4 Ways to Expand Your Social Media Audience

[Guest Post by Isabella Woods]

Lots of companies have already caught on to the fact that social media is now an integral part of business. Even those that were a little late to the internet party are now starting to develop their presence on social platforms like Facebook and Twitter. But it’s not always as simple as signing up for a couple of profiles then reaping the rewards; it requires a lot of tweaking, testing, and constant monitoring.

Without this, any company’s social media marketing efforts can fall flat, and the interactions with your followers can quickly drop. Unfortunately, there’s no magic wand that can be waved to make social media campaigns easy, but there are plenty of ways you can give your efforts an added boost in the right direction.

Request ‘Contra-Deals’ From Your Peers

Your social media efforts should always reflect your existing assets and tools. It’s all about making the most of what you’ve already brought to the table. But there are times when reaching out to your peers can prove invaluable, when gaining the attention of their audience and vice versa. For example, by arranging a ‘contra-deal’, whereby you both tag one another in a post or a tweet, you can expose your products or services to an entirely new relevant audience. This approach works similar to an SEO link building campaign, whereas you trade links with a company who offers a product or service that compliments your own brand. For example, if you sell golf shoes, you might want to tag another Facebook Page of a company that sells golf clubs. That way, you’re hoping to get an influx of relevant traffic to your Page, while bringing added value to the other Facebook Page as a result.

Offer Incentives For Users To Join The Conversation

No company can expect that new fans and followers will simply appear from nowhere. And while you may see a slow but steady increase in your numbers, it’s always better to see large increases. One way to achieve this burst of new fans and followers is to offer an incentive to connect with your brand. Whether it be exclusive content, first hand access to specials and discounts or a promotion directly aimed at gaining more engagement from fans in exchange for a giveaway. When it comes to ideas for content or incentives, remember that you can always consult a social media marketing company – they can prove invaluable assets to your efforts.

Mention Your Social Media Profiles in Your Other Marketing Channels

You may have noticed on TV commercials, print advertising, on websites and elsewhere that lots of companies now include social media icons as a business standard. There’s a reason for this: it helps keeps their fans and followers grow overtime organically. If you’re going to shell out on advertising, you may as well make the most of it – so dropping in a link to your Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, or even LinkedIn profiles is an easy way to get added exposure.

Making Good Use of Social Plugins

With this being said, adding social media widgets or plugins throughout your website, especially your homepage, can be extremely beneficial to drawing in your website audience to become a part of your social audience. These are simple snippets of HTML that you can include on your website and display a ‘ticker’ of your latest posts and activity. They’re better than a simple link for a number of reasons, including the fact that they offer users a ‘snippet’ of what they may get from your social media offerings. To ensure the widgets are as enticing as possible, your content will need to be top notch – so always be confident that you’re offering the most conversation-stimulating content. Plugins are provided free from each social platform and are simple to implement on any page of your company website.

So there you have it – four unique ways to give your social media efforts a real boost. Remember that getting your fans and followers to your social profiles is only the first step, you then need to work on your retention – which is a whole different ball game. So start with building your numbers then set your sights on providing high quality content in a relevant manner.