How To Be More Active On Social Media And Grow Your Following
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Stick to two social media platforms -
The first thing you are going to want to do is decide what social media platform(s) you are going to be focusing your time on. Ask yourself what sites do you want to improve or grow more on?
A good place to start is by picking two out of the ones you already use or want to start using. The two you may decide to focus on may be total opposites to each other. For example, Twitter which is more focused on communicating and updating people through your daily life, where as on Instagram you showcase parts of your life through imagery instead. By focusing on two opposite type of social media pages you will be able to show off two different types of your skill set and interests. Another example could be using Snapchat for uploading small clips of your daily life like a mini vlog and then using Pinterest as a place to group together all the things that inspire you and where you can pin images from your own posts for others to share and view.
Other ways to help you decide is thinking about the social media platforms that you love or prefer the most. Which ones do you find yourself on the most? Which ones do you have the biggest following on already? Which one enables you to showcase you and your blog in the best way? Do you love Instagram because you can present your photography skills? Do you prefer Twitter because you get more interaction from it? The alternative method of selection could be your least favourite page out of them all and perhaps the one you want to grow more in terms of love for it and your following.
Once you've managed to settle on two platforms you want to focus on, it's now time to think about the different things you can do to be more active on your chosen social media platforms. Don't worry if you haven't yet made up your mind, the type of things you could do below under each platform might make it easier for you to decide.
Twitter:
As we've already discussed, Twitter is perfect for getting lots of interaction and building a community of like minded people. It's probably one of the more better platforms to use for bloggers and influences. I have a whole post on why it is here if you need more convincing. If you decide on focusing on Twitter then here are some ideas on how you can be more active on this platform:
Ask questions - This could be on anything from something blog related and a future post idea to some beauty tips or a current news story, asking questions is a great way to start conversations and build interaction. Let other people ask you questions back to take the conversation further.
Respond to questions - If you see any other bloggers or your readers struggling with something or wanting to know more about something, then if you know the answers that might potentially help don't be afraid to reply back to their tweets. They're probably appreciate it and remember you for helping them out. This also applies to any questions you get asked. Ensure you get back to people, even if you don't know the answer. It's just polite!
Join in chats - Chats run regularly most evenings of the week, so there will always be at least one for you to join in. They're a great way to join in with discussions, meet new people, build your following and come away with some helpful tips. They always put me in such a good mood and make me feel so inspired. My favourite ones are #thegirlgang, #lbloggers and #bdib chats.
Update others on your blog growth and future work - Keeping your readers updated with how your blog is performing and any future plans you have for it is a great way to build on your relationship with your readers. It will keep them intrigued to find out more from you and you can celebrate together when you hit a milestone.
Retweet & share - Don't be afraid to retweet and share other bloggers work. It's all about being supportive of one another and you never know but you might make someones day by leaving them a genuine tweet about one of their posts. We all know how great it feels when your hard work is appreciated! You could also favourite other peoples posts to show them some love or use it as a way to remind yourself to read their posts later on.
Share snippets of your day - We're all a little nosey. We all love to see what others are up to. So why not share with the world what you've been up to? You could also post a few snaps of your day for us all to enjoy and it's a great way to start conversations off too.
Instagram:
Instagram is the the app we use to take and share photos for our following and the world to see. With the recent updates, it is one of the more harder platforms to grow on but can also be very rewarding. Most people will be enticed into something if it is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. So it is essential you upload only the best images and the ones you know will draw people in. You can also link your blog through your Instagram bio to give readers a direct way to discover more from you. If you decide on focusing on Instagram then here are some ideas on how you can be more active on this platform:
Like & comment - I feel like sometimes we can forget that Instagram is actually a social media platform and not just a place for us to share photos. Because of this it's essential that you are being 'social' on this platform and interacting with people. Whether you follow or don't follow them, like and comment on a bunch of peoples photos that you like and also have something genuine to comment with. This is a great way to actually get the most out of it and enables growth.
