In the past few years, brands’ focus has started to shift from the race for followers and likes on Social Media, towards an engaged community and deeper relationships with people in this community.
Yes, numbers are important to establish a social media presence, but nowadays the quality of the audience is what determines how ‘influential’ the content creator is. And how do you achieve a high-quality audience? By creating relationships with them, REAL relationships.
The problem some content creators find is that the bigger their follower base is, the harder it is to create new relationships or even maintain the existing ones. You can clearly see this with big influencer accounts whose reach and rate of engagement decrease as their following number increase.
This is why building relationships from the very beginning of your social media journey is important. If you’re wondering how you can start creating a meaningful community on social media, you can check my article 5 Hacks to Create a Meaningful Community on Instagram.
5 Hacks to Create a Meaningful Community on Instagram
Having an engaged community is key to success and brands are starting to pay closer attention to this, shifting their attention and marketing efforts towards micro-influencer accounts that have specific niche audiences and are deeply connected to them. However, the question remains in the challenge of maintaining and nurturing these relationships.
These are some tips for maintaining a relationship on social media:
Collaborate with other content creators or influencers: collaborating with other peers within your niche creating content together will create long-lasting relationships, give value to their and your followers, and leverage both followings.
Activate notifications for your most engaged followers: This way you will be notified every time they post so you can engage and leave a meaningful comment.
Join Instagram pods or engagement groups: Don’t do it for the likes or comments, do it for meeting other individuals with your same interests and values. Great collaborations and even friendships can result from these groups.
Use tools to keep track of all your comments and messages: Tools like Later, Buffer, or even the new Creator Studio from Facebook and Instagram will help you track your comments and messages, and will make it easier for you to respond to all of them. Remember that responding to all your comments and messages is a key factor not only for creating bonds and relationships but also for Social Media growth.
Read captions and leave a meaningful comment or opinion: The creator who took the time to write an engaging caption will be so thankful that you are taking this time, you are probably going to receive the same meaningful comment back on your post!
In conclusion, social media is about being social and creating connections. Nurturing these connections and creating lasting bonds is the key to any successful social media strategy.
Do you need support in building a trusted online community? I specialize in content creation that builds communities. Get in touch and let’s discuss your needs!
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