What Works (and Doesn't Work) to Build Your Social Media

It’s no surprise that one of the hottest topics in business today is social media.

No matter if you’re a solopreneur, a Fortune 500 company, an online business, or a brick and mortar store – social media has become a huge part of marketing and brand recognition.

And for good reason. When it’s done right, it’s amazing and can blow up a brand faster than anything else.

But when it’s done wrong, it can tank a brand’s image overnight.

So there’s no question that doing social media right should be the goal of any major brand, business, or influencer. But there’s no official guide book on how to do it.

That’s why I wanted to share with you my thoughts on social media. Now I’m not the end all be all expert (no one really is) but I’ve been building my own social media accounts for 9 years and have seen what works and what doesn’t.

I’ve used 7 key principles to continuously grow my following and my business, and I want to share those principles with you today.

Because I believe that getting social media right, and using it to be in service to your audience, is one of the most impactful things you can do to grow your business the right way.

So here we go, my 7 keys to help you grow your social media following:

1. Focus on authenticity over perfection. Use your own voice and be okay with the little misspells and mistakes. Connection comes from vulnerability both in person and on social media. At the end of the day, people want to follow real people.
2. Be consistent. In posting frequency, in your voice, in your visual style, and in your messaging. People need to get to know you before they can trust you, and those two things can only happen with time and consistency. So do the small things right every day to build a big following over time.
3. Find your voice and speak to your target audience. Figure out exactly who that ideal person is in your fan base, and speak to them directly. The people who stick around are your true followers, and you can use that knowledge to evolve your voice over time.
4. Don’t make it all about you! Give shoutouts to people and brands you love and that you support. Post other people’s stuff. Share the kinds of things you want to see more of. Nobody wants to be around someone who’s only about themselves and the same goes for social media.
5. Play the long game. Be patient because you’re not going to build a massive following overnight. It ALWAYS takes time to build something that will last.
6. Give value. There is so much noise on social media today, and giving value is one of the best ways to stand out. People will only follow you if you are giving back to them. Never take your audience for granted and do your best to give them value with each post.
7. Be an experimenter. Explore different media types, find what works, and amplify that. It’ll take some time and testing, but find out what works best for you and continue to keep things fresh.

These are the overarching principles that I’ve used over the years to achieve social media success. But as we all know, it’s going to take some other specific tools and tactics to do social media right.

So my team and I created this free guide with links to the top tools I use to run my accounts.

Click HERE to download it.

Again, I’m not the end all be all expert on social media, but I’ve seen these principles and these tools work time and time again for me and other major influencers.

Remember: building a large social media takes time and consistent effort.

I hope this article can be the spark that starts it all for you :)

And lastly, for a deeper dive into the above 7 principles, be sure to give Episode 446 on The School of Greatness a listen. I can’t wait to hear what you think.