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The secrets to building an audience using social media
The Secrets to Building an Audience
presented by EdCopy
If you have ever wanted to build your audience, then you are reading the right article. That is because you are about to discover an easy three-step method for building an audience using social media.
And the good news is that this method works even if you aren't a marketing pro, social media guru, or popular influencer.
Read on...
Step one: Create and curate engaging and relevant content.
Many teachers who are new to social marketing don't even realize that they need to do this step before they create a schedule for sharing content. And that is why a lot of teachers who try to build an audience end up failing— they are simply missing this crucial step.
So, the first thing you need to do is know who you are creating and curating for. You need to know who your audience is so that you can create content that resonates with them. So, before you begin to create or curate, make sure you have a clear idea of who you're wanting to reach. Who are your potential customers? What are their interests? What do they want to know about your education product or service? What do they want to read about? What's the angle you are going to take? If you want a loyal audience, you need to provide them with content that is relevant to them. You can do this by providing your audience with content that is helpful to them. You can create the content by drawing from your own imagination or you can curate content from other sources that is relevant to your audience. Creating and curating relevant content is one of the most important things you can do for your business. If you're passionate about a particular subject, then you should do everything you can to educate people about it.
You will find that this part of this process goes much more smoothly if you apply these tips and tricks:
Go to great lengths to educate your audience. Try to get people to view facts on infographics, discuss a chapter from a useful book, or learn about a new tool.
Always focus on your audience and what they want or need to read about.
Present your content in a way that feels natural to you but is easily understood by others.
Create a consistent tone of voice. Your tone of voice is the personality that will come through in all your content, so make sure it is a personality you want to project.
Use image-rich posts and videos, too.
Keep things short and sweet while still hitting all of the key points that you want to make.
Once you have completed this first step, creating and curating engaging and relevant content, then you can move on to the next step...
Step two: Schedule your content in advance.
The next thing you need to do is schedule your created and curated content to be shared in advance. If you want to build a scalable business based on education, the most important thing is to put yourself in a position where you can succeed. The reason is simple: if you cannot measure up to your potential, then you will fail. This is why being able to schedule content means more than just being able to post regularly. It means also being able to modify and add content as needed. The greatest strength of social media marketing is its flexibility. You can use it to create whatever content strategy works best for your branding or business (and whatever works best for the audience).
When I first started trying to schedule content in advance, I made many mistakes. And now that I have been able to help others do it, I see that a lot of people have a tendency to make the same mistakes. So let me share with you the top five mistakes and how to avoid them.
Auto scheduling random things hoping for views or followers:
If you want to build an audience and start getting visibility in the social marketing world, it's important to know how you can schedule your social media content strategically. Learn how to create content schedules that will put you or your brand in front of people who are interested. You want to avoid setting the time and dates for posts, then realizing that you did not have anything specific to say. Think about the impact your posts can have on your social media following— especially if you have a very small following.
Posting spammy content:
It's easy to think that social media is merely a way to build their audience and get more traffic. But there's a big difference between having a ton of followers and actually attracting new fans who are interested in what you've got going on. If you think gaining followers on social media is all about getting your name out there and linking back to your website, then you might be setting yourself up for failure. Prevent yourself from posting spammy or low-quality content that will simply drive people away.
Ignoring the trends:
Trends and fads happen, and when they do, they have the incredible power to move the needle and generate millions of views for your content. This is why it is important to understand the social media trends so you can use them to your advantage. As wonderful as social media can be, it is important to pay attention to how it works and what it provides you. If you fail to take advantage of it, you could find yourself stuck in a position where you are neither building your audience nor achieving your goals.
Not posting enough:
Anyone can post a nice photo and call it a day. Anyone can create a status update with a few words and call that a day, too. But in most cases, it takes much more than that to create an audience for your message, products, or services. The only way most teachers will build a sustainable business is by consistently putting out quality content that contributes to the needs and conversations happening in your industry and across the web.
Not posting at optimal times:
As you gain momentum building your audience, one of the things you need to do to have a successful social media strategy is determining when is the best time to post. This isn't just tied to your personal and professional life, but also affects the overall success or failure of your social media posts. If you don't want people to miss out on your latest piece of content then be sure to post at the right time. How do you know when it is the right time to post? Use social media metrics tools that help you identify when your audience is online. These kinds of tools can help you figure out how many people are sharing your content and when they are sharing. Being able to identify when your audience is online, how many people are sharing it, and when they are sharing can be vital in securing new leads or drumming up new clients/customers.
Step three: See what your followers are saying across all your networks.
"Audience" is one of the most powerful words in social media, and at this step, you are likely to notice that you are thinking more and more about how big of an impact you are having on your audience. So, what you need to do is find out what your audience thinks about what you do, create engaging experiences for them, and encourage them to tell others about it. Your impact represents what your followers think about you and what you do for them. Remember that when building a social media strategy that carries you into your future, focus on growing an audience that is loyal, interested, and vocal. The harder part is knowing exactly how to do this.
The answer isn't as simple as you might think. It's all about choosing what works for you— what works for your brand, what works for your content. The approach you take will largely determine how far your audience will take you— where they'll go and how far they'll go with you. Because remember, if your audience is not interested, it doesn't matter how nicely you sell them your product or service; they aren't going to keep coming back for more.
Social media is a great way to build an audience and get the word out about your message, your product, or your service. But I remember when I first started trying to see what followers were saying across different networks. I was like a lot of teachers getting bogged down in the details and missing out on the bigger picture. What makes you stand out in the crows isn't actually what's visible on your social media pages— it's what's hidden beneath the noise. This is similar to how teaching works. The best teachers know how to get learners to see more than the subject they are looking at, and inspire others to connect personally with the matters at hand and to contribute to meaningful conversations.
And there you have it— a simple three-step method for building an audience using social media. Now that you know how to build your audience, there is just one thing left for you to do: take action.
So get after it, and soon, you too will enjoy a growing community of attentive, responsive, loyal followers.
-kaml-