Who doesn’t want an engaged, qualified, and loyal cult following? If you’re looking to build an evergreen brand, this is essential. You can’t just go for the low hanging fruit, which takes the form of “fly by night fans.” These might be people who like your page because they think your pictures are pretty, but don’t actually know what it is you do or stand for. Although their engagement might feel good, it won’t help you build a timeless social presence.
Do An Avatar Analysis
Hone in on a specific character profile, and focus on creating content that they’ll find extremely useful. If you want to create an engaged and loyal social tribe, you must first know exactly who it is you’re talking to. If you think you can just go based on your own interests, personality, and current hot topics, you’re mistaken. This is a great way to scare potential followers away. You need to build a consistent brand message.
Use The Avatar Analysis To Guide Your Brand Voice
What words do they use? For example, talking to a millennial sounds way different than talking to a golden ager. Don’t blur those lines. What’s the everyday language of your ideal follower? Make a list of acceptable words and phrases. On a large scale, this might sound foolish, but the more granular you get with your avatar research, the better.
Test, Test And Test Some More
If you’ve solidified a different social media direction, make sure you measure your results. Commit to one week of regular posting, and make sure all this content consistently uses your brand voice. After one week, reflect on your results. If engagement was low, you can assume that this is a voice that doesn’t click well with your followers.
Scale The Conversations
Figure out what conversations resonate with your followers. Then scale those topics. For example, let’s say you post a photo on Instagram that totally takes off. It inspires comments, likes, reposts … the entire gauntlet. So why not bring that same conversation over to Facebook? Now, don’t just do a simple copy and paste. Rewrite it with the Facebook user intent in mind.
Reward Your Followers
Give your followers a reason to engage. Run social contests. Create valuable, evergreen content. Thank them for their continuing support and involvement. Above all else, acknowledge them. Take time to engage them in conversation. Don’t put yourself or your brand up on a pedestal.
Integrate Social With Other Methods
You can’t just rely on social. Counting on any one marketing method or channel is dangerous. I used to own an online clothing store, and 80% of our traffic came from Facebook. I was roping in 1,000+ unique visitors a day, but let me tell you this. If Facebook got shut down, I would be totally out of luck. My business would’ve taken a nosedive. So find 2-3 marketing methods that resonate with your audience, and master them. For example, if you’re marketing to millennials, text messaging might be an awesome solution. If you’re trying to reach business savvy professionals on the go, Twitter might be a great option.
The Core Benefits Of A Cult Following
- Your followers will be loyal to your brand.
- Selling products/services will be that much easier.
- Regular high engagement makes easier to identify a content problem and nip it in the bud.
Sure, there’s more to building a cult following than these basic tips. But, start here. Master these suggestions. Then you can move on to some more intermediate methods.
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