#find me over on my main blog for more.... immediate content ig

[malusrecord]

((While I mostly have a lot of smaller edits to make in regards to my rules (and by that I mean mainly editing or removing things that no longer apply) because of the extreme issues that happened on my previous blog I am going to be adding in an important blurb near the top out of necessity that is required reading for everyone, idc who you are or how long we've been mutuals.))

[itsworn]

Eleven (More) Ways to Increase Your Social Media Following

Scenario: You have a race car hot rod, or dragster that you are proud of.  You’ve worked on it for years, burning the midnight oil with knuckle-busting effort.   Now you want to show this amazing vehicle to the world!  You’ve taken dozens of pictures of it – in the garage, at the track, on the hauler, at car shows, and in the winner’s circle.  You pick up your phone and you post stunning, breath-taking pics all over Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, etc.  And then you wait…the likes should come pouring in.  Any minute now…you’ll get a bunch of comments in just a sec…waiting patiently.  Five days later, you have 8 Likes and 1 comment.  What happened?  Did the rest of the world not recognize this car’s greatness?  Did your pictures have bad lighting?  Don’t fret – there is a solution; what you need is MORE followers.  Here are 11 ways to build your social media fan base:

You must give love to get love. You are building your brand and the best brands have loyal, loving followings – see Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Chipotle.  More followers equal more sponsors, merchandise sales, web site visits, and more.  The best way to get followers is to follow.  I don’t mean your friends but you need to follow your friends’ friends, other people in your industry, competitors, companies and anyone else you can think of.  Not sure who to follow?  All social media sites usually provide suggestions of people to follow who have similar interest as yours.

Engage with your current followers (in a positive way). My mother used to say if you have something nice to say, please share it and if don’t have something nice to say – keep your gd mouth shut (author’s note: she did not use the abbreviation “gd”).  Engaging goes above and beyond hitting the “like” or “heart” button.  If you see an amazing photo or video, take the time to write a nice comment about it.  Whenever the Circle Track editors see a pic with a race car up on an open trailer, they always comment on it.  We love open trailers because they show off a racer’s hard work and it gets people interested in the sport.  Watch an open-trailered race car be hauled by a school bus or a van full of kids – you’ll see a lot of smiling young faces and wide eyes.  Comments get noticed by people who don’t follow you.  It doesn’t have to be an in-depth comment on the beauty of a California sunset pic.  Keep it simple: “Cool pic, brah!” has done wonders my social media page.  If someone pays you a compliment on one of your posts, acknowledge it.  If someone says something negative in the comments section, ignore it.  It will be forgotten within a few days.  There is a temptation to remove negative comments, but you don’t want to be North Korea and police every last word that some troll writes on your page.  Just let it slide off your back and keep posting.  As the great poet Eminem once said, “there is no such thing as bad publicity.”

Use different posts for different social media outlets. I use different pics for Instagram than I do for Facebook.  I write different posts for Twitter than I would write on Facebook.  This one is controversial because many people use apps to spread one pic or post across many social media outlets.  Yes, it is easier but it also bores your audience.  Recognize the strong suit of each social media outlet – if it’s a quick, short-worded post: go with Twitter.  If it’s a stellar photo, use Instagram.  If it’s a video or long-form blog, use Facebook.  If you are targeting a younger audience, use Snapchat.  Don’t ignore any of the social media outlets because you don’t like using it.  Your followers may have different preferences than you.  If you don’t know how to use Twitter or Snapchat, ask a friend or relative.  No shame in your game for asking how to use technology.  90% of my social media knowledge comes from my kids.  In addition, don’t put all of your eggs into one (social media) basket.  As Alex Striler of Lucas Oil states, “Twenty years ago, AOL dominated email and Netscape was our primary web browser.  Ten years ago, Myspace was the unchallenged leader in the online community.  Today, none of those companies are relevant…….if you’re focusing all of your efforts on only one social media platform today, beware that-like most of the others-it may be gone tomorrow.”

 Use Facebook Live video or Instagram/Snapchat’s “story” features. Scroll through Facebook on your phone and you will notice that most posts are video-related.  This is not by accident.  Facebook knows that video gets more interaction than static posts or pics.  Videos are sticky meaning that people will spend 1 minute to 10 minutes watching a video.  Posts about your politic leanings or pictures of your dinner do not result in a 10-minute viewing.  Here are a few helpful hints:

Become familiar with Facebook Live and the “story” features of IG and Snapchat. This was tough for me too.  Like most people, I am not comfortable on camera.  But practice makes perfect and live videos usually results in more followers.  A few tips for Facebook Live –

Have a good internet or wifi connection. You don’t want your video to freeze or drop in the middle of it. Have good lighting too and avoid background noise.

