How do you use social media to maintain relationships with your supporters?

We have to choose carefully how we try to get to know our supporters. For larger companies, social listening tools and analytical tools are really the solution. But they only work above certain sizes. In the case of a smaller target audience, we can rely on online communities (such as Facebook groups or LinkedIn groups), but live events or even telephone research can be very effective.

When you get to know your audience, you're able to figure what content they like/don't like, what are common FAQs that come from them, and tailor an experience that is unique to them and easily adpatable for new people who stumble across your content! By playing around with content formulas that work well for your audience, they'll feel empowered to keep coming back because they know you're listening to their needs and wants. You have to master the art of curating experience for those who follow you because it'll help foster community and bring in new people!

What I have found really helpful is in-depth research yield results. Even before researching your audience, know who your audience is? And segment those audience based on similar characteristics. It could be based on psychographic qualities, professional criteria, location, etc.. Second, prioritise. You can't do everything all at once. It's good to know priority at work and in life 😉

One of the best ways to know your audience is through social listening in Facebook groups. Listen to the conversations - both the questions asked and the replies given.

One top way I use to get to know and keep connected to my audience, and also to attract new supporters, is to use comments as post topics I write about. You see, when people share their opinion, their angle, then it makes sense to enter into that conversation because that's what they want to talk about, know more about.

Supporters are always a good resource for those in business, but the trust of those who read is more important, although more difficult to obtain. It is crucial to distinguish the essential facts from the irrelevant ones. Therefore, I focus on what matters to potential readers/funders of Latin American Insider. And, of course, always double-check the facts to be passed on to them. With attention, fake news can be spotted on par with augmented reality, and it is satisfactory to go to the core of the issue instead, i.e., the relevant facts. From there, I then discuss opinions with my supporters, which is another focus, but if, as Aristotle said, we start from wrong or irrelevant premises, the conclusions will be inappropriate or irrelevant.

I have a Twitter account with a sizable following, and someone from marketing asked if I would post about a new feature from my Twitter account. I reminded them that my Twitter audience follows me for my music news blog, not my ecommerce domain knowledge, and a post like that would inspire attrition, not engagement. I was happy to share the update about it on LinkedIn, on the other hand - and in my own words, not using the copy-paste boilerplate.

We always listen to people and what are their problems. We also keep in mind their requests, pain points and troubles they have encountered in communicating with our brands. By using social media, we keep the flow of being connected and present for our clients and online users whenever they need. Topics that people are discussing in social media also help us in maintaining our complete digital strategy, and preparing appropriate content for other marketing channels, such as a blog posts, email marketing newsletters and etc.

Combining multiple data sources, specifically internal BI with social media data, can help identify not only who your supporters, followers and users are, but also what type of message attracted them and the different lifetime value different people have. Once you have that - use customised messaging per audience demos and channels.

In my experience, I feel looking at the data is important of course, but in order to create content that really resonates with your audience, you just need to be human. Speak to them as a person, not a ‘potential customer’, and create that genuine feeling of community. Be authentic in what you post and the results will follow.

Providing value in a way that you enjoy and your audience does too - is a win win. A mixture of: Information, entertainment, lifestyle videos, and sharing successes in helping your audience and fighting for them - can go a long way in keeping your audience engaged with your content. As well as providing value to them and keeping them engaged.

Sometimes providing value constantly can attract a certain demographic that is only looking for free content and free help since they cannot afford to pay for the solution to their problem. Be selective on how you educate, don’t give away the entire process and make sure the value is actually bringing in new clients or new sales.

My primary guide when I'm deciding to post something is: Would I stop to read what it is I'm about to write? Rather than daily posts made for cheap engagement, share a story that people will not only remember, but will find interesting - and before long you'll have a reputation that has people stopping their scrolling whenever they see your name.

I feel this all goes back to one of the key factors of having long term success on social; creating a community. You want your social channels to be a place where people come back to time and time again, and they feel a sense of community with everyone involved in it. This adds value in so many areas and keeps them engaged all the time, not just at a point of you wanting a sale.

Authentic presence and authentic voice are even more important today in the age of generative artificial intelligence. The new tools are very tempting; it's increasingly easy to replace a real photo or a unique text written by us with them. Moreover, in many cases, they also make our work easier. However, we must carefully choose when to use content created by artificial intelligence. In order to remain credible, it's worth using even more marketing elements where real people appear, whether with their faces or their thoughts. This credibility will be increasingly valued by our supporters.

