Not Enough Twitter Followers? Here’s How You Can Boost Your Fan Base

One of the most successful groups on Twitter tends to be bloggers.  This is because they have learned what their followers find to be interesting and informative and continue to produce that type of content on a regular basis.  They understand how important it is for them to interact with their followers and use their content to drive traffic to their website.  While the majority of bloggers have created a successful following, there are those who may be just getting started with the platform and have not racked up thousands of followers.  If you are in this group or simply want to increase your existing fan base, we have some techniques that can help you reach your goal.

• Define Your Audience – While many newbies to Twitter simply begin following a ton of people hoping to get followed back, there is a better way to gain followers.  If you can clearly define your niche audience, you will be able to ensure that your content reaches those who will actually find it interesting and it is more likely to get shared.  The more your niche audience enjoys your content, the more likely they are to share it and recommend you to others.  This is the most beneficial way to build your followers.
• Offer Your Help – By teaming up with others in your particular area and guest posting on their feed, you have the opportunity to increase your followers.  It is also a great way to come up with fresh material that you can then use on your Twitter feed.  By guest posting you will have the opportunity to share your content with those who may not be aware that your business even exists.  This is a great way to gain valuable exposure for both your business and your content.
• Understand The Value Of Conversations – Many Twitter users believe that simply posting tweets about their latest product or release is enough to gain them followers.  This couldn't be further from the truth.  If you take the time to actually engage and interact with your followers and those who comment on your posts, you are likely to be seen as a real person who actually has an interest in what their followers say and how they feel about their products and services.  Never become too big or busy to interact with those who helped reach the top. 
• Be Yourself – This may sound redundant, but this small act is what separates the successful Twitter users from those who have a scant amount of followers.  Twitter users who express themselves and their opinions in their own voice are typically the most enjoyable for other users to follow.  So, don’t just mimic what everyone else does on the site, rather embrace your own personality and way or saying things to entice interaction and convince users that you’re worth following.  You may be surprised at how successful you may become if you simply be yourself.

How Powerful Is Visual Content

We've all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words, right?  Well, in the world of content marketing it can be 100% true.  The latest trend to hit the world of content marketing is visual content marketing.  This is primarily attributed to the fact that we will stop and read content if we find the image included with the to be visually appealing.  How many times have you read something simply because the image caught your eye?  I know, I've done it a bunch of times and it is proof that this type of marketing is effective.

Some of the benefits associated with this type of marketing include increased brand awareness, SEO improvements, increased engagement from your customers, and sales growth.  Isn't this what we’re all trying to accomplish?  I’m pretty sure it is, and the best way to do that is to start including images with all of the content that you publish online.  Whether you are simply publishing a blog on your website or posting updates on your social media pages, they should all include some type of appealing and attention grabbing image. 

With so many of us using our phones and tablets throughout the day to access information, it only makes sense that we start including images.  Images can easily be viewed on these types of devices and they can encourage users to click on that image and see what is behind it.  This is a trend that is not going to go away, the sooner you embrace it and begin to use it the better off your business will be.

Because we are so visually driven, sites like Pinterest and Instagram have become more popular each day.  Both of these image sharing sites can be used to promote brand awareness and encourage others to share your images.  With millions of registered users on each of these sites, the potential to have your content seen by potential customers worldwide is worth creating an account and becoming active on both of these sites.  You may not instantly have thousands of followers, but with some time and visually appealing images, you may be able to reach that point within months.  It is worth the effort and time to see how these sites can benefit your business.

Another reason why visual content has become so popular in recent years is because we have grown into lazy human beings.  We would rather look at content that features strong imagery over one that is text heavy.  If your message can be included on an image or made into a video, the odds of that content getting recognized is much higher than if it was simply a plain text post.  So, if you want to get your content the attention that it deserves, you need to start using visual content marketing.  It has become the way of the marketing world and is not likely to go away anytime soon.

Top Three Tips for Successful Content Marketing

If you’re like a lot of us, you've probably been curious as to how to create a successful marketing campaign.  With so much information out there, it can become a little overwhelming as to which approach will work best for your particular niche; to make it easier to understand, I have narrowed it all down to three simple steps you can take to ensure your content marketing efforts are successful.

 

2014 is the year to start making changes to the way that you approach the confusing world of content marketing.  As business owners, it is important that we start to view our customers as a means of innovation, research, and sales.  We also need to start creating targeted communities that allow us to become more social and interactive with our customers.  If we can pull this off, we will likely experience more success with this technique than we did with any other.  To help you prepare for these changes, I have put together what I believe are some helpful tips.

• Include Your Customers – Your current customers can be a valuable source of information that can be used to help you create better content for your site.  To tap into the mind of your customer can be a little scary, but if done right you will be rewarded with free input on what they would like to see on your site.  One of the best ways to do this is to ask for their input on new products or projects that you are currently working on.  You may discover that what you thought your customers were looking for is not even close to what they actually want or need.
• Focus On Your Niche – In the world of social media and online business, we often begin to lose sight of our ideal niche market.  In order for your content marketing plan to work, you have to remain focused on your niche audience.  After all, they’re the ones who helped you reach the level where you currently are, if you want to go any further you need to cater to their needs and not try to please everyone else.  If you haven’t found your niche audience, that is the where you need to start.  Once you are able to target your content marketing efforts to the right audience you may be surprised at how popular you become.
• Don’t Hide Your Emotions – If you want your content to be shared online, it needs to include some type of emotion that draws the reader in and compels them to hit the share button.  If you take the time to write something that is not only helpful but hits the reader emotionally, you will soon begin to see your content being shared on numerous social media sites.  This is what you want, the more people that have access to your content the more customers you will drive to your website.  The potential is there, you just have to find out which emotions your readers will relate to and what can move them enough to share your content.