What better way to expand your personal brand than with social media? Instagram alone has more than 1 billion monthly users. While all the social platforms are growing rapidly, it can be hard for busy women who are working and managing families to keep up. What we don’t realize is that platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn are expanding in accordance with a well-defined plan and growth strategy — and you should be doing the same.
These five hacks to expand your social media presence will help ensure your personal brand grows at a rate that is sustainable over a period of time.
1. Formalize A Plan
Your first step should be to create a list of goals that you want to tackle with your various social media networks. Having written goals creates inspiration and sets you off in the right direction. Each of your social media platforms should have a specific purpose that can be broken down into small milestones, which will help you reach larger goals.
When coaching my clients, I start with their target market to understand who they want to reach and the desired outcome they wish to achieve. For example, if my client is trying to boost their brand presence among a younger audience, we add Instagram because 64% of American adults between the ages of 18 and 29 are using Instagram. Understanding your audience and desired outcome is essential.
2. Engage
Be honest with yourself about how much time you have to dedicate to social media. The last thing you want to do is create a few different accounts and then fail to post on a consistent basis. This will not help your brand. Your intention should be to have your audience respond in some fashion. This opens the door for communication, positions you as an expert and helps you develop a relationship with people who are interested in what you have to say.
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When I speak to large groups of working women, I always encourage them to establish relationships instead of just networking. Networking can be temporary, but relationships last longer and are based on honesty, commitment and respect. Those three things are the basis of a strong foundation that is mutually beneficial in the long run. Engage with the purpose of building relationships.
3. Build Authority With Genuine Followers
Regardless of what anyone tells you, do not buy followers. Your goals should be quality, not quantity. Genuine followers can help you in two ways: They can validate what you are doing right, and they can provide constructive criticism to help you get better. Both can be beneficial to you. As working women, many of your followers will likely be women, too. Asking questions and gathering their feedback on their likes, dislikes, preferences and experiences will help you make the necessary changes to successfully expand your brand and help you avoid a lot of mistakes in the process.
4. Understand Your Metrics
There is a lot of data available out there. Take your time to evaluate and understand which types of metrics are important to help you grow your brand. Important metrics to consider include:
• Reach: Where and how far are your message and content reaching, and how big are the audiences you are reaching?
• Engagement: Are people participating in the conversation about your brand, and are those conversations positive or negative?
• Sharing: In which ways are people spreading your content and engaging with the topics about which you are sharing your expertise?
• Influence: Who is talking about your brand, and what kind of influence does their brand have on their followers?
Understanding your data can help you save both time and money. You do not want to dedicate your time or dollars toward the wrong efforts. Understanding your data can be accomplished by watching the reaction of your audience when you post new material or repurpose something from your website, YouTube account, blog, etc.
5. Minimize Your Platforms
Don’t be so quick to jump ship. Growing your social media presence is about being consistent over a period of time. It will not happen overnight. The important thing to remember is quality is much better than quantity when you are utilizing social media to build your brand. If you decide to spread yourself too thin by signing up for multiple social media platforms, you’ll probably fail because there are not enough hours in the day for you to post the amount of content required on every single platform. It’s just not possible. With automation and the ease of creating scheduled posts, it’s way too easy to fall into the trap of believing that you are building a presence on social media when you are actually not accomplishing much of anything.
Find a single platform that you will dedicate yourself to, and get really good at it before adding more. You can still use automated tools to make it easier. However, incorporating quick, organic posts shows your real personality as well as your commitment to the platform and the community. As a businesswoman, I lean toward LinkedIn and Facebook. In the U.S., 68% of adults use Facebook, including 74% of American women. Women tend to support women. When it comes to delivering content and securing audience engagement, I have found LinkedIn to be the most effective social media platform.
In the past year, a lot has changed with social media, and it can be hard to choose which one will suit you best. Start slow with a platform or two, where you know your audience will be, based on demographics, engagement and usage. Then slowly build your authority. Before you know it, you’ll see growth in your brand and your social following.
[“source=forbes”]
