouldn’t want lots of possible contacts who would be interested in what we offer? In reality though, many of these leads are not qualified and more often than not, are not looking for the services we provide or worse, those who are looking for a “deal” and will not be long-term clients. This can be very frustrating for business owners because we spend just as much time cultivating these leads as we would others and time is our highest commodity.
Time is a constant concern for business owners. Time to work on what we do, time to get backend business needs addressed such as financials, time to spend with family and friends. There is a constant struggle with time to accomplish all that we need and want, and it can be frustrating! There’s an old saying, “Good, Fast, Cheap – Pick 2.” By focusing on quality over quantity, the work will not be fast. You can easily expect at least 3-6 months before you begin to see a result, but it will come and when it does, it’s pretty spectacular. So, let’s get into how it’s done:
Know Your Numbers
Every social media platform offers business pages insights to the analytics of your audience. This is more than just the figure of how many people engaged with your post in some manner. It can tell you the age, sex, location of your audience, the days and times they are most active, and which types of posts receive the most engagement. By catering to the needs of your audience, they are more likely to continue visiting your page and be interested in your goods or services.
Be Aware of Time
By catering to your audience, you should be aware of time. Holidays and changes in schedules such as back to school often result in behavioral changes. With awareness of what time of year it is and how that affects schedules and behaviors, you will be able to refine and adjust what and when you post so you are able to continue working your audience.
Content Reigns Supreme
Many fall into the trap of asking for likes through offering a deal or paying for sponsored ads but fall behind on content. Once you have individuals on your page, give them a reason to keep coming back to you. This is more than just saying how awesome you are but give your audience reasons to believe in you. This can be through helpful tips and tricks, educational posts, sharing articles that speak to you, and even humorous memes. Be authentic. Let people know who you are, what you do, and how you do it without going into the dirty details and they will want to know more.
Work With What You Have
This is tough for many business owners. I have heard it many times, “I only have family and friends on my page. They aren’t going to buy.” Having family and friends following you on your social media page is awesome! That means they are supporting you. When they engage with your page, it shows on their newsfeed. This shows your page to their friends and family, some of which may be interested in what you have to offer. Word of mouth is powerful, don’t discount it just because the platform has changed.
Celebrate Other’s Successes
When working with new clients, we ask for a list of businesses that the client supports either as a business or personally. This builds on working with what you have, by sharing and supporting other businesses publicly on your page, you are able to access their audience. Some of which may be larger than your own and more likely, not aware of your business but may be interested in what you offer. This is word of mouth on a larger scale.
By celebrating other’s successes, you also give your business a sense of permanence and security. Most individuals want to purchase from someone they know is going to be around for a while. By sharing their successes, you are able to align yourself with those businesses and build on the sense of community in an increasingly digital world.
Build Your Brand Awareness
By incorporating these steps, you can build your brand awareness organically so when you do choose to pay for a boosted post, it is able to reach more of those quality leads. If and when you choose to pay for a sponsored ad, be sure to have a specific goal in mind. This will aid in a higher return on your investment.
Final Note: I have had business owners ask how businesses have their pages show as sponsored without paying. Yes, the elusive white rabbit of building your brand on social media. It can happen. I have personally witnessed this, and it is incredible when it does. This occurs when your reach and engagement figures are high enough that the often frustrating algorithms align perfectly for your business. This is the power of building your audience organically and focusing on quality over quantity. If you are interested in learning more or would like assistance with learning your numbers, we are happy to help because in our business, helping your business grow is our primary focus.