10 ways to increase your businesses social media following in 2024

Social media is reshaping the way people, share, engage and interact with others online. Popular apps like Facebook average over 1.6 billion users daily, which means just under a quarter of the global population use social media everyday. Now think about how you can apply this to your business. With billions of people opening apps like Facebook and Instagram so frequently, having a powerful and consistent social media presence can be a great asset to your business. But how do you increase your social media following? This blog will help you with 10 of the easiest and most effective ways that you can expand your business or company’s social media following.

Why is social media important?

Social media is a massive part of most peoples lives. Gone are the days of newspapers, bulletin boards, and even watching the news on TV. Now, people turn to Twitter for their news. Or, when someone asks to see a photo of your kids, you pull up a photo in your Facebook photo album, and not a physical one on the shelf. The point is, people have integrated social media into their lives. Some may even call it a necessity. And when people are spending so much time on social media, it becomes an influential and impressionable platform.

Companies and businesses around the world are starting to notice this. In 2021, Statista reported that 91.9% of American businesses with 100+ employees used some form of social media for marketing. It’s not too late to hop on this social media craze. If your page is currently sat untouched with a couple followers and a few posts, it’s time to give your online platform an upgrade. Let’s get into the best ways to increase your businesses social media following, starting with an incredibly simple, but underused, tactic.

1 – #UseHashtags

It’s pretty straightforward. If you’re a chocolate company, put #chocolate in your description. Maybe you own a web hosting company; then why not try using #websites instead. #dog has the most followers on Instagram, with a whopping 264M followers. If you can select the right hashtags that accurately apply to your company, they can be a great way for you to reach new audiences easily.

It’s important to monitor hashtags too. Social media sites like Twitter will show what’s trending. It’s a great idea to hop on these trends while their popular, your business could even comment on trending events such as the world cup or holidays like Christmas.

Take a look at the below example from The Elite Web Co. They’ve included multiple hashtags that all relate back to the products and core themes of their company. There’s no limit to how many hashtags you can include in an Instagram caption, Tweet, or Facebook post. However, if you find yourself low on space in your caption or post, you can always include your hashtags in a comment. This will have the same effect as it being in a caption, it just won’t be as visible.

2 – Plan your posts

Whilst it might sound like a good idea, posting spontaneously on social media won’t have a positive impact. Take time to plan your social media activity by drafting up what sort of content you will post on which days. Allocate your plan to what people are interested in, and try to avoid posting only promotional content, because this can scare potential customers away. Most social media activity takes place in the evening. If you’re uploading at 6AM, it won’t appear on anyone’s feeds. However, uploading later in the afternoon or evening can have drastic effects on how much attention your content will get.

Perhaps you could even plan seasonal posts, or talk about current affairs. People will much prefer engaging content over pure advertizing. This brings us swiftly onto the third point…

3 – Creating the right content

People aren’t interested in advertized content. No one seeks out ads. When using social media for your business, the trick is to embed your ads into your content. For example, if you are a gardener looking to promote yourself, don’t only post adverts and posters advertizing your business. Perhaps you could post a ‘how to plant a flowerbed’ tutorial. Then, add an image at the end saying ‘For more information, check out our website’, or something like that.

As previously mentioned, it’s good to post about what’s relevant and what people are interested in. Often, the best brand social medias are the ones that don’t sound like brand social medias at all. By appearing to be relatable and down-to-earth, it can make customers feel more engaged with your brand. Take a look at the example from the Wendy’s Twitter account below:

This level of self-awareness is great. However, it’s important to remember not to overdo it, as too much can put people off. Finding the right balance for your brand is a great skill that will benefit you greatly.

4 – Engaging with your customers

When people see a brand’s social media page, they will often think of the company itself. It’s important to remind viewers of the people behind the logo in order to appear more relatable and real. One of the best ways to do this is by engaging frequently and regularly with existing and potential customers. Let’s take a quick look at the ways you can do this:

Engage with existing customers

When talking about customers who aren’t aware of your social media, it’s easy to direct them to your social media. By linking to your social media on your website, or at the bottom of your emails, you can help attract many new visitors. If customers are satisfied with their service, they are more likely to follow you, or even comment about their great experience!

Engage with new customers

By replying to comments and interacting with potential customers on your pages, you’ll only increase their chances of further interacting with your brand. You can do this by thanking customers who praise your business. On the other hand, reaching out to those who had a negative experience can show that you care too.

