How to Build a Following on Social Media in 2021 [Ultimate Guide]

According to the latest reports, more than 3.96 billion people currently use social media.

If you could get even a tiny fraction of them to follow you, think about how much your business could grow! As we all know, though, building a social media following isn’t exactly easy.

Luckily, we have tips that can help. Read on to learn everything you need to know to attract more social followers in 2021.

1. Assess Your Audience

If you want to bring more followers to your social profiles, start by looking at your current audience.

It helps to figure out who’s following you. That way, you can create content that will resonate with them and others like them.

Social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook make it easy for you to learn the basics. Go to your analytics and find out the age range, location, and gender of the majority of your followers. Keep this information in mind when you’re creating posts for the new year.

Another way to attract more followers like the ones you already have is to ask your current audience what they want to see. Post a poll on social media and find out what kinds of posts your audience likes best. Then, work on creating more content like that.

Last but not least, don’t forget how much social sharing can grow your blog!

2. Post Consistently

You’re going to have a hard time gaining followers (or retaining the ones you already have) if you’re not posting on social media consistently.

As a general rule, it’s best to post once per day. Some platforms will also reward you with more visibility if you post more frequently than this.

Coming up with something to post every day (or multiple times per day) can be daunting. Here are some tips that will help you be consistent without feeling burned out:

• Create posts in batches (make four or five posts in one sitting so you have something prepped and ready to go)
• Use tools to automate your posts so you don’t have to manually share content each day
• Outsource post design or copywriting to someone else on your team so you don’t have to do it all alone
• Leverage existing content to post on your social media accounts.

3. Go Live Regularly

Live videos are a great way to connect with your audience.

On Instagram, going live automatically boosts you to the number one spot on your followers’ Instagram Story feeds. This increases the likelihood that people will click on the video and join in.

Going live on other platforms like Facebook will also increase your visibility and help you reach more people than you would with other types of content.

Not sure what to talk about in your live video? Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Announce new products or services
• Demonstrate how to use your products
• Host a Q&A session
• Introduce members of your team
• Interview an industry expert

4. Update and Optimize Your Bio

When’s the last time you updated your bio on your social media pages? If it’s been a while, or if you can’t remember, it’s probably time to refresh it.

Start by making sure you’re providing enough detail about your brand.

Don’t just type in the company name and call it a day. Include a description of your business, too, so people know what you do and who you serve.

In addition to being more descriptive, make sure you’re also optimizing your bio for keyword searches.

Think about the terms people might use when they’re searching for businesses like yours. If you run a hair salon, for example, you might want to use a phrase like “hair salon in Denver” in your bio.

5. Invite Customers and Clients to Follow You

If you haven’t invited your current customers or clients to follow you on social media, now is the perfect time to do so. Post signs in your business and on your company website inviting people to follow you.

Don’t be afraid to ask people directly for a follow, too.

When you’re ringing them up, let them know which platforms you use and invite them to follow. When you’re putting together a confirmation email for online purchases, be sure to include an invite and link to your social media profiles as well.

6. Use New Social Media Features

Instagram Reels, Twitter Fleets, Pinterest Stories — it feels like there’s always a new social media feature to figure out and include in your strategy.

It can be daunting trying to keep track of all of these features. The more you use them, though, the easier it is to expand your audience and grow your following.

When a new feature gets introduced, there’s less competition on the platform. When there’s less competition, it’s easier for you to stand out and get your posts (and your brand) in front of more people.

7. Be Inclusive

When you make your social media posts more inclusive, you can reach more people and appeal to a larger audience.

One of the best ways to be more inclusive is to make your posts accessible to people with disabilities. Not only does this help you expose your brand to people with disabilities specifically, but it also helps you to appeal to people who are supportive of this community.

Here are some ideas that will help you increase accessibility:

• Add subtitles to your videos for people who are deaf or hard of hearing
• Include image descriptions who are blind and use screen readers
• Capitalize each word in a hashtag so screen readers can pick up on them

8. Use a Social Media Plugin

When folks who read your blog share those posts on their social media platforms, you get free exposure and will likely see a boost in your following.

If you want people to share your content, though, you need to make it easy for them to do so. One of the best ways to do this is to include social share buttons on your website and make sure they’re visible.

You don’t need to be a web developer to set up this feature.

