5 ways to increase social media following and win sales

The importance of social media to businesses should never be underestimated, with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram all providing tantalizing opportunities to reach new customers and ultimately boost your bottom line.

Sitting back and hoping your accounts will pick up followers by themselves, though, is unrealistic. An effective social media strategy takes time, hard work and needs to be put in place to help harness the true potential of digital, whilst defining how your organisation will use social media to achieve its goals.

The rewards will be worth it, with increased brand recognition, a thriving new customer base and increased revenue within reach.

Even if you are short on time or resources, there are many quick and simple things that you can do, which will have a clear and positive impact. That said, e-Careers has put together five ways in which you can increase your social media following and win new sales today:

Post Frequent Updates

It may seem obvious, but make sure you share content frequently. If you post great content regularly, people will start taking notice. It’s especially important to stay active and not let weeks pass between posts or people will quickly lose interest in what you have to say.

Having said that, it's also important not to flood your followers' feeds with content. Posting once or twice a day on Facebook or LinkedIn is enough as posts remain visible for longer. However, the fast-paced nature of Twitter means that you can post much more regularly.

Influencers and Followers

Follow like-minded people. Are there influencers in your area of interest or industry who you admire? Make sure you follow them, share their content or comment on their blogs or posts. One day, they might do the same for you, sharing your content with their followers – who will ultimately be members of your key target audience.

Stand Out – It’s Noisy

Stand out from the crowd. If you are an expert in something, make sure the world knows you are and can see your posts. Sharing knowledgeable insights and informative content, which is unique and engaging from the outset, will make your accounts all the more attractive.

Social Incentives

Entice people to follow your brand by offering great discounts, incentives and giveaways. Research has shown one of the reasons people like to follow big brands on social media is to get access to great offers. If you run a competition. Remember to check out the rules for running competitions first - Facebook regularly updates its guidelines, but there's plenty of tips and advice available to help you stay within them.

Show Your Lighter Side

Last but not least, keep it light. Showing you have a sense of humour, rather than constantly bombarding people with promotional material, can go a long way. Aside from just increasing your social media following may actually result in some true brand ambassadors, more likely to share, like and retweet.

….Want to Find Out More?

If you want to learn how to develop an integrated and effective social media marketing strategy, e-Careers offers a Specialist Professional Diploma in Social Media Marketing, which is accredited by the Digital Marketing Institute.

Available online and suitable for complete beginners, modules cover content creation and content outreach, as well as an in-depth look at the key social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

You’ll also study future trends and strategy planning to develop a good all-round skills base in social media marketing.

The course is designed for anyone who may have an interest in social media, growing a digital presence, corporate managers or those pursuing a career in digital marketing. It is also an essential tool for business owners wishing to use social media marketing to improve their business reach.

You can find out more about the Digital Marketing Institute Specialist Professional Diploma in Social Media Marketing or contact one of our Training Experts today on 0203 198 7700.

You can also take the e-Careers Digital Marketing Diagnostic which will help you to see what level you're at, it's completely free and will only take you five minutes!