Building a social media audience

(image credit)

Kimberley Drobny walks us through Three Steps to Captivating a Larger Social Media Audience, with my commentary:

Know the networks

Google+, Twitter and Facebook are not all created the same, even though they fall under the umbrella of social media.  If you're not familiar, then get to know a site by joining up, exploring it, and participating.  It's easy enough to post stuff, but I find that commenting and discussing, asking and listening do not happen nearly often enough.  So don't fall into the trap of merely posting stuff.  

Search with keywords

There are search bars or drop-down menus on social media.  Remind yourself what audience you may be targeting, then enter keywords that describe or fit them:  for example, by city, title or industry.  Also, search for groups or communities where your audience gather, and get familiar and participate actively.

Use engaging content

Experts often advises to post content that engages our audience.  That's very true.  If they don't like it, if they don't need it, or if it doesn't something satisfy a need, then you are likely to fall short of your aims.  The other half of the equation, however, is that the content you post must be genuinely of interest and agreeable to you, too.  Building an audience takes time and effort, and if you are just halfway enthusiastic about some things you post, then it can be an arduous, even failed effort.  So reflect on that, decide what you need to do differently, and post accordingly.