Gaining a bigger social media following
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This is the topic for this upcoming 3rd Thursday, and I am really looking forward to it. This is something I have struggled with for awhile, and have slowly adjusted myself towards using social media as a tool. However I don't want to beg for followers on the different platforms available, but it seems as though there is this mentality to subscribe back to those who subscribe to you.
What have been some of your methods in gaining more attention to your page? For me, I decided fo start posting fan art here and there, and it has seemed to work out well. I have gained twenty followers in a day and a half.
Also, recently I listened to a new podcast interview with Will Terry, and he mentions how some people create a project and then go to social media and expect to get a bunch of attention, but have yet to create and audience or following. This is one of of the things I hope is spoken about this Thursday.
Anywho, any thoughts or suggestions?
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I am just at the beginning of this journey, but now I have the feeling I finally understand it. I have a social media expert in my day-job team and he kept repeating since three years that leveraging social media is very simple - it is just three words: post, follow, engage.
I basically ignored his advice for years (we actually made jokes about it), and then this October I decided to bite the bullet and follow it to the letter. I went from 200 Twitter followers at the beginning of October to nearly 1200 today - growing at a rate of 20-30 per day. I have been less consistent on Instagram, but still gained about 200 followers in the same period. Not only I am immensely enjoying the interaction with many different people from all over the world, I got five business contacts originting from social media in the past 2 and half months, two of which led to actual contracts (a third currently in discussion). It feels a bit like an explosion and I must say I am a bit overwhelmed and will need some time to get to grips with it. So, from my limited experience what I can say about social media:- Interacting with people's content (like, follow, comment) is the best way to induce them to take a look at your channels. Not all will be interested but some will.
- Social media marketing works - beyond my wildest expectations.
- It is a lot of work. It is not something done on the side, it is part of the marketing strategy for a freelancer and needs planning as well as dedicated daily time. Social media managing software (like Hootsuite) is a big help. Creating relevant content is the most time-consuming part of course, but seeking out and interacting with people is also a major time-sink. Also, if you want to grow a following you need to seek out people that are not following you already, which is extra work.
- Hashtags are enormously important.
Obviously there is a lot more that I need to learn, but my skepticism is gone - it is now definitely a stable part of my marketing activities.
I am also interested in the upcoming 3rd Thursday, though I am not sure I will wake up for it....
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@smceccarelli Thank you for sharing your insights - a really useful post. It's amazing that you've grown your following so quickly! (even taking into account how very accomplished your art is..) Social media is not one of my current strengths and I want to get a better handle on it in 2017. From listening to various podcasts and Bobby Chiu/Jake Parker videos about it, I had got the general idea that simply engaging with people and posting regularly was the most important thing...so to hear your expert echo that advice is useful. Hopefully when I have more time, this will all become easier...
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I'm looking forward to hearing the webinar. Definitely a difficult subject for some of us.
