3 Ways to Connect With Your Tribe Using Social Media Content

Regardless of your stage of business, social media is an important tool in building your tribe of loyal followers. In fact, a study by Sprout Social found that 77% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand they follow on social media over one they don’t follow.¹

Using social media to grow your business is a no-brainer! The key is using social media the right way.

Your social media platforms are not a place to sell, sell, sell. Yes, there are times when it’s appropriate to post about a new product or service and call your tribe to action. But the majority of your posts should be about serving your followers with valuable content and helping them feel a connection with you so that they grow to know, like and trust you.

How to Build a Genuine Connection With Your Social Media Followers

Here are three things I do to make sure my social media content is connecting with my tribe and pushing the Business Boutique brand forward:

1. Go to your audience.

It’s important for Business Boutique to know what social media platforms our audience spends the most time on. That way, I can intentionally focus my efforts in those places rather than attempt to attract them to someplace new.

If you’re trying to determine which platforms your target market prefer, start by identifying your target market. Create a persona template and clearly define your ideal customer. Then, I want you to take it one step further. Do some research, poll your current customers, and look at the insights on your current social media channels. That information will give you a clear picture of where you should focus your efforts.

Keep in mind that you might have different audiences who are active on different social media channels—and you may want to talk to each in a different way.

If you’re in the beginning stages of building your online platform, and you’re unsure about where your ideal customer even hangs out, start with Facebook. It’s easy to use and extremely targeted. Once you grow in confidence on Facebook, you can branch out to other platforms!

2. Show some personality.

The best way to get people to know, like and trust you is to be real. Instead of always being so buttoned-up, show them your personality! Show them your real life.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’m not afraid to show you my real life on my Stories. Remember when my dog accidentally locked my son in the car at the lake, or that time I worked tirelessly for 15 minutes to unstick a box of pull-ups in the Target diaper aisle?

It’s like my friend Craig Groeschel always says, “We might impress people with our strengths, but we connect with people through our weaknesses.”

Here’s the deal: I may have never met most of my social media followers in person, but I pride myself on the fact that they trust me. I have read so many comments on my social media posts, and have met women in grocery stores, airports and at book signings who say, “I feel like we’re best friends.”

Y’all, that’s important to me. Because what they’re really saying is, “You get me.” And in business, that’s the best thing you can hear from the people you exist to serve.

3. Schedule content and time to interact!

Just like you, I’ve got a million things going on. I can’t trust myself to keep up with the consistent presence I want to have on social media. And I also want to practice what I preach and be present in every moment. So, scheduling my social media posts in advance is one way to make it all possible.

Every business goes through five distinct stages. Find out which stage your business is in with our free assessment.

I can’t tell you enough how important it is to show up consistently on social media if you want to build a relationship with your tribe. The last thing you want to do is post a ton of content for a few days and then go radio silent for three weeks because you got crazy busy. Even if you post less often, it’s better to show up on a consistent basis rather than randomly posting whenever you get a minute.

By scheduling your content in advance, you can show up for your followers while you’re hanging out with your kids, going on a date with your husband, or working on your business. And there are so many apps out there that can help! 

But don’t forget about engaging with your tribe. In addition to scheduling time each month to plan out your content, make sure there’s dedicated time on your calendar every day, or every other day, to go back to posts and respond to any comments or direct messages. This will help your tribe know you’re a real person who cares about building relationships.

It’s hard to start a business, and it’s hard to keep it up and running while you’re in the trenches. But here’s the thing: You don’t have to be on this journey alone. With the right training and support, you can create a successful business—and you don’t need a degree to make it happen. 

For the complete plan on how to start or grow a business and make money doing what you love, pick up a copy of Business Boutique.