I’m not going to tell you this is a guaranteed way to get followers, but this is what helped me grow my meme account. And I’m talking about real followers who actively engage with your content. When people ask me how I gained so many followers, this is what I tell them:
Authentic followers are gold. Unlike bots or fake accounts, real followers actually engage with your channel. And that’s the most important metric when it comes to social media. Engagement leads to more followers, which leads to more conversions—whatever that may mean for you.
So, if our goal is to grow our account with real people on the other end of that phone, how do we go about doing that? First, we need to know a little about who we are, who we can relate to, and who can relate to us (and what we’re saying on social media). “You didn’t just fall out of a coconut tree!”
Identify your niche and your audience. Whether you’re a meme account, a business account, or a personal account, you’re going to have an audience. It should relate to you, and in the ‘social media sense,’ “you” is something you should enjoy posting about consistently. For instance, if you love food and cooking every day, that might be a great thing to share on social media.
To get started, once you’ve become clear about your online persona, begin to populate your content, PFP (picture for proof or ‘profile picture’), and other elements within your channel—this is what we call ‘content.’ More to come on content.
The algorithm craves consistency (just like your relationship) and sees you as its employee (like your partner). The more you put into the platform, the more it will reward you. This is definitely a commitment (scary!). Every platform (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X) has its own standards for what kind of engagement or content will boost your audience. Currently, Instagram’s algorithm prioritizes ‘carousels’ and video—meaning if you post 10 photos or a 15-second video as a ‘Reel,’ Instagram will show those to your audience and potentially to others’ FYPs (‘for you pages’), reinforcing your existing followers and attracting new ones. To all these tech giants, you are the product.
After you’ve identified your audience and made the Faustian bargain of creating content for these tech companies, we can start using some quick ‘get started’ strategies to gain followers. Strategy number one: you become the follower.
One of the most underrated features on social media is the magnifying glass icon—the search query tab. There’s a lot of power within this tab, but you’ve got to be intentional. Doomscrollers be damned. Start searching some of your keyword terms. For cooking or food, you might want to search ‘BBQ,’ ‘Smoker,’ ‘Stick-Burner’—anything relevant. And just start looking around and following. Follow a lot.
When you follow a lot, many people will automatically follow you back because they see your channel, content, and online identity as relevant to their interests and passions. It’s easy and should be fun, especially if you’re extroverted or sociable.
OK, so you got some followers from the ‘follow-for-follow’ strategy. Let’s continue with the search tab. In addition to searching keywords (or hashtags if you’re a boomer), you can also search geographical locations—which can be crucial for many small businesses. For example, “@BigMikesBBQ” is located in the hip South Congress neighborhood in Austin, TX. So, let’s search that neighborhood in the tab, and we’ll see a bunch of photos come up under either a ‘TOP’ or ‘RECENT’ tab. If you’re just starting with a small following, I highly suggest starting with the recent tab. ‘Recent’ is important because it shows that people are more ‘recently’ active, meaning their accounts aren’t necessarily dormant.
Now, this is where I’ll employ a portion of Gary V’s $1.80 strategy. His strategy:
- Identify the top 10 hashtags your potential customers are following.
- Click on 9 top trending posts in that hashtag.
- Leave your 2 cents on each of the nine posts.
This strategy may seem dated with the mention of hashtags, but the principle holds true. When you engage with other people’s content, it drives them to see your content. So, when I get to the search results of posts from the “South Congress” neighborhood in Austin, and I’m “@BigMikeBBQ,” I’ll politely leave my two cents on their posts. Watching a show at the Continental Club? “@BigMikeBBQ” might comment: “Working up an appetite? Mosey on over to Big Mike’s BBQ after the show!” They see that Big Mike’s is friendly and the food looks delicious. Even if they may not visit after the show, they might follow and visit you later. A post of a city slicker trying on boots at Allens? Big Mike’s two cents: “Come meet and taste the rest of the cow!” Something humorous or relevant will catch eyes and followers.
When I talk to people about their accounts or what makes a successful social media account, I often find that consistent engagement is overlooked. Constantly engaging with people directly and giving your honest ‘two cents’—without being preachy or a sleazy salesperson—is half of social media, often overshadowed by people’s favorite content. Social media is 50% engagement and 50% content.
I’ll write more about content and what works there soon enough. But, really, it’s all about consistency – Ugh. Just like anything. Atleast, this is something that you can make fun and meet new people at the same time.
