Love it or hate it, social media is a part of our lives and it’s here to stay. Whether it’s staying in contact with loved ones, following along with updates from your buddy’s deer hunt, or simply being entertained during your lunch break, you cannot deny the impact social media has had on our lives. It also makes pretty much everyone reachable. I mean, you could send a message to Brad Pitt and he might actually respond to you. And if you’re a business owner, not utilizing social media is kind of silly at this point. Remember what I said about Brad Pitt? Everyone is reachable, which provides a great opportunity for a business to grow.

I’ve been at the social media game for my own brand in the hunting industry now for quite a few years. Along with that, I also manage a few other social media pages for brands in the hunting industry. Through that time, I’ve experienced a ton about figuring out what works and doesn’t work in terms of growth. And growth on social media is something that should be on your radar for your business if it isn’t already.

In this article I’ll run through five big takeaways I’ve found to grow your social media pages, which will inevitably help grow your business.

1. Be Consistent

The very first thing you need to keep in mind when trying to grow your social media is consistency. Posting consistently on social media is going to do a few things. One, it’ll keep you relevant on the platform. By posting on a regular basis your followers will see you more and more often. By not doing this, you’ll essentially fade out pretty quickly, giving the site/app no reason to push your content at all.

Two, posting consistently gives your followers more opportunity to engage with your company and feel connected to it overall. And that engagement right there is something that will increase the likelihood of others seeing your content. Basically, when the site/app sees your posts getting a lot of engagement, it’ll result in them pushing your content out more to others.

Let’s face it though, posting on a regular basis takes a lot of time and effort. And I should clarify here what I mean by posting on a regular basis. I mean just maintaining a level of consistency. Maybe that means posting every day or every other day. Whichever or whatever it is, stick to the program.

In order to get a better sense of what posting program to stick to, dive into the analytics of your page and see what time during the day most of your audience is on the app. Use that as a guide for when to schedule posts. For instance, I know that most of my personal audience is on Instagram around 3 p.m. during weekdays and they drop significantly around 9 p.m.

The most efficient way I’ve found to achieve this consistency, especially managing multiple profiles, is with some sort of scheduling app. Apps such as Later or Planoly will allow you to schedule posts well in advance and even have them auto-publish to your profile, so you don’t forget. You can set the date, and time, tag people, write out your entire caption with hashtags, etc. I’ve done this a month-plus in advance at times, and it just makes life so much easier. That doesn’t mean set it and forget it, though. Which leads me to my next point.

2. Be Present

Whether scheduling posts in advance or posting manually, something needs to remain intact, and that is your presence. You need to be present in these posts. What I mean by that is answering questions people ask, responding to general comments, responding to anyone who reposts your post, etc. Engaging with your audience makes you real. And that right there is one of the things people resonate with.

A company that actually responds back to people is one that will stand out far and beyond one that doesn’t. It’s nice to know someone is on the other end of the line, and that they’ve got your back with any questions or concerns you might have.

Again, just like posting content, this takes time, especially when people are responding back to you right away. What I like to do is try to be available the first hour that a post goes live. That timeframe right there is when most people seem to see your post and engage. If you’re not there to engage back to keep the momentum going, then you lessen the chances of your post doing better.

There are times, though, when I can’t do this. In those instances, I simply try to address everyone I can at my earliest convenience. Remember, be the person on the other end of the line. You’d be amazed at how many folks respond back thanking you for just getting back to them. That’s the stuff right there.

3. Be Genuine

Social media can have a way of influencing folks. I mean, there are literally people called influencers who make their living on social media. And while there is nothing wrong with being inspired by someone, I will say there is something wrong with copying another business and not truly owning up to your own. That is not content that sticks.

Here’s the thing, no matter how much in your own head you get, there is only one of your business. I’ve heard so many people say things like, “Well, that’s already been done” in regards to posts. This may be true, but it hasn’t been done by your business in its own unique way. The identity of your business is unique in its own right. Own that and showcase that to your customers.

What are your customers going to resonate with? An example of this would be a tent company posting a video or photo of them riding out a storm in their tent. This is something that their customers resonate with because they’ve likely been there. Not only that, it shows that the product works.

4. Collaborations and Giveaways

Growth on social media doesn’t have to be a solo mission. After all, this is called “social” media. The growth of your page will increase the more it’s seen. And the way to do that, as we’ve covered above, is by upping your overall engagement. People leaving comments, liking, sharing, etc. A surefire way to increase all of the above is through collaborations and giveaways.

Doing a collaboration with another like-minded company is a fantastic way to spread the good word about both of your companies. When I say “collaboration,” I’m referring to a few things, but it’s all under the same umbrella that is linking up with another brand to help aid in promotion.

A few ideas here are things such as creating a co-branded product, putting on an online webinar together, putting on an archery shoot, etc. Whatever the collaboration is, it will spread much quicker on social media if multiple companies are involved.

On that note, a collaboration doesn’t have to be just between two companies. Think about it. The more companies involved, the more your message will spread, thus increasing the growth of your social media page.

Another avenue to consider is a giveaway. Let’s face it. People love free stuff. I know I do. So, what better way to attract attention to your page than offering up some goods? The trick here is making folks work for it just a little bit. To get entered into your giveaway, make them do something like follow your page and tag a few buddies in the comments. That will gain you followers as well as notify their friends about your giveaway and then the snowball effect begins.

Lastly, combining the two is a good move, to say the least. Collaborating with other brands and putting on a giant giveaway will put both strategies to work that we’ve covered. The same logic applies here. Make folks follow all companies involved in the giveaway and tag a few buddies in the comments. Think about how quickly this can spread if 10 companies do this all together. It works.

5. It Doesn’t Have to Be Fancy

Throughout this entire process, remember something: You don’t have to be the next Martin Scorsese. Quality with imagery and video footage helps, but none of this has to be fancy by any means. You can do everything right from your phone and grow like a weed on social media. In fact, a lot of times that raw type of approach resonates better with people. It humanizes you and your brand and helps build a connection with your followers. When things are too fancy, sometimes brands can seem unreachable to folks. Just a selfie video explaining a new product or giving a tip, though? That’s real because anyone can do it. People like buying things from people.

None of this is to say that you should never up your quality, though. It’s just something to keep in mind because quality takes time, and time is something we are all shorthanded on. Doing a mixture of both posh types of content and raw content is a great approach. It speaks of two things, that you care about the image of your business, but also that you care about the connection between the business and its audience.

Go Forth

It’s been fun here, but this is where I leave you. Social media doesn’t have to be a complicated thing. There are tons of videos out there explaining how to grow your business on social media and each of them is great. The one commonality though between all of them is identity. Be genuine. Be present. And be consistent. Figure out how to give back to the audience that supports you and your business.

Your business is one of a kind. Not a dime a dozen. Remember that and own it. Now, go forth and start crushing some content. I look forward to following along.

Sidebar: Are You Anti-Social?

I’m sure some of you might be anti-social media and wondering, “Why do I need to be concerned about growing on social media? Isn’t it all funny dance trends, drama, and people trying to get famous?”

There is an element of truth there, but it’s certainly not all that. Social media is not only a way to stay connected with your friends and family; it’s a tool, and a valuable one at that. Having a regular social media game helps keep your business relevant and moving with the times. 

Younger folks especially are searching for businesses on social media. If your game is weak or non-existent, they’ll look elsewhere. This is a place to showcase your identity and share your passion with current and potential customers. People like supporting people. I know that I’ll personally pay more money for something or drive further if it means supporting the people I want to support.

Photos by Josh Kirchner