Social Media Tips: 6 Ways to Build a Loyal Following

Building an authentic, loyal following on social media isn’t easy. With more and more creators entering the space, forethought and strategy is necessary to stand out. Brands and audiences alike are overwhelmed with choice. So how do you present yourself as a standout presence online? From building a unique personal brand to expanding your team, here are Jellysmack’s top six social media tips on growing a loyal, engaged audience.

1. Level up your personal brand

Standing out as a creator means breaking through the noise. What about your content and personality makes you different from other creators in your niche?

Audit your current personal brand to make sure that what you’re sharing with your audience is resonating. Your goals for your creator business and best performing content will help inform your personal brand. To build a creator brand experience that your audience will love, here’s a good place to start:

Define your values. Do you aim to educate your audience through your content? Entertain them and lift their spirits on a hard day? When you lead with your values, you’ll naturally attract a following that shares your mission and vision as a creator.

Have a point of view. What separates creators within a niche is the unique perspective each brings to the table. Are you a college student growing a creator business on the side? A mom of two using your career as a content creator to spend more time at home? Your background and circumstances are unique, and will build trust with audience members that have similar goals and obstacles.

Clarify your brand. A fun and whimsical online personality might not be served by black and white modern logos and a grayscale color palette. It might seem obvious, but your brand will naturally evolve as you do. Try asking a friend or fellow creator how they might describe your current brand presence in a few adjectives. Don’t be afraid to pivot your branding if feedback has shown it might not align with your goals.

2. Be consistent

Regardless of the platform, algorithms reward creators who post consistently. This is a huge incentive to create a regular content schedule and stick to it. Following a schedule doesn’t mean you’re locked into it forever, but it does build trust with your audience. If your following doesn’t think you’re reliable enough to post content, they’re more likely to tune out.

If you’re struggling to get everything done and find your posting a bit sporadic, you can try batching your content or using theme days. Grouping similar tasks together will make it easier to be consistent, as multi-tasking tends to reduce efficiency. Here’s an example schedule for weekly content batching to get you started:

Monday

• Script content and create captions.
• Post a TikTok video.

Tuesday

• Respond to emails from brands.
• Film long-form YouTube video to post on Friday.

Wednesday

• Create thumbnail for this week’s video.
• Edit long-form YouTube video for Friday.
• Edit and re-format short-form preview of Friday’s YouTube video.

Thursday

• Post a short-form preview of tomorrow’s YouTube video to TikTok,  Instagram, and YouTube Shorts.
• Note audience feedback on vertical preview (comments, likes, relevant DMs).

Friday

• Upload long-form YouTube video.
• Follow up with brands.
• Check in with team members/creator partners.

Every creator will have their own unique routine. Try working backwards from your upload dates and decide which tasks in the content creation process you can group together to make the most of your time.

3. Engage with your community

Establishing a personal connection with your followers is key to keeping them coming back for more. Responding to comments and DMs will encourage them to keep following you and engaging with your content.

It’s easy to get caught up in the routine of producing and posting content and letting community engagement fall to the wayside. Try to set aside time each day you post content to connect with your audience and get your audience feedback.

Aside from monitoring your audience feedback through comments and DMs, be proactive in how you’re engaging with followers, brands, and other creators. Are you giving your audience the chance to connect with you through interactive moments in your Instagram Stories? Are you going live? Make sure to dedicate part of your content strategy to audience interaction, and regularly check in with your most engaged followers.

Here are a few easy social media tips to maintain regular interaction with audiences, brands and creators:

• Take advantage of polls and quizzes in Instagram Stories
• Go live with topics your audience has requested
• Reach out to creators in a similar niche or space to collaborate
• Start a challenge or hashtag for others to participate in

Focus on serving your audience and creating more opportunities for them to connect with you. When you prioritize your followers, you’ll see a higher engagement rate and establish a more genuine connection with them.

4. Stay on top of social media trends

Staying on top of industry trends is essential in any field. Whether or not you choose to engage with a trend, is up to you. It’s important to be aware of what challenges and trends are happening online so you can make informed decisions when producing content.

Not sure if you should adopt a new trend? Consider these questions as your true north:

Does the trend align with my values? Now that you’ve reviewed your brand values, make sure that every trend you engage with is authentic to your unique presence. 

What will you gain from participating? Will this trend expose you to a new audience segment? Help you transition into another niche? Think about what you hope to gain from trying something new.

While you need to remain true to yourself to build an authentic following, if a certain type of content is going viral (i.e. a TikTok sound or meme) and meets your value and goal requirements, it’s worth giving it a try.

Here are some unexpected benefits you can get from trying out new trends:

• Participating in brand challenges or hashtags can increase your visibility with marketing teams
• Adapting an existing trend to your niche can create authority with your audience
• You can try out new content formats by using trends as a test run

5. Listen to your audience

It can be easy to feel restricted by algorithms, but at the end of the day content is consumed by people. Audience-driven content should always be your priority to connect with your following.

Here are some great ways to implement audience feedback:

Check in on requested topics and log frequency. How many requests are you getting for a specific topic? The more excited your audience is the more likely your content is to perform well.

Track and update your best performing content. Regularly review your top posts and see if there are elements you can replicate in upcoming content.
Ask and you shall receive. If you ever feel stuck, don’t be afraid to ask your audience what they want to see outright. Using Instagram Stories and DMs is a great way to get specific feedback.

6. Build a team to beat burnout

If you’ve tried these social media tips and are still struggling to scale your social media presence, it might be time to connect with a partner like Jellysmack, or outsource to contractors and employees. Editing, production, and community management are all separate specialities that can consume a lot of time and resources and lead to burnout. If you’re lacking inspiration or feeling overwhelmed, bringing on some experts can help you focus on what you do best: creating.

Here are some roles you might want to outsource:

• Multi-platform distribution
• Community management and engagement
• Video editing
• Copywriting
• Graphic design

The Jellysmack Creator Program helps creators with all of these tasks and more to save time, build audiences and maximize revenue. How’s that for a creative partner?

Expansion might feel daunting, but taking the time to vet and hire specialists will be more sustainable than spinning your wheels.

Ready to change the game?

If you implement these six social media tips you’ll do more than increase your following—you’ll build a genuine, valuable relationship with your audience and create a loyal community that keeps coming back for more content.