There could not be a better time than today to advertise your business online, find clients from everywhere around the world, and grow your brand authority. With the help of social media, your brand, and your name, your products and services can literally be known by hundreds and thousands of people in seconds.

Growing an audience has become so easy, yet not many people know how to grow it the right way and bring about clients, sales, and much returned business. Social media is not a place to have a monologue with yourself and your business or to show off selfies and your beautiful lifestyle. Social media is a place to build deeper connections and have a proper dialogue with your audience.

Yes! Social media is the place to have dialogues and not monologues. It is actually more “social “ than you think. But how do you have a dialogue when you cannot see the other person, when you do not know them, and you have never met them before? You do it by connecting and engaging your audience in your content and social media posts. You can also schedule facebook posts to get more engagement with your audience.

Below I explain three simple ways you can engage your audience so that they can like and trust you and eventually buy from you and your business:

1. Be generally interested in your audience and in any new connections you make

Ask your audience questions very often. Ask their opinion about something, and when they answer, make sure you reply to them with a comment. I see so many people not taking the time to reply to their audience and that can leave a bitter taste in ones mouth. A consequence of this is that your audience go to someone else who cares more.

“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” – Dale Carnegie

2. Make sure you bring your audience with you in your content

When you share stories for instance, you can add simple questions in the text such as “Has this ever happened to you or have you ever felt like that?” When you share a particular expertise of yours you could ask: “Have you ever used this method before? Or what is your experience with this?”

3. Make them feel important

Make your audience feel important and ask them to help you brainstorm a new name for a product you are creating or to help you find a venue for an event you are thinking of organising. People love to help, and your audience will feel so happy to help you and be part of the decision you have taken.

Obviously, you shouldn’t ask an opinion on matters related to your expertise. For instance, if you are a style coach, you wouldn’t ask your audience which accessories will match a certain outfit. That is supposed to be your area of genius.

“Talk to someone about themselves and they’ll listen for hours.” – Dale Carnegie

By applying these simple steps, you will notice a rise in your engagement and consequently more awareness around your business and brand. Caring is sharing and when your audience sees that you care, they will share and stick around. 

How do you use social media to your advantage and create a loyal following? Share your thoughts and stories with us below!