How do you grow from zero on social media?
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Every creator on any social platform faces the same initial problem: how do you get new followers if no one knows you?
Recommendation engines (the Mighty Algorithms) can help you. But they often use the response from the existing audience to decide whether it deserves wider distribution.
Word of mouth works. But only if a lot (probably thousands) of followers recommend your content.
There are a couple of exceptions. On Google and Youtube, you can count on SEO. If your content is optimized around the right keywords, you have the chance to get organic search traffic. It takes months, though.
So, it seems you need an audience to grow your audience. How the hell do you do it?
Borrow other creators’ audiences
Anything on the web is not a zero-sum game.
On social media platforms, you can always find someone with a larger following than yours in the same niche as yours (or a similar one). You can build your personal brand by engaging with those followings.
If you do it ethically (no spam!), people will start recognizing your name. They’ll engage with your posts, visit your profile, DM you with questions.
How do you do it?
There are 3 many ways to borrow an audience:
- reply to other creators’ posts (with valuable insights),
- engage with replies to other creators’ posts,
- mention other creators’ posts in your posts (and tag them).
I’ve seen it work on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube (video comments), and within communities like FB groups.
The next step
Find 1–3 thought leaders in your space. See if you like their content. Start engaging every day for 15 minutes.
After a month, you should start seeing results.
Follow me for other tips on maximizing the ROI from your content creation efforts.