Follow people - Again it's all about being social and maximising this to your full advantage. Follow the peoples feeds you fall in love with. There's so many wonderful accounts out there, so sometimes it can take time to find them or even discover them if you haven't been very active before on there. I always discover new feeds that are stunning and are the type of photos I love daily so it's always good to be patient.
Draft and plan in advance - One way I try to be a little more organised and what actually helps to me to maintain daily uploads is to have draft photos in place. But way before this, I like to note down a few ideas as I'm going about my day of what type of things I could take pictures on, whether that's in the moment or random pieces I know would look good for my theme or my following would like to see or what will inspire them. Once I've got my bunch of ideas, I then take the photos and then move onto editing. After they've been edited, I then save them into the drafts section on Instagram and then have a selection to chose from. This will really help you to be consistent and being consistent on Instagram is what followers want to see. They want to be able to have content to check out regularly.
Make use of captions - Instagram gives you the option to caption your photos. Whilst you might decide to write something relevant to the photo you're uploading, you also can use it as a way to start discussions. You could update them about your day and what you've been up to before asking them how they are and what they've been doing or you could ask for their advice or opinion on a certain topic. Start those discussions!
Help others grow - Aside from following other people and liking/commenting on their posts, you can work with other bloggers or influencers to grow your Instagram profiles by regramming their photos or hosting giveaways together. This will help you to make some good solid friendships with other people and also share followers to help growth. There's also things called 'Instagram pods' going round that aims to beat the Instagram algorithm and helps to improve engagement. Ask around and see if there is any you could join or perhaps even start your own and get others to join. Let's all support each other.
Use Instastories - I love Instastories! This short video feature similar to Snapchat enables you to share short clips with your following and other people. You could showcase things that don't quite make your feed and start discussions this way. This is another way to use it to your full advantage and on days when you might not be able to upload any images, you can use this to still continue to be active and show people you're still there.
Pinterest:
Pinterest is probably the most difficult to be social on due to it mainly being a place for you to pin and share other content. But it definitely works in the sense of being as active as possible. I could literally spend hours on there repinning things onto my board. If you want to give it a go and also grow your following on there to promote my traffic to your posts then here are some ideas on how you can do so:
Pin daily - To really get the full benefits of Pinterest, then you need to be using it daily and being as active as you possibly can. I like to repin numerous images at least three times a day. I usually try to focus on certain times of the day such as 8am, 1pm and then 7pm. By doing this, you're showing people you're more active and this will also help you to gain followers.
Share content - You also need to be sharing and uploading other people's content as well as your own onto your boards. This will help others to grow, but also expand your boards. It's also good to create new boards weekly or every so often to keep things fresh and widen your interests to attract new followers.
Share content - You also need to be sharing and uploading other people's content as well as your own onto your boards. This will help others to grow, but also expand your boards. It's also good to create new boards weekly or every so often to keep things fresh and widen your interests to attract new followers.
Join groups - You can also follow other people on there, which will be ideal for any interaction and meeting others. Pinterest also gives you the option to message other people to start discussions and to help you to be more active by communicating regularly. This ideal if you want to make friendships. There's also group boards you can request to join which will help you not only with being social, but also helps any of your posts you have pinned to be shared to a like minded audience.
Use it for inspiration - Pinterest is such a brilliant place to gather yourself lots of inspiration for so many different topics. So utilise it in the best way possible and have it as the main source of inspiration for as many things as you possibly like. This will help you to be more active on it because you'll be using it more often.
Snapchat:
If you're into videos and sharing short clips with people, then snapchat might be something you already love or might want to consider experimenting with. Snapchat gives you the opportunity to share small clips from throughout your day to those who follow you. It can be a useful platform to use when you're a blogger because it gives you the opportunity to share something extra with your audience. If you decide on focusing on Snapchat then here are some ideas on how you can be more active on this platform:
Update regularly - By now you have probably gathered that one of the main methods of being more active is to just be consistent with your updates. With snapchat you have the opportunity to update as many times as you like through your story. So this gives you plenty of opportunity to showcase yourself. This also a good platform to use if you're not yet ready to start Youtube or don't have the time to.
