Last week we talked about figuring out how often to post and how to schedule it out. This week is our final blog post in this series and we’re going to discuss how to build your audience. Earlier we talked about determining who your audience is. Now that you know who you’re trying to target you have to build your audience.
Just because you know the demographics of people you’re trying to reach doesn’t mean that those people are automatically watching and seeing your content. You have to build that community. There are several ways to do this. Some take longer than others but no matter what it will take time and persistence.
Start With Who You Know
When building your audience, start with people you know. Invite people that you know who want to support you to like your profiles. You can invite those who would benefit or are already benefiting from your business or brand as well. Then encourage those people to share your posts. Chances are, those people know other people who would enjoy your product. Over time, people will begin to organically find your brand and follow you.
If this process seems too slow to you then you can always put some money behind it. When I say that I mean you can create “ads” out of your posts. This is something that you can do on Facebook and then direct people to your other accounts if you want.
Facebook Ads
There are several ways to use ads on Facebook. You can create ads that will promote your page. You do this by going to the ad center and follow the steps in their ad builder. It will guide you. You can also create ads out of posts and events that you have. Facebook calls this “boosting” your post or event. You can do this in the ad center or by clicking “boost post” on the post or event you want to boost.
Facebook also gives you the option to narrow down the people you want them to show your ad to. You want an audience that is specific to your business and that will use your money wisely. Showing the entire state of Alabama your product is likely not a wise investment and you will go through your money much quicker. You can show ads to certain age groups, locations, or even to people who are similar to your current audience.
Like Farming
When you boost a post or create an ad, you should always go back and invite anyone who liked it to follow your page! This is a great way to build up your audience quickly. We call this Like Farming and it is a great way to build your audience quickly. The obvious con is that this method costs money, but if you place ads wisely it could be greatly beneficial. Weigh the pros and cons!
Social Media can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re not really sure where to start, but if you follow these simple steps, I promise you can do it and make progress. You’ll be amazed in 6 months to a year how much your online presence has grown!
As always, if you’d like to have a team of professionals to partner with you or manage your social media altogether, contact us at Dogwood. We’d be happy to help!
