Learn how to grow your social media community and reach a larger audience. Discover the best methods for building a loyal fan base and increasing engagement on your social accounts. Find out how to create content that captures the attention of your followers and keeps them coming back for more.
There’s no doubt that the internet has drastically changed over the last decade, especially within the world of online marketing. We no longer rely on advertising agencies to build large budgeted ad campaigns to reach an audience for us. No! We can now connect directly with our customers by building an online community. In fact, it's nearly impossible to grow your customer base and sales without a strong social media presence.
If you consider the numbers, there are currently 1 billion users on TikTok, 1.5 billion users on Instagram and a whopping 2.9 billion users on Facebook! Therefore, there should be no question that your tribe can be found on social media.
You may already have a social media account, but are you gaining new followers each month? Are you growing a community of loyal fans? If not, then it’s time to take action. Whether you focus on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, growing your social media presence is important to getting your business in front of more consumers and generating more sales.
Here are six tips that you can use to turn your social media accounts into popular communities clamoring with fun activity and conversations.
#1 Focus on mouthwatering, eye-catching visuals
We are in the food industry! Don’t forget that your customers eat with their eyes. One of the best ways to stand out on social media is to showcase attractive visuals of your products.
Place an emphasis on sharing short form videos or images of people enjoying your cakes and sweets or of your product “in the wild” (i.e. at events, etc). Key in on that delicious caramel drizzle, the luscious dollop of whipped cream, or the moment that the ice cream part of the a la mode is about to drip onto the counter. Customers love this type of imagery.
You will need to ask permission to use photos/videos that are not your own. However, it’s great when you can share photos of your customers enjoying and interacting with your products. These images will also validate any customer testimonials you have on your website or social media.
#2 Stay on top of trends
One of the best ways to reach a broader audience on social media is to participate in popular social media trends. Doing this will help place your profile in front of viewers who may not already follow you or know about your business. Their view, like or comment can also help your content go viral.
I shared tips for how to stay on top of trends earlier this year, but the key takeaway is to pay attention to what’s happening on social media. Then, find a way to make the trend work for you. The trend does not always have to be something related to cake or sweets, but if you get creative you can find a way to incorporate the funny sound, dance or content to match with your brand.
#3 Use analytics & productivity tools
If you want to improve your social media presence, you have to pay attention to the data. Every social media app has its own way of reporting data these days. However, if you want to go even deeper, you can connect your social media accounts to third party apps such as Later or Hootsuite to help analyze your content.
Analytics can help you better understand the type of content that your audience likes as well as what time of day is better to post. Productivity tools can also help you remain consistent on social media. The proper tools will help you schedule your posts and sometimes provide templates or hashtags to help with creating content.
#4 Promote your accounts
Don't assume that your customers are connected with you on social media. They may not even know that your business has a page on their favorite app. So, it is up to you to tell them. Get into the habit of communicating your social media information with both new and existing customers after a purchase or within your marketing campaigns.
If you make it easy for customers to follow or like your social media profiles, they'll be more willing to engage with you and take action. Don’t forget to ask them (not only) to follow but to also like, comment and share your posts. The more people are aware of your presence on social media, the bigger your following and fan base will be.
#5 Promote ongoing engagement
Would you keep talking or pursuing someone who never returned your messages? Absolutely no! No one wants to be in a one sided relationship even on social media. Never forget the social side of social media. Commit to actively engaging with your audience by responding to comments, creating polls and asking questions. If you want to grow your social media following, you need to create a fun sense of community.
In order to do this properly, you or a team member need to monitor your social media pages at least daily if not multiple times per day, every day. Also, show appreciation to your followers and customers by thanking them and sharing user-generated content. Engaging with your followers will both increase your social media presence and help you develop real relationships with customers.
#6 Focus on customer satisfaction
For better or worse, social media has become a customer service platform. Unlike the old days when customers would call a business or wait hours (sometimes days) for a company to respond to an email, today’s customer will turn to social media if they’re having issues and want help from a brand. They also expect immediate support when reporting issues via social media channels.
In fact, 54% of customers prefer to use social messaging for customer care over the use of phone or email. This highlights the importance of focusing less on selling and more on adding value by helping people via their preferred method of contact.
I’m sure by now you’re screaming, “but who has time for that?” The fortunate part is that most of these platforms including Instagram and Facebook offer autoresponder options within their messaging channels. Simply do a search on how to set it up, and make your online life a bit easier. Many of these autoresponders can also provide your customers answers to frequently asked questions which can really save you time. Being able to offer timely responses to questions can also build trust which will make customers more willing to purchase from you.
Conclusion
These are just a few tips that will definitely help you get started with growing your social media presence and online community. Don’t forget that community building doesn’t just increase your likes and follows. It also produces a loyal fan base that is eager to support your business.
Cyd N. Mitchell
Business Blogger, Retail Bakers of America
Cydni N. Mitchell (aka Cyd) is a Bakery Consultant and the Sweet Business Coach behind Sweet Fest®. Based in Atlanta, GA, Sweet Fest® is an online company that supports the business needs of the Sweet Community in the areas of professional development, marketing, branding and web design.
By trade, Cyd is an accountant & financial analyst with a Masters from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the Founder of the Sugar Coin Academy, an online business academy for business owners in the baking and sweets industry, and she is also the organizer of The Ultimate Sugar Show, Georgia’s Largest Annual Baking and Sweets Expo in Atlanta. She is also the Business Blogger for the Retail Bakers of America.
#SocialMedia
#Marketing