16 Ways To Build Your Social Media Presence
Trying to build your social media presence? I’ve got you covered.
In this post, I’ll share 16 powerful ways to boost your visibility on social.
These tips will help you put together a winning social strategy and get more views, engagements, and followers on all your profiles.
Let’s jump into it….
#1 – Set specific goals
If you found your way to this post, you probably think you already know your goal—to build your social media presence.
But the problem with that is it’s too vague and intangible.
To build your social media presence, you need first to specify what that looks like for you.
For example, do you want more followers? More engagements? For your posts to reach more users? Are you trying to boost brand awareness, drive traffic, etc?
Once you know what you’re aiming for, you can set measurable, realistic, specific goals that you can track your progress toward over time. Here are some examples:
- Reach 100,000 followers across all my social media profiles in 6 months
- Increase my social share of voice to 20% by the end of the year
- Drive 10,000 website visits per month from social media
You get the idea!
#2 – Focus on the right platforms
A lot of businesses think that to have a strong social media presence, they need to be everywhere at once.
But the problem is there are a lot of social media platforms out there, including:
- TikTok
- X (Twitter)
- YouTube
- Snapchat
If you try to focus on all of these, you run the risk of spreading yourself too thin.
Instead, I’d recommend picking 1-3 channels that you think are the best fit for your target audience and goals and going all-in on those.
You can still have a brand profile/page on every social network, but you should spend the bulk of your time on the few that are likely to generate the best results.
For example, if you’re in the B2B niche, you’ll probably want to devote most of your efforts to growing your presence on LinkedIn.
Whereas if you’re a photographer trying to grow on social, like @brandonwoelfel, Instagram is probably going to be key.
The best platforms for you will also depend on the type of social media content you plan on producing. Want to share visual content? Pinterest or Instagram are safe bets. Long-form videos? YouTube is your place. Short-form? Try TikTok, Facebook Video, Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts. You get the idea.
Note: Check out our roundup of social media statistics for more information about the different social networks out there.
#3 – Create a posting schedule
Posting high-quality, engaging content consistently is the key to building your social media presence.
And the best way to do that is to create a posting schedule.
Your schedule tells you exactly what types of social media posts you’re going to share to each of your profiles, and when you’re going to publish them.
For example, you might post funny Reels to Instagram every Monday at 8 PM, and promotional product shots every Friday at 5 PM. You might publish a post on LinkedIn every Wednesday at 1 PM, and 3 TikTok Shorts every day of the week. You get the idea.
It’s worth using a social media scheduling tool to plan your schedule. We use SocialBee at BloggingWizard.
With SocialBee, you can schedule posts to all your connected social media accounts months in advance and the tool will auto-publish them for you at the date/time you set, so you never forget. And everything stays neatly organized on the built-in content calendar.
What’s really cool is that SocialBee can also calculate the best time to post for you, based on when your audience is most active and when you typically get the most engagements. You can then feed that back into your schedule for better results.
Tip: Aside from posting content, social media automation tools can also help you automate other social media tasks, such as inbox management, content curation, and reporting.
#4 – Get your content mix right
Aim for a good mix of different types of posts in your social media strategy.
For example, experiment with short-form videos, long-form videos, photos, link posts, live streams, stories, etc.
In doing so, you’ll be able to gather data to see which types of posts perform best and have the biggest impact on moving the needle toward your social media goals. Then, you can start prioritizing those types of posts.
Tip: If you need some inspiration for your social media content, I’d recommend checking out our roundup of social media post ideas.
#5 – Learn how to work the algorithms
Every social media platform has an algorithm that determines which posts to show to which social media users. It’s the algorithm that ultimately determines how many people see your content.
Once you know what factors the algorithm on each platform looks at, you can feed that back into your strategy and take steps to make your future posts more ‘visible’, thus boosting your social media presence.
For example, on TikTok, adding trending audio to your videos gives them a boost in the algorithm.
Likewise, videos that users tend to watch until the end and engage with are prioritized in the algorithm and will get more views than those that don’t.
#6 – Establish your brand voice
Your brand voice is the tone and personality of your social media posts. It plays a crucial role in shaping how your audience perceives you on social media, so it’s important to get it right.
Using a distinctive and consistent voice will make your posts more recognizable and ultimately, help you to build a stronger social media presence.
Start by thinking about what your brand’s core values are, and how you want your audience to see you. For example, professional and knowledgeable? Kind and empathetic? Funny and upbeat? Inspirational and motivational?
Work that into the way you write all your captions, comments, and messages across all platforms.
If you’re working with a social media team, create some brand style guidelines to guide your writers and graphic designers.
@dove is a good example of a brand that has established a consistent brand voice. All of their social media bios and posts reflect their core brand value of body positivity.
#7 – Be relatable and authentic
Success on social media is all about authenticity. You’ll get more views, engagements, and followers if you come across as authentic and relatable.
The goal is for your target audience to see you as a friend rather than a stuffy, faceless brand.
@DennysDiner is a good example of a brand that’s nailed this.
All of their Tweets are full of personality and humor. They’re relatable, incorporate popular memes and pop culture, and seem like they were written by a friend rather than a corporate social media team—all the while subtly promoting their brand and menu items.
#8 – Ride the wave of social media trends
One of the fastest ways to grow your social media presence is by piggybacking on what’s trending.
When you tap into what’s already popular, you can reach a wider audience than you’d usually be able to reach.
For example, you might share your thoughts on a new hit Netflix show, offer your own spin on a trending meme, or jump into the latest viral dance challenge.
Stay tuned to key influencers in your niche—many of them are trendsetters, giving you a first look at emerging trends before they take off.
#9 – Farm engagements
Engagement is a key factor in how social media algorithms rank content. The more likes, comments, shares, etc. your posts get, the more visible they will be.