Keep it short and have an outline of your talking points. Videos between :30 seconds and 9 minutes usually get the most views, likes, and shares.  Before you go live, think about your main ideas, the camera angles, and what you want the viewer to learn or see.  For beginners, you may want to rehearse it and then do it again with a live take.

The opening shot of the video should be of the product that you are promoting, not yourself. When we are doing a shock installation, the first shot will be of the shock or racecar.  If you are at a race, start with racetrack and then you can pan the camera to your face.  If you are at a car show, find a good vantage point that encompasses a bunch of hot rods.

Post frequently and make it fun. Don’t force yourself to post everyday.  Be timely with your posts (social media site metrics tell us that after lunch and in the evening are the best times to post).  There is a maxim out there that says “the best way to get followers is to post everyday.” In my experience, this leads to a lot of boring posts.  But you should post frequently, especially if you are doing something exciting.  Try different camera angles.  Use filters or black-and-white to make your photos stand out from the crowd.  Also, don’t be afraid to show your epic fails.  Did you engine blow up in mid-race?  Show it and own it. Did you get in a fender-bender on the way to a car show?  Post it and make light of it.  People relate to drama and struggles because we all have them in our everyday lives.  It’s ok to post both the highlights and lowlights.

Be original and relevant with your content. Try to post things that most people don’t see every day.  Finding something unique is the best way to have your post spread virally (without your direct effort).  Your posts should also be relevant to the majority of your followers.  If you are a racer – post pics of your car zooming around the track, or an install of your safety equipment or an un-boxing of your new carburetor.  “Make your posts intriguing, funny, creative, and dramatic.  Nobody is going to repost or share a photo of your meal, pet, or selfie; but, lots of people will share an amusing story, compelling thought, fascinating fact, or creative image,” writes Alex Striler in his book, “Motorsports Marketing and Sponsorships”.

Include your other social media accounts in the biography section on your profile. All social media outlets have a quick bio section for you to fill out.  Include your Twitter handle on your Instagram bio.  Include your Instagram user name on your Facebook bio.  Let your fans have full-access to you.  Remove your privacy settings that require you to “accept every request”.  This discourages followers because they worry that you might not accept them.  If you are trying to build a following, you must be accessible to everyone (not just your friends and family).

Set goals and track your progress. When I started at Circle Track in March 2016, one of my goals was to increase our social media presence.  We had 45,000 followers on Facebook, 1,800 followers on Instagram, and 500 followers on Twitter. Good numbers but not mind-blowing by any measure.  It takes time and effort to build your following, but don’t get discouraged – it won’t happen overnight.  You must remain diligent and upbeat.  I’m happy to report that 18 months later, we have the following stats:

Facebook: 56,000 followers (an increase of 11,000)

Instagram: 7,000 followers (an increase of 5,200)

Twitter: 1,000 followers (doubled our followers)

Use humor and/or be an informer. Informers talk about breaking news, technology updates, or how-to do something (installing a shock or replacing brakes, for example).  Writing captions underneath your pictures is a helpful but humbling experience.  You want to be funny, pithy, or insightful but you don’t want to sound dumb while you are doing it.  I usually come up with 5-6 captions for every one picture or video.  Then I pick the best one or I’ll ask a co-worker for their advice on a caption.

Give stuff away. Contests, sweepstakes, and freebies work best on Twitter.  For example, “Repost this product pic or follow us to receive a free hat or t-shirt.”  This type of post will get shared and liked immediately.  Because social media is free, most followers respond to free stuff.  Tap into this and watch your following grow!

Use hashtags. This one took me a while to understand but I would say it has helped grow our following more than anything else. I have a mandate that every post must have 6-12 hashtags underneath it.  It’s very simple to do: Post your pic or video.  Write a caption to accompany it and then add 6 hashtags after the caption.  Let’s say you post a video of a Mustang doing a burnout.  Can you think of 6 describing words for that?  #yesyoucan #ponypower #tires #burningrubber #smoke #Ford.  Wasn’t that easy?!  The reason for this is that there are people on social media who just look for “burning rubber” posts/videos all day.  On Instagram alone, there are 53,618 posts that reference #burning rubber.  You want these followers because they are enthusiasts.  They like what you like.

Did I miss any other ideas?  Feel free to share your tips on growing your social media fan-base.

The post Eleven (More) Ways to Increase Your Social Media Following appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

from Hot Rod Network http://www.hotrod.com/articles/eleven-ways-increase-social-media-following/ via IFTTT