I have read thousands of articles on how to grow your Facebook following, and I have found that most of these articles fail to cater to those that are actually growing their social media from nothing.

It’s a given, that Coca Cola, Pepsi and Oreo have built enormous social media followings, but what if you’re not a huge brand? How about if you’ve just started to consider social media as a tool for growing your business and have had no real online presence beforehand?

In this Coaching Blog, I’m going to focus on the key elements involved with starting a social media
campaign.

#1 Keep Focused

I know firsthand that it is really easy to get disheartened during the early stages of your social media campaigns. Things are slow at the beginning and it can feel like you’re running in circles a lot of the time.

The reality is that most social media campaigns won’t really deliver any real results until you’ve got a few months into them. Even then, depending on what niche you’re in, it can take much longer. The most important thing to remember is to keep focused.

Create a strategy and stick to it, even if it feels like you’re going nowhere.

#2 Who is Your Target Audience?

This is a really important decision because the last thing you want to do is dedicate a lot of time, effort and resources (and money) into growing a social following without knowing your audience.

The main thing to consider is who your target market is and what type of content you’ll be producing.
Contrary to what many people say, there isn’t really a right or a wrong answer here, it’s all about how you deliver your content to the audience you’re targeting.

#3 Starting from 0

So you’ve just set up your Facebook, you have defined your Target Audience, you have a new website and you’ve finally managed to get your custom email address to work. You’re all ready to start making waves online and it’s time to hit your first million likes on Facebook.

Slow down, baby steps…
First, you need to decide on which social networks are going to be right for your content.

You can start this process by asking yourself several key questions.
1. Does it make sense for my content? (See the seven types of networks listed above.)
2. Do potential fans spend time there?
3. Does it make sense for me?

Differentiating Your Content

Once you’ve decided which social media channels you plan to use, you need to consider how you’ll differentiate yourself from your competition. There’s a lot of noise on Facebook, so you want to ensure that your posts stand out from the rest.
Don’t overthink this or try to reinvent the wheel, instead; stay focused on being consistent.

Checking Out Your Competitors

Still not sure where to start? Gain inspiration from your competitors! This is a great way to see what’s working and what’s not working.

Step one? Identify the leaders in your industry. Utilize Google or Facebook to find competitor’s content and research what they are doing.

Keep Your Head Up

Once you have gone through the process of developing the foundation for your social media strategy, it’s time to implement it! This is where it gets hard. As you begin your social media journey, you will discover that it’s harder than you ever imagined, it takes more time than you have, and for most; content creation does not come easy. In my experience, many quit when they get frustrated and don’t see the results they want. Many get busy and stop making it a priority and let consistency go out the window. It is in your moments of doubt that you must power through and stay positive. Results don’t happen overnight and you can’t expect success without putting in the work.

So before you begin your social media journey, ask yourself this one important question.
Am I ready to commit?

If you said yes, than let’s get started!

– Determine your Target Audience.
– Pick the Social Networks that best match your desired customer.
– Create a list of around 10-15 brands or individuals to follow, than begin to extract ideas from their social media channels.

Use what you learn as a guideline for determining content ideas, what types of images you will use, and the style of your posts.
Once you have completed this, you will be ready to move forward armed with the right tools!