So naturally, you should try to get as many engagements as possible. Here are some strategies you can try:
- Ask questions. Pose a question to your followers/audience in your post. This encourages them to leave a comment with their answer, which boosts engagement.
- Add a CTA (call-to-action). Use your post caption to tell viewers to do something that’ll boost your engagement. For example, “Tag a friend who needs to see this” or “Drop a comment below”.
- Utilize interactive features. Post a poll, create a quiz, share a Story with an ‘Add Yours’ sticker, etc. Anything that encourages users to interact with the post will work.
- Say something controversial. Nothing gets people engaged like controversy. Offer your hot take on something controversial and you can bet on a ton of comments telling you why you’re right or wrong. Personally, I hate that this works but it is what it is.
#10 – Engage with your existing audience
In addition to growing your following, a big part of building your social media presence is nurturing the audience you already have.
Building a strong connection with your current followers and deepening that sense of community will lead to more organic engagement and follower loyalty, which will help you grow.
Take time to respond to comments, messages, and mentions, and show your appreciation through likes, shout-outs, etc.
Not only will this show your audience you value them, but it also helps to farm engagements (users will often reply to your replies, giving you more comments and a boost in the algorithm).
You can also engage with their content—comment on their posts, like their photos, or share their stories if relevant.
#11 – Engage with your target audience
Aside from engaging with the people who already follow you, try engaging with the people you want to follow your social media account.
One way to do this is to look up your competitors—popular influencers in your niche—and then see who’s interacting with their posts.
These are your ‘likely followers’—users who are likely to follow your page too if you get on their radar. To do that, head to their profiles and follow them, like a few of their recent posts, etc.
When they get the notification, they will likely check out your page to see who’s interacting with them and may follow you back.
#12 – Collaborate with influencers & brands
Always be on the lookout for opportunities to collaborate with other social media accounts that could help you to build your social media presence.
Ideally, these will be accounts with a similar (or larger) following to your own, and a similar target audience/niche. They should also align with your brand values.
Here are some ways to collaborate:
- Sponsored posts. With sponsored posts, you pay a popular creator to make a promotional post about your brand or products and share it with their audience. Here’s an example from @mollymae on Instagram for fashion brand @prettylittlething.
- Co-authored posts. With co-authored posts, you and your partner both share the same post to your social media feeds, with each of you credited as the author, to tap into each other’s following and reach more users.
- Stitches & Duets. These are features on TikTok in which you add your own spin on someone else’s video and share it to your own page. Other social platforms may have similar features.
- Shoutouts. You make a post to let your followers know about your partner’s social media page and invite them to check it out, and they do the same for you.
- Takeovers. Let a popular influencer take control of your brand’s social media page for the day, or vice versa.
#13 – Use social media ads
Paid social media ads can help you reach a larger audience than you’d be able to reach organically.
Many platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, offer precise targeting options, so you can zero in on the people you want to reach.
Launching a social media ad campaign is a great way to gain some momentum and get the ball rolling, but they eat into your budget very quickly, so they’re best used in moderation alongside your organic social strategy.
#14 – Leverage hashtags
It’s worth using relevant hashtags in your social media posts on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
Not only do they help with discovery so more people see your social media posts, but they also provide context to the algorithm so it can categorize your posts correctly and distribute them to users who are more likely to be interested in what you have to offer.
#15 – Run social media giveaways
Running social media giveaways is one of the most underrated ways to build your social media presence.
The idea is to offer a prize that users will want, and require participants to follow you or share/engage with your content to enter.
You can set up a giveaway in minutes using SweepWidget. It supports 90+ entry methods and all the main social media platforms, and it’s super easy to use.
#16 – Promote your socials on other channels
Leverage other online channels to promote your social media accounts.
For example, you can add links to your socials in the sidebar or footer of your brand website or blog, like I have.
If you have an email marketing list, you could send out a promotional email asking people to follow your socials. Alternatively, just add a link to your socials in your email signature.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What is social media presence?
Social media presence refers to how ‘visible’ you are on social media. It consists of all your profiles, posts, and interactions across all the social media networks you’re active on.
When we talk about ‘building social media presence’, we’re really talking about increasing your visibility across the social media landscape.
Why does it matter?
Having a robust social media presence is essential for pretty much any business this year. Here are some reasons it’s so important:
- Brand awareness. Being active on social media helps to build brand awareness and make your brand name more visible and recognizable among potential customers. If you have the best social media presence of any brand in your niche, it’ll give you a huge competitive edge.
- Customer service. These days, a lot of customers reach out for support over social media, rather than email or phone. It’s an essential channel for customer service.
- Local businesses. Having an effective social media presence is particularly important for local businesses as it’s how many customers in your local area will find you.
- Reputation management. Being active on social media allows you to better manage your brand’s online reputation.
- Trust (social proof). Having lots of followers on social media serves as powerful social proof and increases trust in your business.
How do I measure social media presence?
There are lots of different metrics and KPIs you can look at to measure your social media presence.
Follower count is probably the most important. The more followers you have across the different social channels you’re focusing on, the greater your social media presence. General metrics like post reach and average engagement rate are other indicators you can look at.
Beyond that, you might want to measure your brand mention volume, brand sentiment, and social share of voice (which tells you how often your brand is mentioned on social media compared to your competitors).
Final thoughts
There you have it—16 ways to build your social media presence this year.
Remember: You can use social media scheduler tools to plan and schedule posts to all your profiles in advance.
Also, don’t forget to check out these social media contest apps if you plan on running giveaways to build your social media presence.
And while you’re here, be sure to check out this roundup of the latest lead generation statistics.
Disclosure: If you buy through links on our site, we may make a commission.
