Who would have thought that in 2019 we would still be debating over good and bad content strategies? With over 2.5 billion people on social media, a number that is projected to increase to over 3 billion in the next 2 years, finding people who will be interested in your content should be the easiest it’s ever been. But if that’s the case, then why are most accounts with 1000+ followers only getting a handful of likes per post? Why isn’t everyone’s brand taking off? Three words: Content, content, content. Your content strategy can make you or break you when it comes to separating you from your competition.
Put yourself in your followers’ shoes.
You may be thinking to yourself, But I post creative content that is relevant to my services/product/brand. And you may be right – but is it the right type of content?
I am a firm believer that posting and creating content regularly is critical to maintaining your audience, but that doesn’t mean you should be creating half-baked content just for the sake of posting. Posting content that your followers are going to interact with is the number one priority.
If you are not receiving a lot of likes on your posts, take a deep dive into your followers list. Look at what your followers like and what they are posting. Use this information to shape how you are presenting your content, or decide that you need to search and prospect different types of followers. Even content that seems off-topic or unrelated to your brand can be tailored to fit both your and your audience’s needs.
Befriend the monster under your bed.
When it comes to getting noticed on social media, the algorithms on each platform are a content creator’s boogeyman that keeps her up at night. The rules and algorithms can change overnight, and if you don’t adjust, your viewing statistics can go from TikTok to Vine faster than you can say, “Irrelevant.”
Facebook and Instagram are constantly changing their systems for posts. As of the writing of this blog, their latest update shows reserves the top of a person’s feed only for posts from accounts a person regularly engages with. While this won’t block posts from other accounts on the feed entirely, it can seriously hurt your engagement potential if your followers have to scroll way, way down to the bottom of their feeds to see your content.
How do you get the boogeyman to start working for you? Outsmart him.
Post. Post. Post. Comment. Post.
Constantly post content to get in front of your audience. Make sure you post new content at least once a day, and consider posting multiple times a day initially. Try putting out posts at different times of the day. Commenting on posts from your followers also lets the algorithm know that you and that account have a more personal connection, and that will start to help your visibility as well. With the top social media giants trying to create a more personal experience for their users, you want to make sure you are part of that experience and not left out.
Think of your account as a pocket-sized billboard for your followers.
A common misconception that people have about ads is that you can only run ads if you are a recognizable company with a substantial budget. This is simply not true. With the emergence of online marketing, advertising on social media is a must for a small business to stand out. Start out small, and just focus on brand recognition. Spend some time getting used to each social media’s advertising platform; the energy will be worth the payoff. With the content creation and dissemination falling to you, this can actually be incredibly affordable as well; you can do this for as little as five dollars a day. It is relatively simple to become a successful advertiser for your own brand.
Give me an L! Give me an I! Give me a K! Give me an E!
Creating content can be daunting when the accounts you admire or compete with have thousands of followers. Follower count is important, but it comes second to relevant content for your followers. When your posts are engaging your audience, your follower count will increase organically.
The number of likes you have is one of the best metrics for measuring the effectiveness of your content strategy. A high follower count doesn’t mean anything if they aren’t getting engagement. An account with 1,000 followers and a consistent amount of likes per post is a better role model for you than one with 10,000 followers and only a handful of likes per post.
Stay curious.
In 1885, Karl Benz built the first practical working automobile. Almost 135 years later, we are still perfecting his invention, and everyone has a different opinion on which one is best. To put this in perspective, the internet has existed for less than thirty years, and social media for less than twenty; social media is still a relatively new concept that is constantly evolving.
Even so, there are a few strategies that have proven effective for gaining an attentive audience:
1. Gear your content toward your audience or start branching out to a different audience.
2. Make the algorithms work for you, not against you.
3. Advertising is not just for big companies.
4. A lot of likes tells a better story than a lot of followers.
Your content strategy is where it all begins. Staying on brand and tailoring content to fit your growing needs is the only way to stay on top of the game and turn those followers into profit.
MAD Man Marketing 