6 Organic Social Media Growth Strategies
The #1 Myth About Marketing On Social Media:
Let me get one thing out of the way real quick: you do not have to have a large following in order to convert followers on social media into paying customers. I repeat: you do not need a large following. What you DO need is a genuine, engaged and devoted tribe + some grit -- so, today we are giving you SIX ways to organically grow your social media, specifically so you can cultivate an invested tribe that will eventually purchase your offerings. Be sure to scroll to the end so you can download our CHECKLIST to start integrating these strategies!
PIN IT
but first -- Why you don’t want to buy your following
These days you can straight up purchase followers, likes, comments, etc and use all kinds of methods to make it seem like your account is thriving. I’m telling you now: don’t do it. Not only will this not result in paying customers, but it will ultimately harm your account. Instagram is working hard to weed this out by prioritizing authentic use of the app, but more than that, it’s easy to discover these fake tactics. At the end of the day, if you want people to purchase your products, the only way to do that is to get real followers.
Now, we know you are heart-led leaders and want to build something real, with integrity, for the good of the world, so don’t short-circuit this process. Do the work, do it consistently and you will see results.
So without further ado, let's get into the growth strategies...
6 ORGANIC social media growth strategies
P.S. Be sure to download the FREE printable checklist we created or integrating our organic social media growth strategies into your schedule.
1. Get crystal clear on your niche and offer.
If you want to obtain leads through Instagram, or any other social media platform, you want to get super clear on your niche and offer. Your niche refers to the distinct segment you occupy in the market, your unique positioning in the market. Your offer is what you are selling to your tribe, whether that be a product or service.
Here are a few steps we recommend taking to get some clarity around your niche and offering:
1. Create a mood board that reflects your ideal brand identity. What is the look and feel of your brand? What story do you want to tell and how can you represent that visually? You can create your mood board on Pinterest, or on a piece of poster board. Find out more about creating a brand board here.
2. Hone in on your unique corner of the marketplace. This blog post has a great exercise to help you determine where your passion meets market need so you can zero in on your niche. The best niches balance your passion, what people need, and where you can viably make a profit.
3. Decide what you’re selling. Rather than throwing paint at the wall with no real strategy or destination, pick your offer sooner rather than later, something that you will ultimately offer your followers as a solution to a common struggle they have. Even if you don’t have something to sell yet, you can start priming your audience so they'll be warm leads when you’re ready! Need help crafting a strategy? Find out more here.
4. Optimize your bio to reflect your positioning. Your bio is a fantastic place to make it undeniably clear what you do and who you do it for. Use keywords that people would search for in the name section of your bio and use the rest of the text to clearly stat what you do. It shouldn't be a guessing game.
2. Post shareable, value-driven content.
For a while it was enough to post a good photo, but now it’s important that your photos and graphics actually communicate something of value. Are your posts teaching your tribe something that they want to know and learn about?
Think of the posts you click on. Shareable content can come in the form of a meme (humor is always great), a great quote, an infographic or carousel sharing some good information that your clientele wants to know more about. I’m not saying to never again post a regular selfie or photo, but when you can, start to shift your focus to content that will be more shareable.
A note: This content sometimes gets less likes, but you’ll notice that it will get more saves and shares. These are more important metrics, specifically for warming up your leads to eventually become paying clients.
3. Get personal.
People want to follow and interact with someone relatable, someone who understands and has even gone through and overcome what they’re currently facing in their business. Get personal, find your voice, talk to your audience like you’re sitting down to coffee with a friend. Social media is a more conversational, laid back platform, so make sure your stories and voice reflect that.
4. Utilize hashtags and location tags.
Note: Hashtag use varies between different platforms, I’ll chat here about my approach to Instagram.
People tend to either dismiss hashtags altogether, or put entirely too much weight on it. One thing is for sure: hashtag strategy is one tool out of many for growth on social media platforms. That said, most people don’t really do the work to craft a solid hashtag plan. It takes time and research.
Here are a few of our top tips for creating a better hashtag strategy:
1. Be sure to tag your location, especially if you have a brick and mortar, or location-dependent location.
2. Diversify with small, medium and large hashtags. This means doing your research ensure that your hashtags are properly diversified rather than using hashtags that all have millions of follows. Don’t guess at this -- use a spreadsheet.
3. Create 5-10 sets of hashtags that you can rotate through. This will make sure that Instagram doesn’t flag you for spam, and also ensures that you are covering all your bases for maximum reach.
4. Make sure your hashtags are relevant to your picture and caption. It’s important that the hashtags you use truly represent your image and caption. Keep in mind hashtag feeds are completely photos, so if your hashtag doesn't fit the photo, it will confuse both users and the algorithm.
5. Measure the success of your hashtags. Did you know you how your hashtags are performing? Using a tool like Later will give you this data, so you can swap out hashtags as needed.
5. “It takes a platform to grow a platform.”
You’ll often hear people say to start with just one social media platform and dominate that before moving on to another. I honestly disagree. Is it better to do one over none? Yes. But I recommend starting with at least two. Start with a primary content generator like a youtube channel, blog, or podcast and then use an additional social media platform to distribute that information. Not only can you easily repurpose content by taking your longer form content and breaking it up into smaller bits for social media, but you can use your various platforms to drive traffic back and forth. You can tap into different audiences by being in more than one place. As Vanessa Lau says, “it takes a platform to grow a platform”.
6. Engage, engage, engage.
Growing a tribe means loving your tribe, which means putting in the time to genuinely engage with both your followers and also your ideal audience. Practically, this means following hashtags within your niche so you can more easily engage in conversation, dialoguing with meaningful comments, collaborating with other businesses and more. Demonstrate the kind of engagement you want to see on your account.
now, Grab our FREE printable Social Media Growth Strategies Checklist!
Okay, folks! I created a FREE printable checklist for you to make sure you’ve got all of your growth strategies in place. The biggest thing to pull of this together is CONSISTENCY, so we would encourage you to print this out, put it on your wall, plug it into your calendar, whatever you need to do to make sure you and your team are integrating these growth strategies on a daily basis.
All the love, and one more piece of advice -- enjoy the process. :)
PIN IT
#socialmediamarketing #instagrammarketing #socialmediagrowth #howtogrowyourbrandonsocialmedia #digitalmarketingtips