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how to build your following
Business

How to build a following

What makes people follow you are the same reasons you follow certain people

The only thing you need to gain followers is to do three things. Be like-able, be a trustworthy source of information that your followers need/want, and show up consistently. These three things are all that anyone does to grow their followers and build a base of loyal fans who read their content, buy their products and support their businesses.

Think about the people you follow. Why do you follow them? Most likely you found them through a search and they solved your problem or you found them by chance in your feed. Either way, there was something that caught your eye. There was something that made you think to yourself, man I really want to see more of this person’s stuff.

Step 1 – Get them to “Like” you 

Be you. I know that sounds so cliche. JUST BE YOU! But it’s true. People like to follow people with real lives. People with families and food preferences and personality! We all have one but a lot of us hide ours because we are afraid to be judged. I get it. We all feel that way.

But consider this. When you put your REAL and true self out there, you connect with people JUST LIKE YOU. How freaking awesome is that. Other weirdos who are living life just like you are and want to find other weirdos to connect with.

So how do you convey your personality and be YOU without over-sharing? Social media is a great place to do that. It is the place to be social after-all. But put it on a business page and then treat that business page like your personal page.

Post meme’s that you think are funny and are relevant to your followers. Share videos that are entertaining or helpful to your followers. Post photos of yourself and your family (every now and then) when exciting things are happening! Share behind the scenes in your stories. Do a FB LIVE at an exciting event or teach a tutorial. There are a million ways to show yourself to the world.

People like to connect with the real you. Interact with comments as much as possible. Ask people questions in the comments and get to know them. Follow your followers pages! Just remember, keep it social. No politics no drama. Well… unless you want to start that kind of page. Those exist too.

Step 2 – Be a trustworthy source

Who are the people you are after? What do they like? What do they need? What makes them smile? How can you fill that need?

When I first started sharing on social media, I didn’t have a specific desire to build a following. I had a desire to share everything I was learning with like-minded people. That’s it.

The more I shared, the more followers I got. I also got a lot of haters. People who told me I shouldn’t give away knowledge for free. My prized recipes for free. That I should charge. But that wasn’t the goal back then. The goal was just to find my people and share everything with them.

Most of those people are still here with me. I don’t think of them as my “followers” I think of them as my community. I try to share things that will help my community. I never take advantage of my community and try to sell them things they don’t need. I don’t belittle them or treat them like they are stupid when they ask questions. I am a trusted guide that exists to be a source of information that my community needs. And when I do put out a product for sale, they are the first to buy.

Step 3 – Show up every day

There are a few pages that I follow that I check every day. If those pages did not post that day, I would miss them. I would wonder were they where. And eventually, I’d forget about them. Maybe weeks or months would go by and then suddenly I’d think, what ever happened to so-and-so?

If you’re trying to build a solid following, you have to treat social media like your job. It helps to make a schedule. Decide what days you’re going to post a new blog or video and stick to it. Use apps like Later to schedule out your instagram content for the week so you stay consistent.

Use facebook scheduler to schedule out posts. Share interesting content. Re-share old content. Plan a LIVE once a month. Being consistent takes practice. And you’re bound to miss some days when you’re starting out and feel like giving up. Don’t give up, just pick up where you left off.

You might be stressed out thinking about where you’re going to get all of this content to post!

Don’t worry about it too much. Just start posting once a day. Dedicate an hour every week to just finding interesting content for your followers and save it to schedule later. Keep lists on your phone of problems your followers might have and how you could solve them. That way when you need content you’re ready.

Most importantly, just be authentic. I know that word is over-used but it’s true. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. It’s ok to find inspiration in the people you follow. To see when they post and what types of stuff they post. Just don’t forget your own identity and voice in the process and the followers will come.

What makes people follow you are the same reasons you follow certain people The only thing you need to gain followers is to do three things. Be like-able, be a trustworthy source of information that your followers need/want, and show up consistently. These three things are all that anyone does to grow their followers and build a base of loyal fans who read their content, buy their products and support their businesses.

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3 Comments

  • Reply
    Sylwia
    February 15, 2019 at 8:41 pm

    You are such a inspiration in everything you do <3 Thank you for sharing your knowledge hun and huge congratulations !!! <3

    • Reply
      lizmarek
      February 20, 2019 at 9:28 pm

      Thank you Sylwia!

  • Reply
    Ayoma
    May 29, 2019 at 3:32 pm

    I love the pictures you post Liz and the articles.

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