Clients and colleagues wonder about it all the time. They see other users, businesses and brands on social media who’ve accumulated all these followers and wonder: How do they do it? How do I get that? Their budget must be huge. What’s their secret? Well, I’m here to give you the recipe for that savory secret sauce. The key to success on social media is an entity’s ability to…

Be Social.

With the rate at which the social media landscape is expanding and evolving, now, more than ever, is the time to live beyond expectation and actually interact online. And, guess what? You don’t have to have a big budget to do so successfully. That’s the beauty of social media - it’s free! It’s how you use it that will benefit you, your brand and customers most. So, you’re posting all the time but nothing is happening? That’s because curating and publishing content is only 10% of the point. The other 90% is engagement.

• DON’T expect to go viral with a post you think is awesome.

Your followers have to already think you’re awesome to start liking and engaging with your content. Get to know your audience, observe their actions and be a resource for them. You are their support system.

• DON’T expect to garner a ton of likes because you used a few popular hashtags.

You need to engage within the search tags you frequently use and become an expert on what makes them so popular. Engage with the users who regularly tag their content with those same tags, observe and acknowledge them.

• DON’T expect to grow engagement and page follows because you put money behind advertisements and sponsored content.

Brand equity depends on how you interact with your audience and make them feel, not just how you appear. The goal is to strive for authenticity - quality over quantity. Paid ads may mean more page/profile follows but they’re not authentic and they certainly don’t result in direct sales. Build your credibility and value with engagement, get people talking ON your profiles and keep them excited about what you do and have to offer. Profile likes are purely aesthetic but the chatter is what keeps you growing online.Are you spotting the key ingredient here? Be social. Be social. Be social. Sure, there are various paid strategies that drive more engagement than others but what it comes down to in the long run is your ability to be active in the landscape you’re navigating through - budget or no budget. Being social builds trust. Trust builds loyalty. Loyalty builds value.

Now, are you ready to get going and get growing?