5 Ways I Helped Clients Reach 2 Billion People On Social Media

5️⃣ Tips To Get You On Your Way 🖐️

Managing a growing and engaging social media platform is not a straightforward or easy task.

It takes dedication and hard work. Even if you have a well-built page, it takes an equal amount of hard work to keep that engagement going.

That is why I was inspired to start this newsletter.

I wanted to break down some tips on some easy starting points and strategies for people with existing pages to use for social media platforms. These things kind of apply across the board. I do think there is a common misconception that social media management is simple and that once you build it, all you need to do is post content, and the engagement and followers will come pouring in. If you have tried your hand at it, you will know that is most definitely not the case.

Sure, not everyone has a social media page with the intention of building it up to create a brand, but that’s not why you’re here, and if you want to do those things, it is a skill you learn and perfect over time. And if you want to take social media management seriously, you shouldn’t expect results immediately or expect that what worked yesterday will work tomorrow. Starting from ground zero and maintaining an audience is almost like running in place at times.

It all appears simple, but trust me, it takes time to learn. Unlike the movie “Field of Dreams,” where Kevin Costner builds a baseball field in a cornfield, and everyone just shows up, social media doesn’t work like that. Just because you build it, they will not come or keep coming back, and that is why I am here: to show you how to do this all more effectively.

Perhaps one day, you will stand over your creation in a proud stance like Kevin Costner above, marveling at what you created, but let’s start with some basics that get overlooked.

1️⃣ Maintaining growth and engagement across pages. 

The first tip and thing that any social media manager wants to do is to maintain growth and engagement. How to do that? The answer is simple, but the process is not. That is because the first thing you need is content and a concept for what you want your page to be and continue to be. Sometimes the content does well, sometimes it does good, and sometimes it does absolutely nothing. Pay attention to that and keep testing. The content you post and create is where organic engagement and growth will come.

So, first, establish that baseline. Figure, based on the size of your followers, it would be ideal to see at least 3% - 5% of your audience engaging with your content. Trust me, algorithms are paying attention to that rate, as well as how long a user watches a video or when a user Likes a video at some point during a video. That’s a good place to start. You have your benchmark.

Now, keep tweaking, pay attention to trends, and try new content. Maybe one of those videos will pop off, and you will see something like 75% engagement based on your audience numbers. There you go. You have something special going on now. So, take a step back, analyze, and see why it did so well. Was it the topic of the content? Did you capitalize on a trend? Was it the way something was filmed? Perhaps you tried something different with the editing. And you know what? If numbers don’t improve or something fails, don’t be afraid to criticize yourself and toss that idea out.

2️⃣ Leverage the fan army and maintain the day-to-day community engagement.

I think engaging with fans gets overlooked so much it should almost be number one. However, without content, it doesn’t really matter, so that’s why we are here talking about it at #2 or maybe 1b. You won’t have fans if you don’t have content they like. So, there you go.

Anyway, ok, let’s start here. First of all, let’s take our egos out of the equation. You are not the King or Queen of the world, and people don’t have time for egotistical artists, brands, influencers, or actors who completely ignore their fans. How many times did you see Queen Elizabeth taking pictures with people? That is because engagement is a two-way street, and fans love acknowledgment, and it is vital to maintain a positive appearance. Trust me, and I hate to break it to you, but no one will care if you don’t care about them, no matter who you are. Engaging with fans also doesn’t mean making a post or video just to say, “Thank you for loving me so much! Oh wow!”

Engagement is like the virtual high five, as you see above, and Taylor Swift does this really well, probably the best out there. I remember in the Tumblr days, she wrote to fans, sent them sweaters, and showed up at their homes sometimes. There are others who do a good job at this as well, such as Nicki Minaj. You can also look at F1 drivers who seem always to make a point of taking pictures and signing autographs for fans. Teams really make this an important part of being a driver. And say what you want about him, but Tom Cruise is always engaging with his fans, at least more so in real life, and then posts on social media, but he does create very personal content that resonates.

So, how can you, who is not Tom Cruise at a movie premiere, engage with fans? It can honestly be taking the time to see who is Liking your content and Liking their content, too. Yes, open up those Likes and actually see who your fans are. It’s time-consuming but worth it. Hey, maybe throw them a Follow Back, too, it won’t kill you or hurt your brand to Follow Back some people. Don’t be that page that Follows nobody or only Follows 10 people. Stop it. Maybe it works for Gucci and Versace, but I feel like fans of fashion brands expect it because: *Fashion*.

