From Clicking To Sticking: How to Increase Social Media Followers

If you’re publishing strong, brand-worthy content – but feel like it’s being shot out into the ether with no response – it’s time to find out how to increase your social media followers. 

With a quarter (28%) of small businesses in the UK now generating more sales from social media than from any other channel, including e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores, the power of platforms can’t be understated. 

But how do we translate a strong online presence into a tangible following – especially one that’s engaged and excited about your business?

That’s where we come in.

At Embryo, we work as an extension of your team. That means we create bespoke strategies to help you achieve your goals, grow your audience, and spot previously unseen opportunities for serious conversion.

 Our social media team and digital marketing departments are here to help you overcome any challenges you’re facing while keeping your business’ unique tone and feel across multiple channels. 

In this guide, we’ll touch on some of the best ways to boost your business’s social media following – straight from the minds of our resident experts. 

To learn more about our specialist approach, feel free to get in touch with our team after you’ve read this blog by phone at 0161 327 2635 or email [email protected].’

But first – let’s get social. 

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Come for the Click, Stick Around for the Following

Follows are majorly distinct from likes and shares. 

Although likes, retweets, and shares do provide some value metrics – showing that some people are finding your post useful – getting a following means that you’ve actively persuaded someone to get constant updates from your business. 

A follow is the gold standard of engagement: showing that your audience is engaging on a whole new level. 

That means that an overabundance of content and ads is simply insufficient. The same goes if you are inauthentic or appear false. Why? Because consumers look to brands they follow for purpose, as dictated by the latest shopper trends.

Networking: It’s a Social Thing

Sometimes it helps to do a bit of work on yourself. And like any conversation, to have flow (and followers) – it helps to establish a bit of back and forth. 

That means forging useful connections by actively following the brands, businesses, and people that resonate with your values and content.

While it doesn’t guarantee an instant follow-back (this isn’t the early days of Instagram) – it can help you curate a more three-dimensional social media profile, as well as an inspirational feed for your content. After all, today’s followers are tomorrow’s contacts. 

Here are some ideas to get you started: 

• Group-fishing: Platforms can often suggest relevant groups for your interests. This is not only a great way to find inspiration and new people to follow, but adding your posts can help you establish authority and appear authentic – which is valuable social currency.  
• Easily influenced: Keep an eye on influencers and social personalities who have high-quality following lists. This is indicated by a high following themselves, but a very selective ‘follow’ list themselves. Scour those. 
• “In the Know ”:  Sometimes it’s what – and who – you know. Internet lists often compile a variable ‘who’s who’ when it comes to industry movers and shakers, helping you get a good idea of who to follow. 

The Rules of Engagement

While it can be tempting to use your social media platforms as an extension of your advertising (and we get it, why shouldn’t you want to shout about what you’re doing?) – followers can quickly turn off. 

People follow people, especially on socials, so make sure you’re creating conversations and encouraging connections through your posts. 

Remember, social platforms are a business’ opportunity to show off their ‘humanistic’ side. Engagement begets engagement. 

If You’re Going to Post, Do It with Purpose

Rather than focusing on the ‘optimum times’ to post – which fluctuates rapidly, depending on who you ask – the best way to get results is to publish regularly. 

Of course, that doesn’t mean churning out content. It’s quite the opposite. Don’t be tempted by jumping on every trend or ‘spamming’ your audience’s feed, unless there’s real thought behind it. 

If you’re aiming to publish daily, become the algorithm’s best friend and earn favour with potential followers, you need to produce valuable and helpful content consistently. 

As a rule of thumb, this is content your audience will find: 

• Actionable
• Helpful 
• Inspiring

Without this, you are actively tanking your brand image and will likely create a disjoint between your online presence and business persona elsewhere. 

Creating a social media calendar and content strategy is one of the best ways to make sure your posts are useful and engaging – with room for reactive posts to keep your profile fresh. 

Need inspiration? Our very own Head of Paid Social, Harriet Tuite, has compiled a list of top social media ideas that’ll help drive engagement. 

Drive Traffic from One Platform to Another

Maybe the problem isn’t growth at all, but a mismatch in followers across platforms. 

To ensure all your channels are performing to their maximum potential, cross-promotion is a great way to actively drive traffic across your channels – especially from one social network to another. 

If you’re creating a variety of content, make sure it’s getting seen by the right people through cross-posting. With video content quickly becoming king, reposting a successful TikTok as an Instagram reel can get you seen by a whole new audience on a fresh platform – without the need to recreate campaigns or ideas. 

Just make sure your content is appropriate depending on your channel, to sustain interest and growth on multiple social media networks. 

Interested? Give Us a Call

Of course, there’s no ‘one size fits all’ method when it comes to growing your follower count. But the best thing to do is to enlist the help of experts who can help you create a bespoke social strategy, with your following in mind. 

With years of experience under our belts, our team and diverse, multi-channel approach can help you act (and react) to the everyday challenges that social platforms pose – giving you actionable insights and solutions. 

Start your journey by calling us today on 0161 327 2635 or email [email protected]. 

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