How to Build a Loyal Following on Social Media?

Are you one of those people who've been in search of:  "How to build a loyal following on social media?" If yes, then you're at the right place. In this article, we'll reveal some ways on how you can build a loyal following for your brand or business.

To begin with, we'll like to ask you this simple question: what is your social media follower count? How’ve you been building your social media following?

While you try to answer that, it's worth noting that people do look at your numbers. Influencers look at your number to decide if you're worth partnering with. Other users consider your number when deciding whether to follow you or not. You also look at your numbers to check whether your brand is succeeding or not.

Another thing you also need to take note of is the fact that the internet is an unpredictable place. One moment you're hot, and another moment, the story is something else. Well, let's just say this is largely because people move on very quickly.

Building a devoted following on social media can be very difficult, especially in times like this when things change rapidly. Even at that, most successful influencers have a loyal audience.

You also need to be aware that a small but loyal following is worth much more than a large, temporary audience. Whether it be for attending your events, using your affiliate links, or building your traffic, loyal followers convert easily because you've already built a relationship with them.

Let's dive into the importance of building a loyal following on social media.

IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING A LOYAL FOLLOWING ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media is a fantastic place to promote your business because you can target your post. Also, your audience reach is boundless.

As a brand or social media influencer, there's no point wasting your energy and time sending out content if you don't have any audience. Whenever you're managing your social media account, building loyal followers should always be at the forefront of your mind.

Want to know why? A large loyal following leads to improved customer loyalty, increased brand recognition, and more chances for conversions.

If your followers are happy with you, they'll be more likely to talk about your brand within their network. This is a fantastic word-of-mouth marketing. On the other side, a declining following would leave you behind in the competition and make you lose out on valuable marketing opportunities.

Whether you're just beginning your social media journey or you've been struggling for some time now, and you're becoming upset with the lack of follows and engagement, below are some excellent ways to build and increase your loyal following.

HOW TO BUILD A LOYAL FOLLOWING?

ENGAGE, ENGAGE & ENGAGE SOME MORE!

When it comes to building a trustworthy following on social media, it's worth noting that one-sided conversations are very boring. Over time, they're likely to become unsustainable and unreliable.

So, try not to be the one doing all the talking. You stand a chance of building and keeping loyal followers whenever you make your audience's voice heard.

Also, never keep a question hanging. Whether it's a follower asking if you have an item that suits them or a rhetorical question like if you'll ever sell it at 95% off or whether you’ll ship to regions you don't cover – always answer back.

Whenever you give feedbacks, you have nothing to lose but time. At least, you'll gain your audience’s gratitude.

See a remarkable comment posted on your picture? Try to respond in a way that'll garner positive reactions.
Are your followers declaring undying love for you? Tell them that you love them back.
Are they talking about their frustration at the lack of stocks in their region? Admit and apologize.

Whether you're trying to be comforting or funny, always answer in a way that's genuine, witty, and smart. Once you keep these tips in mind, you're most likely to build a loyal following to your brand.

NOTE: never ignore your followers, use every response as an opportunity to engage.

RUN A GIVEAWAY TO ATTRACT INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS

One of the greatest kind of comments you can get on any social media post is a comment where a particular user tags his/her friend. These comments will contribute to your post's engagements and also make it favorable to the Instagram Explore Page Algorithm. Additionally, each tag brings you a new audience who arrived via a recommendation which you could win over as a loyal follower.

One way to encourage this act is by posting relevant content that begs for a 1:1 sharing (for instance, a gym meme that asks you to tag a friend who skips leg day).

A more dependable way to get your audience to tag their friend is by running a giveaway that inspires your audience to tag a friend and follow your account.

It's always ideal to be yourself, show off your personality, and let your fans know who you're. Not just what you're selling. Entice them with exciting visuals and relevant posts that allow them to see the life that comes with your brand.



One way to go about this is to follow the 80:20 rule. Only about 20% of your weekly content should be kept for hard-shell posts. The rest should be reserved for posts that spark engagements with your audience.

BE CONSISTENT WITH YOUR INSTAGRAM POSTS

In reality, many followers won't follow you because of what you posted in the past but for the assurance of what you'll post in the future. They want to know what is in store for them after hitting the follow button.