Engage with potential customers

This part requires a little bit more work. But, following hashtags and topics relevant to your brand can lead to some great results. Perhaps you come across a Twitter user who has a question in one of your brand’s specialist areas. What about linking them to your website where they can learn more? When you monitor these keywords and hashtags properly, you can hop into the middle of the conversation easily and efficiently.

Engage with other businesses like yours

There’s a high chance that your business is not the only one on social media selling what you sell. By finding these brands and engaging with them too, you can build bridges on social media that can be used to help elevate yourself and others. If you need more help on how to find and identify other brands and influencers, see our next tip…

5 – Using influencers to your advantage

Another great way to boost your social media following is to track down related businesses who have a larger following and influence on social media. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. So, it’ll never hurt to send over a DM to these businesses asking them to share one of your posts – and in return, share one of theirs.
It doesn’t matter if they have millions of followers, or thousands. However big their audience is, they are able to command and influence them successfully, and if they endorse and promote your brand, the chances are people will listen to them.

6 – Run contests and giveaways

Who doesn’t like free stuff? The answer is no one. When people see WIN in capital letters, it will automatically grab their attention. Running contests on your social media is a great way to draw in new followers.

Typically, in order to enter a social media contest, accounts will need to follow and comment to enter. You can set these rules yourself, perhaps instruct your followers to mention a friend to enter, which will help to grow your reach and encourage more entries. Maybe even partner with another social media account to increase the competition prize, and ask your followers to follow both them and yourself.

Take a look at the below example from Nando’s, where users need to tag a friend to enter.

7 – Use paid advertizing

This option may not be for everyone, but most social media platforms will offer paid advertizements. These will then show up on people’s feeds, encouraging them to check out your social media page, or click on links. It’s a good idea to use paid ads alongside the tips we’ve recommended in this blog, as you tend to choose a post to advertize (so you want to select your best). For example, promoting your competition or giveaway is an easy way to rack up more entries.

When you pay for ads, you want to know you’re getting the most for your money. That’s why you will have the option to target you ads at different demographics; including age, gender and interests. That’s why it’s great to know who your current audience is, and who you’re looking to target. For more information on how to do this, check out this article on social media marketing and how you can use it to your advantage.

8 – Fully customize your settings

On most sites, your social media profile settings will provide an extensive look into your account, and can often be the first impression for people when they visit your page. Make sure to fully edit these to make your page look as attractive as possible to potential new customers. Heres a short summary of the main fields you need to include:

• Username: It goes without saying, your username is how people will find your account and know who you are.
• Bio: A short description of your company that gives the important information about who you are
• Profile Picture: Most companies tend to put their logo as their profile pic, but feel free to customize your own!
• Website: In order to promote further interaction with your brand, a link to your website is a great tool. Perhaps you could even create a link-tree so you can include your website AND other social media?
• Contact information: Filling in your email address and phone number is normally mandatory. However, many other social media platforms give you the choice to display them as buttons in your profile. This means anyone with queries or questions can contact you easily.
• Banner: On sites like Facebook and Twitter, your banner is another display image that people can use to visually learn more about you.

9 – Use stories

Stories are a popular feature on many social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and most recently TikTok. They are posts that only last 24 hours before disappearing, and can be used to showcase less relevant information, share other user’s posts, or highlight limited-time deals and offers.

Furthermore, Meta’s recent purchase of Instagram had led to some great new features between Instagram and Facebook. Now, when you share a story on one of the platforms, you’ll be given the choice to share it simultaneously on the other platform too. As a business, this is a great way to save you time when managing social media polls.

10 – The introduction of short videos

When TikTok launched in 2016, it took the online world by storm. People became obsessed with posting videos under a minute long. So much so that Instagram ‘mag-pied’ the idea, with the introduction of Instagram Reels. It wasn’t long before YouTube introduced their own YouTube Shorts as well. TikTok and Instagram provide user-friendly tools to help you create these videos, and their shareability and engagement is a great way to attract more followers.

By now, you should understand what a powerful tool your social media can be. By using these tips and advice, you can take your social media to another level and increase your brand’s online presence. If you want to apply your social media to your WordPress website, check out this article on the best WordPress plugins you can use to integrate your social media.