What else can you do? Try to open those DMs and respond. Does someone post your content? Maybe re-share it to your story. Maybe partner with fans on new releases. How well does this work? Well, Nicki Minaj has the most Hot 100 singles for any female artist, and Taylor Swift just opened up the biggest concert film ever to the tune of $150 million. Yeah, fanbases can make or break singles and have made many projects go insanely viral. Leverage the army.

3️⃣ There is always something that needs to be posted. Stay organized. Stay active on all of your platforms.

Well, off the bat, let’s just cross Twitter or X or Elon Musk’s personal burn book off the list of pages that need content. Don’t even bother. However, let’s focus on other platforms and placements, such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Stories, and LinkedIn. There is always something that needs to be posted, and it is important to stay organized.

Create a list, keep track of ideas, and stay on top of creating content. It’s always better to have some stuff created in the tank and ready to go. It is also equally important to keep all of your pages active, so it is important to figure out a way to keep those embers burning instead of focusing on Instagram 90% of the time and TikTok 10% of the time. It’s better to be 50 / 50 if you want to build all of those platforms. Some people just want to be on one platform, which is fine but not recommended. Look at everyone who thought they were killing it with their Facebook Business Pages, just for Zuckerberg to destroy their reach in the Newsfeed. Buh-bye.

So, see what platforms are doing well and which new ones pique your interest. Maybe it is time to really dig into that long-form YouTube content (I am looking at myself there), and maybe it is time to finally open up TikTok and see what all the hype is about. I know that once we get good at 1 thing, we want to continue to do that 1 thing. However, marketing and social media are fluid environments, and different things work for each platform. Don’t be afraid to learn and create different content depending on the platform. We can only do so much in 1 day, so I suggest a more even split instead of the occasional check-in to make a post. Also, see above about engagement. People don’t like being ignored.

4️⃣ Staying on top of trends.

Okay, so I’ll just say upfront that this doesn’t mean copying and pasting ideas you see other people doing. It means looking at what works for others and using that as inspiration for your content. No one likes a direct copycat, and you will probably get called out for “biting” that content, or people will just ignore you. They will notice where you got the idea from. Don’t be like Hollywood and create 10 of the same action movies starring Liam Neeson. Five is enough. You must add a little wrinkle, like Denzel in “Equalizer.” Basically the same concept, but also a little different. You get the idea.

So, if you see someone creating a fun dance to a trending song, create your own dance to that song. Or, maybe use a less popular song to see if you can capitalize on trying something new. The original idea will get watered down eventually. If you see someone doing a review, review content you like. Recently, I got tired of sitting around my desk reviewing stuff and just started filming while I was walking around. I noticed it was my best video of the month, and I think it did better because people were seeing something different. Everyone is always sitting around a computer with neon lights reviewing stuff. How many times do you see someone walking around and reviewing something?

Also, if you notice a particular transition or editing technique, maybe add some of your own transitions and graphics to your content. Notice someone utilizing a meme format to make fun content? Ok, great. How can you apply that format with your own spin on it? Is everyone talking about Taylor Swift showing up at the NFL game? I made a video about how that affected the marketability of the NFL. See, something a little different. My own wrinkle.

5️⃣ Keep the coins rolling in.

So, easier said than done, but social media is that introduction to your brand to keep business coming in. And by coins, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a dollar amount. Perhaps it’s a recommendation someone makes to a friend, perhaps it’s a save of your content, and since so much content is streamable these days, perhaps it is a new stream. Sure, the goal is ultimately a purchase of something, but that might take time to develop, and you have a lot of competition. It’s going to take some time to see revenue. Also, you need to be selling something if your goal is actually to earn revenue. Perhaps your goal is just recognition. That is a totally perfect goal to have as well.

Therefore, you must do all of the above to ensure you can meet your goals. It’s a bit of rinse and repeat, or maybe sometimes just throw the whole thing out and try something different. Either way, the foot needs to stay on the pedal. We have all seen the power that social media platforms and YouTube have for content creators, so it does work. Also, social media platforms are trying to create more ways for people to earn revenue. I don’t think platforms have fully cracked that code yet in the way YouTube has, mainly because I think social platforms are being a little stingy and need to offer more revenue to creators. It’s happening. Slowly. But it is happening. TikTok, for example, is setting up new merch shops, making it more accessible to partner with brands as an influencer, offering Live Subscriptions, and more.

Also, of course, the goal is to leverage your platform for releases and this, of course, all leads back to step number 1 -- maintaining growth and engagement rates. There you have it. Thanks for stopping by for my first newsletter. Stick around for more newsletters like this in the future!