Building a Community on Social Media

Connecting with others is a vital part of the human experience, even in the digital age. Communities are the facilitators of meaningful relationships both online and in real life. Community building means more than just amassing a large following on Twitter or getting the most likes on Facebook. It means engaging, sharing and conversing with your community’s participants. It means being thankful, with a desire to serve the group before yourself. Follow these tips for creating meaningful relationships and building a community on social media.

Avoid Blatant Marketing
Try to resist posting too often about yourself and your products, especially when first building your community. No one builds relationships by asking others to do something for you all the time. Social media is meant to be engaging, to share stores, and to participate in real conversations. Users don’t want to be marketed to. This doesn’t mean that you never market yourself; that would miss the point of a social media presence altogether. Instead, make sure the content you’re offering has value. Your content should, first and foremost, serve your community.

Don’t be Self-Serving
Before you post, ask if it’s useful. Does it offer some value to your readers, or do you just want to line your pockets? A great way to share your own content without coming off as trying to sell someone something is to ask for feedback from your fans and followers. This helps you develop material that matters to them, and they’ll be more likely to share your updates and content because they have a vested personal interest in it. Embrace this dialogue to better your chances of engaging and aiding your readers.

Follow the 80/20 Rule
The time that you spend on social media is vitally important to your business. You might think that it’s best to use those precious minutes, hours, and updates to promote your own content, but that’s not the case. You should be promoting content from other people 80 percent of the time. Why? It helps build relationships, which means you’ll get more fans and more advocates for your brand. When you support others by sharing their content, they’ll share yours in return. The content you share should be carefully chosen to be relevant and engaging to your audience. It should be beneficial to them. Don’t be afraid of sharing content from competitors. They will appreciate that you’ve shared this with your community, and you may gain a valuable friend and business ally.

Be Consistent
The most noteworthy thing to remember when building your community is to be consistent. Ideally, you’ll share, post, thank, like, retweet and more on a daily basis in order to keep your name and brand in front of your audience. If a daily schedule is not possible, at least be consistent in the days and times you choose so that your followers and fans can expect interaction with you. Be consistent with your voice, too. This is especially crucial for those who share social media responsibilities with others.

Be Appreciative
Everyone likes to feel appreciated. Taking the time to say “thank you” when someone shares your page or content, retweets a post, or uploads a fan photo can go a long way in connecting with your audience. It shows that you appreciate their efforts and contribution to your community. It’s also a pivotal factor in building a relationship with that person.

For advice, help and assistance in managing social media, you can turn to Infintech Designs, where a team of experts is ready and willing to make your social media presence an online powerhouse with a strong community.

Infintech Designs
3110 Magazine St., #120
New Orleans, LA 70115