Add others - Again it's all about being social. Add people you find interesting or want to build better relationships with. Its great to be able to watch other people's snaps and see what they're up to. You can also snap them back and start conversations this way.
Upload good value content - Ensure that the content you are sharing with people holds good value to it and will benefit your viewer somehow. This might be a behind the scenes scoop into your daily life, extra details you might have not shown or don't plan to show on other platforms or your blog and previews of future content. By doing this you're giving your readers an exclusive!
Facebook:
You might have a Facebook page for your blog or fancy exploring that road of promotion. If this is the case, then we all know how beneficial Facebook can be for your growth and getting yourself out there. Similar to Twitter it enables you to share in a more interactive way. If you decide on focusing on Facebook then here are some ideas on how you can be more active on this platform:
Remember to promote your posts there - Update your Facebook page as soon as your post goes up. This will help to alert your readers of when a new post is live, but also informs new potential readers that Facebook is a page that they can stay up to date with you. This will help you to be more active.
Join blogger groups - Much like Pinterest, you can also join groups on Facebook where you can share your own and others content, join in with discussions, ask questions and build relationships with other people in your field. This is one of the best ways to keep active because you're going to be regularly checking to see what's going on and promoting yourself.
Start discussions - Start discussions on your page for other people to join in with. Like Twitter you can ask questions that relate to your blog, topic of interests or other things that you might want to start a conversation about. Again this is great for keeping you active because you'll want to keep up to date with the discussion.
How do I maintain being active?
Set yourself daily or weekly tasks to carry out to help you maintain the amount of activity you have on your chosen social media platforms. This will help also you to keep motivated and stick to a routine or schedule that you can then continue to use as you begin to become more active and start to see growth. Some of the tasks you might consider to set for yourself could include uploading a new photo once or twice a day on Instagram, joining at least one Twitter chat each week, follow 5 new boards on Pinterest a week, comment on 10 different photos on Instagram each day or snap your ootd (outfit of the day) each day for your Snapchat friends to see.
Have fun and experiment with the platforms you use and try out new methods of being active and improving on your growth. If something you try doesn't seem to be working, whether that's because you're not enjoying it, it may be too time consuming or you might not be getting the results you want from it, then change things up and try something different. Be creative with your ideas and think outside of the box. How can you do something on your social media pages that no one else does and will this bring value to your readers? If so, then yes go for it and see what happens!
Enjoy meeting new people and being able to think of new ideas. Use it as a learning experience and something you can keep improving on until you reach where you want to be. Don't treat it as a chore because then you will find it harder to maintain. Don't take on too much at once either. Stick to your chosen two and work on them carefully. Remember to be yourself and be social because that's what social media is all about. Being yourself is going to be what makes people invest their time in you. They want to get to know you for who you are and not anyone else.
Other things to remember...
Once you've managed to be more active on social media and have worked your ass off on your platforms to grow more, then you have many options of where to go next. You can keep working on these platforms and continuing to grow or you can focus on another platform, whether you decide to replace one of your current choices or add another one in if you feel as though you could manage it. But remember to continue to experiment with it and build on what you've already learnt. Be adventurous and not afraid to fail if it doesn't quite work out. Also know that it's ok to let go of being active isn't for you or that you can't do it for whatever reason. That's ok too. Just keep on going and being you. I'm all for a digital detox every so often, so don't feel bad about it or like you've let yourself down.
I really hope you've discovered some useful tips within this post and I'm sorry its lengthy, but I wanted to include as much tips and tricks as possible.
How do you try to be more active on social media? What's your favourite social media platform?
Lauren x
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