News article

5 mistakes you’re making when trying to grow your firm’s social media platforms

We all know the feeling; trying to communicate with your social media following of 12 can feel like talking to a brick wall.

Having a strong online following is an undeniable asset for your business. Your firm will look more established online and you’ll have an audience of engaged individuals who support you and what you do.

But growing the numbers of followers or likes your page has is a big task that takes time. What’s more, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of using scheduling tools that mindlessly pump out the same unoriginal content day-in, day-out.

It’s not too late to take a step back and implement a proper strategy for growing your organic following.

There are probably some things you’re doing now that are detrimental to your growth. Let’s walk through them and exchange them for some easy habits that can make all the difference to your follower count.

1. You’re not posting regularly

There are two advantages to posting and engaging daily:

  1. It cements you as a regular contributor in your online community; it keeps you in people’s minds.
  2. Whether you’re aware of it or not, you’re up against some pretty tricky algorithms.

Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that your followers are going to ‘seek out’ your company page. They hit that follow/like button feeling confident that they’d see your content. But it’s not that simple.

It’s getting harder and harder for businesses to compete with social media’s algorithms. It’s no secret that Facebook is doing more and more to prioritise friends and family on your feed.

The best way you can make sure you’re appearing on people’s feeds is to post at least once daily. Put 10 minutes in your calendar every day to spend time on your firm’s accounts.

2. You’re not engaging with others

Engaging with others is the only way to build trust and deepen relationships online; whether it’s B2B or B2C. It’s something most of us understand when it comes to our personal accounts, but it’s so important to apply the same thinking to your firm’s accounts. It’s no use putting content out there and then falling silent.

Here are some quick and easy principles for engagement:

  • Spend time replying to comments and commenting on other firms’ content
  • Ask questions in your posts that you’d genuinely love to know the answer to (people love a poll!)
  • Congratulate others on their successes (a retweet goes a long way)
  • Share useful, relevant information wherever appropriate

3. You’re sharing articles without any commentary

Don’t just retweet that news article. Retweeting with a comment – adding your unique voice and opinion – makes things much more interesting.

If you’re posting your own unique blog content without any commentary, you’re also missing a big trick. That line of copy is your one chance to encourage people to actually click the link.

And whilst there’s nothing wrong with scheduling your posts, using autopost plugins which share random blogs and articles that aren’t yours is a complete waste of time and money. Remember: you’re a firm of real people, not a news channel.

4. You haven’t analysed your existing content’s performance

Posting blindly without looking back on the success of previous content is a big gap in your strategy.

All of the top social platforms have great analytical tools for organic content. This article walks you through how to find and use each one.

At a very basic level, look at the number of comments, the level of reach and the engagement. If you’ve reached more people, that means your post is showing up in more people’s feeds because your followers have liked and shared it; in other words, you’ve done something right!

Try and emulate the success of the post in terms of its format. Did you ask a question in the copy? Did you share a great image of the team? Did you use a particular hashtag? Did you post at a certain time of day? It all adds up.

5. You’re not showing your personality!

It all boils down to this: people buy people. Whilst it’s important to share your knowledge and expertise on social media, your followers are really there for you and your team.

Sharing personable insights is one of the best things you can do for your social presence. Photos are often the best way to achieve that. Pics of your team, your reading list, your new meeting room, your office dog… the list is endless. Those insights build connections with your followers, so encourage engagement, boost your reach, and therefore grow your following.

Get in touch

So, there you have it. How many of these five things are you guilty of?

If you need more guidance on how to grow your social media platforms, get in touch. You can email hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk or call 0115 8965 300.

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