Does your business social media marketing services list profile suffer from low followers and engagement? The temptation arises to take shortcuts and buy followers or likes from shady providers.
But fraudulent social proof damages credibility when metrics don’t sync with actual human interaction.
Instead, numerous organic tactics legitimately attract real audience interest. Below we detail 10 ethical strategies to grow social media follower count and engagement without resorting to fluff.
Leverage Existing Platform Tools
Most networks offer free built-in features to increase discoverability. For example, Instagram’s profile category tags or Facebook’s industry page lists help users find profiles related to their interests.
Utilize all relevant platform-native options fully before considering paid aids. Completing profiles, adding useful tags and categories, optimizing content for recommendability all expand reach immensely.
Cross-Promote Content Across Your Own Channels
Don’t silo social networks. Cross-posting quality content across your brand’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube broadens visibility substantially at no added cost.
But tailor messaging appropriately on each, rather than taking a simplistic spray-and-pray approach.
Engage Followers with Polls, Q&As and Live Video
Rote broadcast communication feels dull. Maintain an interactive two-way dialogue with your audience. Instagram Polls, Facebook Live Q&As and behind-the-scenes tidbits make followers feel valued, not just marketed to.
This fosters loyal community building organic follower growth
Partner with Relevant Influencers and Brands
Coordinate promoted posts, reviews, co-created content or takeovers with personalities and brands serving your target customer profile. Most influencers gladly accept provided you pitch professionally.
The built-in audiences of potential partners widen your exposure. But vet choices based on content fit and actual audience quality over raw follower counts alone.
Run Hashtag Contests and Challenges
Spark organic engagement spikes by gamifying social participation instead of force-feeding sales messaging. Photo contests, fun hashtag challenges, caption competitions prompt enjoyment and sharing – converting audiences into invested brand supporters.
Display selected contest entries on-profile to further spotlight entrant community creativity.
Interact Consistently with Your Niche
Carve out time daily to actively chat with individuals, not just broadcast content. Reply to comments, answer questions, provide thoughtful advice tailored to specific user needs surfaced through conversations.
Consistency and care convert casual visitors into loyal brand advocates.
Offer Exclusive ‘Follower-Only’ Perks
Providing special members-only promotions or gated content acts as strong incentive for that initial follow or subscribe action you desire.
For example, discounted first-access passes for new product launches, subscriber-exclusive e-newsletters, early previews for followers spark that initial click you need.
Run Targeted Lead Generation Ads
Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn paid ads now allow highly specific demographic and interest targeting to attract genuinely aligned new followers.
The ability to filter audiences down to niche subsets ensures relevancy over raw numbers.
Work with a social media marketing services provider to craft segmented lead gen campaigns tailored for customized outreach precision impossible manually.
Post More Video Content
Short 15-60 second video posts see 10X the engagement over standard image posts according to multiple studies.
This higher visibility translates into exponential follower and subscriber growth when uploaded consistently.
Infuse personality and entertainment – not just sales pitches – into video snippets and behind-the-scenes footage.
Collaborate with Complementary Brands
Joint giveaways, social takeovers, guest posts and co-marketing campaigns with similar or affiliated brands make cross-pollination mutually beneficial.
Arrange collaborations with careful partner vetting to prevent mismatching tonality or content styles that might dilute your brand identity.
The above list covers just a sample of legitimate tactics that organically magnify social media follower count and interaction metrics safely over time.
