Tips to level up your Social Media and hack the algorithm

 

From scrolling through the latest trend, to keeping up with friend and family, and even stalking that ex, social media has become a huge part of our every day lives. For some it has even become their career! Social media can not only help us stay connected, it can also be a great way for many to share their passions and hobbies from cosplay, photography, pottery and even fan art the possibilities are endless. With all of its great potential there is one thing many ask themselves How do I grow on on Social Media? While it may seem daunting and the algorithm may seem against you there are many things you can do to set yourself onto the path of success.

Research

Time to get your stalk on

Ever post a super epic photo and only three people and your mother like it? If you're lucky you may even get a comment or two (sometimes just from your mother). Well you're not alone! Instagram much like many other social platforms is flooded daily with posts, stories and advertisements. This can make it particularly hard to break out of the noise when you're just starting out.

To begin to grow your platform you must first discover who your audience is or will be. This will allow you to build your content and strategy with those people in mind and ensure you are connecting with the right people for your brand.

Start off by thinking about who your audience might be, an example of this would be if your posting mostly food content, your audience will most likely be foodies and frequent restaurant goers! You can go through your current follower list or the follower list of an influencer or brand with similar content to you. Look at their age, gender and location. As well as any identifiable interest. Also think about what else they may be interested in and what they might engage with.

Create shareable content

Add value

The biggest secret to levelling up your social media game is creating content your audience will want to engage in and share with their own audiences. Remember to create content that relates to your niche and audience. No one wants to see the soggy egg McMuffin that you had for breakfast well not unless you are a food blogger. Do your research on what you can offer your followers and how your content can add value to their day. 

Think about whom you are creating content for and what type of content will add meaning to their lives and inspire them. What problems might your followers be facing? And how can you help solve them? A good example of this would be when a Mummy Blogger shares her tips to help get her baby to sleep through the night or maybe an artist shares their favourite new paint set. When creating this content remember to be as authentic as possible, It should feel human. Be yourself and as cheesy as it sounds remember to have fun with it.

The most engaging content is the content that is created with both authenticity and a goal in mind. Be unapologetically yourself and aim to inspire.

Remember to be social on social media

Like, Comment and Share

One major way to break through the crowd is by staying social on social media. Now you are probably thinking, “how can you forget to stay social on a social media app?”. Well, it’s simple, the biggest mistake aspiring creators and brands make is making a post and then simply disappearing for the night or until the very next post.

We've all done it, the time has been tight and we need to quickly throw up a post add a caption, and get back to whatever we were doing. But by not staying and engaging with our audience or even being active in the app, can greatly decrease the performance of that post and in turn, slow your growth.

So what do you do to stop this?

You can engage your audience, reply to comments, and actively engage in your niche. I always recommend actively engaging within the app 30 minutes before you post and 30 minutes after you post. What this does is increase your engagement/ reach and help that good ole algorithm acknowledge your content.