Social media has become an integral part of our lives in many ways. We use it to keep up with friends and family members, keep tabs on celebrities and brands we love, and even find new jobs. But you probably don’t realize that social media allows us to become more authentic. The best way to build an authentic following on social media is by being yourself! Here are five tips for building a real social media following.
Just be yourself!
The most important thing to remember when building your social media following is just to be yourself! It’s so easy to get caught up in what you think other people want from you. Still, if there’s one thing we know about people, it’s that they can always tell when someone is being fake. So don’t try too hard! Just be honest, transparent, and real; eventually, everyone will see how awesome you are (even if they didn’t at first).
Don’t use clickbait titles
The first thing to consider is that clickbait titles are not authentic and can hurt your social media following. They’re not genuine and don’t represent who you are or what your brand stands for. Instead, people use them to gain attention and drive traffic to a site or article, but at what cost?
Clickbait titles are not memorable. In fact, they’re quite forgettable because their sole purpose is to grab people’s attention but never deliver on any promises made by the title itself. And if they do deliver on those promises, chances are good that it’s only because the reader felt tricked into clicking.
Clickbait titles aren’t useful either: if someone clicks through to an article only because of its title but isn’t interested in reading further due to poor quality content or misleading information therein, then there was no real value gained from clicking in the first place!
Use your own original photos whenever possible
If you’re going to be using social media, it’s important to use original photos. This will help differentiate your brand from others and give people an idea of who you are in real life.
Use your phone or camera whenever possible. Don’t just take random stock photos from Google Images–you can find those anywhere! Take pictures that are meaningful to who you are as a person and share them on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (the latter being the most popular).
Don’t use other people’s images without their permission! If someone else takes a picture of something cool that happens at one of your events or activities, ask them if they’ll let you use it before posting anything online with their photo attached to it; many times, people will be happy for their work/face/etcetera featured on another site because they appreciate how much effort goes into creating quality content online these days. This leads me right to my next tip.
Engage with people who engage with you
Engaging with people who engage with you is the best way to drive traffic and build your social media following.
If someone likes or shares one of your posts, reply to their comment or send them a direct message on Twitter. If they retweet one of your tweets, thank them! You can also ask them if they’d like more information about what they just shared (for example: “Thanks for sharing this article! Would love to send some tips on how others can do the same.”).
If someone comments on an article that was shared from another website (e.g., Huffington Post), reach out directly via email or LinkedIn InMail, asking if they’d like more information about what was discussed in the article (and don’t forget to include links!).
Resist the urge to buy followers or likes
This tip is simple, but it’s one of the most valuable pieces of advice you can use as you build your social media presence. Many companies out there will sell you followers, views, and other metrics that may seem like they’ll help increase engagement with your brand.
However, these tactics don’t actually work–and they could hurt more than help in the long run! When people see that their favorite influencers have thousands or even millions of followers (when they only have around 100 themselves), they won’t trust that person’s opinions anymore because they know those numbers aren’t real. Suppose someone has 10 million followers but posts content only about once every few months. In that case, it’s unlikely anyone will want to follow them anyway since there isn’t enough new information coming through regularly.
Conclusion
Social media marketing is a great way to connect with your audience, but it’s important to remember that it’s also a reflection of who you are as a brand. If your followers feel like they know the real person behind the posts, they will be more likely to engage with them and share their experiences.