Having a feed with a regular theme running through, where you publish at a consistent pace can help you to build a loyal following.

Even a simple pattern can lure new followers, as long as it's communicated at first glance to anyone who views your profile.

You can consider your Instagram bio and your last 10 posts as your first impression on Instagram. Do they efficiently communicate some degree of consistency through filters, colors, layout, and personality?

The layout of your grid is an underrated way to get innovative with the aesthetic of your Instagram feed while adding a rhythm to your consistency and publishing strategy that's worth following.

As a matter of fact, many accounts that adopt this method are usually able to spend fewer efforts on creating content by focusing on converting visitors into loyal followers, streamlining the overall production of their Instagram content, creating text graphics and other contents with a faster turnaround.

 

EMPOWER YOUR AUDIENCE

You must bear it in mind that building a loyal following is all about empowering your audience. Make them feel like you're speaking to them every time you post.

Also, make them understand that you're listening to them by planning and curating your brand's content.

• Hold contests and promos that keep your following happy about what's in store for them.


• Feature them in some of your posts.


• Ask for their honest opinion when it matters.

One of the greatest ways to establish a strong influence on Instagram is to find out what makes your audience happy- then keep doing it and continuously challenge yourself to do even better.

It's worth noting that building a loyal following doesn't just happen overnight. It takes years of determination, hard work, engaging with your audience, and gradually building a community that'll see you as a go-to leader or go-to brand in your industry.

The perks of building a loyal following are priceless and worth the wait.

FOLLOW OTHER INFLUENCERS, USERS AND BRANDS

As a practical step, following other socially-conscious brands is another great way to build a loyal following.

You want to avoid the entire "follow and unfollow" game. You also don't want to follow people and then unfollow them after they’ve followed you.

It's pretty obvious to know when this is happening because you'll see an unreasonably high number under the following and a very low number of followers. As shown below:



The whole idea behind growing your social media following is to get authentic, real, and loyal followers to engage with your brand. So, you wouldn’t want to follow tons of brands with no purpose.

Instead, you can breakdown your search for users into three different categories:

1. People you probably should know.


2. People you sort of know.


3. People you know.

Most social media sites will give you a recommendation of people you might know or brands that might be appealing to you based on your followers.

Also, Instagram's algorithm is usually very good at finding users who're likely to engage with you. So, you can take advantage of this feature. For instance, it might recommend other accounts you should follow based on your posts. When you get such recommendations, try to follow the recommended accounts.

You can also send a quick note to a few of the people you follow. Say hi, let them know why you followed them and start building a relationship with that influencer.

This'll give you some credibility with their audience while helping you to build your following and possibly result in a few sales.

RIDE ON TRENDING TOPICS

Whenever the opportunity presents itself, aligning your content with trending hashtags or topics can improve engagement and discoverability.

For instance, you can ride on the wave of a trending event or topic, in a relevant way to boost your reach and engagement. You can also participate in one of the many hashtag holidays that exist.



Trending topics don’t last forever. So you need to treat them like a moving train. Hop on the right one, and your brand is sure to get some traction and talk. Therefore, whenever you see the chance, use it to build loyal followers.

Ensure to join the conversation in a meaningful way, and if you're in doubt, ask yourself whether your target audience would pay attention to the trend.

CONCLUSION

Now that we've talked about the best practices to build a loyal following on social media, you must have probably noticed that a lot of these tips aren't for instant growth.

You also must have found out that building an engaged and dedicated following on social media won't happen in a snap.

When you take time to build your brand by sharing content that matters, focusing on your own brand's message and leveraging influencers, you'll get loyal followers. Followers who are in it for the long haul. Those that will eventually convert and those that would quickly turn into long-term fans for your brands.

You didn't use any sneaky tactics or tricks to get them to follow you. You just had a great brand.

A brand with 1,000 loyal followers? Another brand with over a million half-hearted followers.

Which would you love the most?

Definitely, it's the former.

How do you build a devoted following on social media? Have any question or contribution on how to build a loyal following on social media? We'd be delighted to hear from you; leave us a comment below.