Being authentic is what attracts people to you or a brand; without that you have nothing. One thing I want to point out is that you also need to be authentic to the platform as your followers on IG are different than LinkedIn. For example, I'm a disability advocate who walks full-time with two crutches and I want to attract other people who identify as disabled, caregivers etc. So I talk about my life, include images of me, shoot videos share the good & bad of life but all my messages ladder back to make to a particular message. Because, of this my content, voice and imagery feels authentic to my particular audience.

You are your brand - they buy from you and listen to you - so keep being YOU, because no one does you better. If you have multiple brands - try to connect them all by a common thread/s - can keep you even more authentic.

When I'm sharing a thought on LinkedIn, it's about me. It might involve insight about the industry I work in, it might be about an encounter I had on the weekend, or I might just be sharing some good photos I took. And when my peers, friends, and colleagues make an appearance in one of my stories, it feels even that more real.

AI is something which is worrying social media marketer’s, but I think in the long run, this won’t be a problem. Although AI is making a lot of our jobs faster, you get the sense that there’ll be a point where supporters just want genuine, pure, raw content, which can only be done by a human. This can be where you show off your personality (if not on social, then where else can you?), be honest (how it’s going, what’s happening etc), which then allows you to open up more to your audience. This authenticity is going to take your further in the end and will create that sense of community that everyone longs for.

Answer as many comments as you possibly can, consistently across your social media. This shows your audience you care and helps the algorithm of that platform show you to more people.

A very long time ago, when I launched my first website, I responded to every. single. email I got. That sort of thing was easier when I was a teenager without as much responsibility, but the effect it had on growing an audience was remarkable. In the context of social media, this means not only replying to comments, but engaging your followers on their own output. Show them it's truly a two-way street, and that you value their contribution to the conversation.

I love doing this on social; using it to get real time and honest feedback. If you aren’t listening to your audience, how do you see yourself progressing and improving your offering moving forward? Did your latest product not do as well as you’d hoped? Ask your audience their opinion. Thinking of trying something new but want some feedback first? Ask your audience their opinion. This will allow you to show a lot to your audience, as you’re being open, you’re asking them their opinions and you’re bringing them on the journey with you, not just telling them what you’ve done, which they’ll appreciate. This will resonate much better and create those strong connections.

Find a social media platform/s that doesn't feel so much like work and post consistently to it - whether that is daily, several times a week, once a week, or a couple of times a month. The more you post consistently to a platform and the more frequently you post to it, the more success you will have, and the larger the following and views you will have.

Consistency can also mean consistency with branding across platforms and profiles to help with brand recognition and customer journey. If you have consistent branding, you create consistent trust since you are recognized through branding, color, voice and more.

If you're looking to build an audience, sharing at regular intervals is important - but it can be a challenge if it's not your primary, or even secondary responsibility. Start a backlog - whenever you've got an idea you want to share, write it to your favorite notekeeping app, so when Monday morning (or Wednesday afternoon, or whenever) rolls around, you can draw from a pool of content you've already had a good think about.

As the saying goes, consistency is key. This couldn’t be more true in social, as without it, your strategy will fail pretty quickly. Look at the brands and pages that are doing it the best, and you’ll see a similar theme. They have a tone of voice, a certain style that’s always present and they are consistent in their posting schedule. If you’re just starting out and aren’t getting results, don’t worry. Keep going at it, keep the consistency there and the results will come.

It boggles my mind when I see social media accounts where audiences have taken the time to leave comments (however inane we may think some of those comments are - and trust me, I've seen my fair share!) and few if any of those comments are responded to.

One thing to consider is categorizing supporters by issues and platforms to best reach them. Create media plans by issues and platforms. Make the posts meaningful, current, and engaging. Recognize engagement and develop at-large two way communication.

Experiment with your content. Everyone takes in information differently. Take one post idea and find different ways to talk about the same topic. Then present that content in different ways--video with text on screen, video with someone speaking, carousel post, etc.

What works for one person - doesn't work for everyone in the best way. So double down on what works best for you after experimenting.

People change their preferences and interests and the business must adapt to those constant changes. Never assume you know what will attract your supporters - always test different approaches based on trends, user behaviour and new product offerings.

One thing I've found helpful is to be on a platform I love and do what I love in a way that's relevant to my audience - to increase longevity of what you are doing and make it sustainable.