Tips for Building your Social Media Presence

Building a robust social media presence where you’re adding new fans daily as well as getting “likes” from followers you already have requires hard work, consistency and dedication. Sure, it helps if you’re a star or garnered some recent press – but even top influencers know it’s not enough to just post.

Here are a couple of tips to help you take your social media presence to the next level or remind you about some things you may have forgotten if you’re stuck in a rut.

Dedicate Time to Daily Upkeep

You can’t just throw content into the universe and expect your accounts to flourish. Set a daily alarm for yourself to spend at least 30 minutes a day (if not more) on your platforms. You’ll need to interact with your base as well as those who aren’t following you yet. If you connect with others, they’ll connect with you and that will raise you “likes” ratio as well as attract new followers to your accounts.

Like/Comment on Others’ Posts

Obviously, you can’t like/comment on every follower’s post – especially if you’ve got tens of thousands of fans – but take time to do a few each day. This will create loyalty. Followers will see you as someone who’s interested in their lives not a narcissist who gives nothing back. If you’re invested in others, they’ll be invested in you.

In addition, like/comment on posts of those that aren’t following you that may be interested in your work, most likely they’ll check out your page.

Truly Interact with Fans

When a fan posts a comment on your photo are you responding with a sentence, or are you hitting the “heart” button next to it?

When you respond to a comment with actual words, you’ve now got twice the number of comments on your post. This helps with algorithms and makes your post look more popular. The other benefit is people feel like you care, and they’ll be more loyal to your page.

This goes for DMs too. Write a personal response, not a canned auto reply. Do you like canned auto replies? Me neither. It’s all about authentic connection. Just know when to get out of a conversation if someone is sucking you in – and there will be those people.

Shout Outs

Did someone say something nice about you or repost a photo of yours? Always reshare and shout out their name. They’ll feel special and become even more of a fan. Everyone wants their fifteen minutes of fame and you’re going to give it to them because it helps you.

Hashtag for Maximum Effect

Make sure you’re using the best hashtags. How do you know which ones to use? Experiment. And always hashtag. You spent all that time on your content, so make sure people can find it.

Post Regularly

Set yourself an alarm for when you’re going to post – at the minimum, once a week. Get into a rhythm so that people know when they can expect to see content from you. This can be hard when you’re super busy. A good option is to get a program like Later which allows you to load and schedule your posts in advance.

Content

Quality content is key to getting likes and building a fan base. In addition, variety is the spice of life – don’t ever be boring. Do a video one day, a photo another, professional make up for one shoot, au natural for another, be creative! Finally use holidays to your advantage. Create themed content around every celebration, it’s a good way to be current.

Interviews

Lastly, seek out interviews to get your name and social handles out there. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve reached out to models to do interviews and they’ve flaked, and I’ve only been the editor of YNOT Cam a few months! Any publicity that gets your name and social media out there is going to help you with more followers. It’s also an easy way to have something to post – “hey check out my interview!”

Good luck out there, if you put the time in and are consistent, you’ll be guaranteed to see results!

Photo credit: iStock.com/Prostock-Studio

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Alyssa Collins hails from Minnesota, where snowy days were the perfect excuse to stay warm inside and write. Over the years, she turned that joy into a career and has authored numerous articles for various publications (under pen names). Email Alyssa via alyssa@ynot.com.