Are you doing everything right on social but still experiencing slow growth? You’re not alone.
Organic growth, which means attracting fans and followers through non-paid avenues, can be a slow process. It takes time and consistent effort to build a tribe on social media.
There is, however, a free and easy way to reach more people — and hopefully, pump up your fan base a little faster: start posting content around trending topics.
TacoBell, Oreo, DiGiorno Pizza and many, many other brands do this every day. It’s part of their regular content strategy. Here’s why it should be part of yours, too:
1. Trending topics show you what a large group of people are talking about, and the topics are searchable on both Facebook and Twitter by hashtags. Someone who decides to post about #sharkweek will likely search to see what others are saying. If you have a tweet or post that relates #sharkweek to your area of interest and influence in a clever way, you’ll be in front of a brand new audience that you couldn’t have reached otherwise.
2. Many of these people who see your comment and how clever and interesting you are, will start following and engaging with you, which helps further expose you to new audiences of potential fans/followers. Your world keeps expanding all because of that one #sharkweek tweet.
3. Do this regularly and you’ll be putting your work before new and different audiences all of the time. You’ll be able to expand your reach and influence and create a larger tribe just a bit quicker than you could without tapping into these conversations.
So if it’s this easy, why isn’t everyone doing it? Nearly everyone is doing it, but there are only a few who do it well. We want you to be part of that select group and here’s what it takes:
1. Carefully choose which conversations to join. You’re building a professional tribe around your area of expertise, so you want to comment only on topics that reflect well and positively on your work. Avoid controversial topics and never comment on something until you’ve read some other posts or tweets, so you fully understand the topic.
2. This is content marketing, so content is king. Don’t just jam out a quick tweet on a trending topic. Take your time. Write something really excellent and run it by a few people to make sure it’s the best it can be. Remember those all-star brands? They have teams ready to collaborate on their trending posts. While you probably don’t have teams as large as theirs, you do have friends and co-workers who can help you craft your idea into something that will stand out positively in the conversation.
3. Use images. Humans are hard-wired to be drawn to visual content. You probably aren’t a graphic designer, but there are terrific free image-creation tools that can help you play one on social media (Pablo by Buffer and WordSwag are two favorites). Use them and make some meme magic.
Building your tribe on social media is about showing up regularly and consistently with interesting content. Jumping into trending topics conversations helps you show up in front of a larger audience. It’s just one more tactic to help you expand your influence in the digital space.
Tell me something! Are you ready to try a trending topic tweet?
Image source: Rosaura Ochoa
Christy Kirk, Vice President of Client Services, is a social media strategist, writer, and former television journalist, who’s done everything from launch a news department to create social content and strategy for Fortune 500 companies and brands including Pampers Diapers, Pantene, Luvs Diapers and Carlson Rezidor Hotels. Now, Christy manages marketing projects for Weaving Influence, with an emphasis on social media marketing. She is also a wife and mother of three children, one dog, and one cat. She loves reading, baking, running, hiking and exploring new places.
Great tips!