Raise your hand if growing your online following is a top priority in your business! If you’re anything like me, I know you don’t want to admit that. It feels weird to say that we think a lot about getting more attention, but in today’s online world, a large social media following is a great way to grow your business. A larger following drives more eyes to your brand, which in turn helps to generate more revenue and sales. But HOW do you do it? 

There, of course, are so many ways to do this, but something I have had success with recently is teaming up with others and running a fun giveaway! This gives you access to a brand new set of eyes that may never come across your account otherwise and provides connection and community for everyone involved. And you know how much I value building community around here. If you are looking for a business-minded community to belong to, I’ve got you covered! Join me over at The Blush Pages!

So how should you go about organizing a partnered giveaway?

1. Choose a prize worth giving away. The higher the value, the more likely people will be inclined to enter. 
2. Reach out to accounts with similar content and following as you. Keep this number of people small. You aren’t going to want to ask your followers to follow 50 new people. Everyone “hosting” the giveaway will pitch in on the cost of the prize, so keep it to a price everyone can afford. 
3. Collaborate on the logistics of how people will enter. 
4. Run your giveaway in a reasonable timeframe. Anywhere from one day to one week. 
5. Require everyone who enters to follow each participant and BOOM, you’ve just grown your following! 

Running the giveaway is the easy part! Keeping all of your new followers is where the real work comes into play! Gaining followers only benefits you if they stay connected to your brand and eventually become a customer.

So how can you keep them coming back for more? 

1. Introduce yourself on your grid and in your stories immediately following the giveaway. Make them feel welcome! 
2. Reshare some of your favorite past posts and highlights of the content you offer. 
3. Answer some commonly asked questions or ask people to ask new ones. 
4. Show up daily and stay consistent immediately after giveaway. 
5. Follow your new followers back. 
6. Connect with each new follower personally through DMs or comment on their feeds. 
7. Create content that allows them to engage with things like polls and question boxes. 
8. Share more about the people you partnered with in the giveaway and express how much you enjoy their content. This will encourage them to do the same for you! 
9. Keep your feed clean and professional all while remaining real and relatable. 

It takes a lot of work to keep people invested in your business. You can’t expect them to stay simply because your account exists! Take advantage of these nine steps to help you grow a following that turns into paying customers! 

For more tips and tricks on how to grow your brand and build your business, I have a few other great options for you: 

1. Text ‘dailytips’  and “Business101” to (619) 320-1332 to stay connected off the internet. 
2. Follow me on Instagram @mkoehler for a peek into my personal life and how I run my businesses. 
3. Check out one of my newest shop items \for a full guide to marketing your brand online!  CLICK HERE!
   

Be sure to tag me @mkoehler over on IG when you offer a giveaway! I would love to see how you run it and join in on the fun! I hope this helps encourage you with new ways to grow your following and get more eyes on your brand!