Social media plugins like Social Snap help you to make your content easily shareable. You can use it to customize your sharing buttons and customize the way your content looks after it’s shared.

9. Partner with Micro-Influencers

Micro-influencers are people who have somewhere between 10,000 and 100,000 followers. Their following might not be as large as that of a celebrity, but that can actually work in your brand’s favor.

Micro-influencers tend to have higher levels of engagement than folks who have hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers. This high engagement means that, when a micro-influencer shares your content, their audience is more likely to check it out and potentially even buy it.

Do some research to find micro-influencers whose personal brands line up with your brand’s values. Then, reach out to them and see if they’re interested in working with you.

10. Share Content Across Multiple Platforms

Remember, you don’t have to come up with new content for every single social media platform. To simplify your social media strategy, share content across multiple platforms whenever you can.

For example, when you tweet, take a screenshot of the tweet and share it on Instagram and Facebook. When you post a video on TikTok, share it on Instagram and Facebook as well.

Sharing across multiple platforms is a good practice to implement. Keep in mind, though, that more isn’t always better.

Focus on the platforms that your target audience is most likely to be using. If you have a young audience, this might be TikTok and Instagram. If you have an older audience, include Facebook in there.

It’s more productive to use two or three platforms consistently than six or seven inconsistently.

11. Create a Hashtag for Your Brand

Do you want more people to post about your business? If so, create a branded hashtag.

A branded hashtag should include your business name or be relevant to your business in some way. For example, Coca Cola encourages people to use the hashtag #ShareACoke.

When you invite your followers to use a branded hashtag, you can create a sense of community around your brand and help people feel as though they’re part of an exclusive club.

Posts that feature your branded hashtag also act as user-generated content.

If someone sees a post that includes your hashtag, they might click on that hashtag and find their way back to your business’s profile. Then, they can learn more about what you offer and potentially become a customer.

12. Make Your Own Memes

Everyone loves memes, and they’ve been extra helpful in 2020 (we’re all taking laughs wherever we can get them, right?).

Things are looking up for 2021, but the need for humor is still here. Memes are a great way to get a laugh out of your audience and show them that you don’t take yourself too seriously.

Use a meme generator to create memes that align with your brand and resonate with your followers. You can also make your own memes using images or GIFs from TV shows or movies that your audience is watching.  

13. Engage with Your Audience

When someone comments on your social media posts, make sure you respond in a timely manner. Respond whether they’re asking a question, saying that they love what you shared, or even just leaving an emoji.

When you engage with your audience, you can boost your visibility and help you get more exposure. This can also encourage other social media users to follow you.

If people see that you’re an engaged social media user and that you connect with your followers on a regular basis, they’ll be more inclined to follow along for themselves.

14. Follow Other People and Engage with Their Posts

Be sure to follow other people and engage with their posts, too.

Social media is a two-way street. If you’re always posting and never liking, commenting, or following, you’ll have a harder time getting people to follow and engage with you.

Make sure you’re following accounts that are relevant to your brand. They might be direct competitors of yours, or they might sell products or services that are similar to the ones you offer.

For example, if you run a supplement company, you might want to follow other supplement companies, as well as athletes, personal trainers, or fitness influencers whose products and services align with yours.

Following others helps you to get noticed. Once people notice your profile, they’ll be more likely to follow you back.

Engaging in a thoughtful way with other people’s posts also increases the likelihood that they’ll want to follow and connect with you. When their followers see you commenting, this might also pique their interest in your brand and encourage them to give you a follow, too.

15. Host Giveaways

Finally, you can’t go wrong with a good old-fashioned social media giveaway. Giveaways are always great for attracting new people to your profile and getting them interested in what you have to offer.

There are plenty of different ways to get people to participate in your giveaway. For example, they can get an entry for following you, sharing your post, leaving a review, etc. All of these actions boost your content and expose it to more people.

Even if some of the people who follow you are only following for a chance to win a prize (this is a common criticism of social media giveaways), they’re still increasing your exposure. This, in turn, will help you to gain more followers over time.

Get More Social Followers in 2021

There are lots of things you can do to attract more social followers in 2021. Keep the tips listed above in mind so you can grow your following, boost engagement, and build your business.

Don’t forget to check out Social Snap, too. This plugin will make it easier for your followers to share your content on social media, control how your posts look on a variety of platforms, and more.

Give it a try today.