15 Branding Hacks to Ramp Up Followers and Engagement - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

15 Branding Hacks to Ramp Up Followers and Engagement - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career The following answers are provided by members of  Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the worlds most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched  BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. 1. Be an Information Spigot   I started out trying to keep everything I learned to myself, but after a few years of taking information from other people in my industry who were building  big  reputations by sharing, I wanted to try something new. I have seen a tremendous growth in engagement since I started publishing everything I know in blogs and videos. I feel useful to the community, like the people I used to borrow from.  Adam Steele,  The Magistrate 2. Be Authentic and Engage With Your Audience   Just putting yourself out there with your own unique story from your struggles to personal successes will eventually reap rewards. People will believe your authenticity and will better relate to you once they sense that you are authentic. It also helps to keep your story consistent and keep the engagement consistent. A high engagement rate will propel your number of followers, too.  Daisy Jing,  Banish 3. Post at a Consistent, Data-Driven Time   It is pretty straight forward, but figure out when your audience is normally on social media, and then consistently post at that opportune time every day. A lot of your followers will grow accustomed to that, and once they begin to expect it, theyll start to look forward to it.  Erik Huberman,  Hawke Media 4. Use Images That Resonate   We found that certain characteristics of images (e.g. faces being visible) on Instagram resonate better and generate higher engagement. Consistently posting images with this in mind has allowed our engagement to grow and land some of our photos on Instagram Explorer, which ramps up our followers.  Mark Krassner,  Expectful 5. Put Yourself in Front of the Camera   As soon as my audience saw and heard me in online videos, podcasts and media interviews that I posted, it provided them with a better picture of who was behind the brand. I have found that Ive won people over in person by being friendly, personable and funny, so I applied this to my online presence for even better results.  John Rampton,  Due 6. Being Transparent Will  Earn You Trust   Social media users can discern between true content and staged content. Be true with your customers, speak transparently and they will respect you for it.  Dont expect engagement and followers to come overnight. By speaking to your audience consistently with the truth, they will value the information you communicate to them and will begin to engage. Being transparent will  earn you trust.  Diego Orjuela,  Cables Sensors 7. Amp Up Your Presence on LinkedIn   LinkedIn has introduced some changes recently that makes it easier to get your posts read and shared. Create a professional profile with a good photo and thorough description. One of the best branding strategies on LinkedIn is to share articles that have the potential to get syndicated. This is a powerful way to build your credibility  and attract more leads and clients.  Shawn Porat,  Scorely 8. Create Evergreen Content   Create evergreen content that can be repurposed and reused, such as a post on the Best Laptops of 2017, and then simply update it when the new year comes. It wont involve a lot of time after the original content is written, plus folks love list-based posts as well. Its a great way to get more followers and increase engagement, as long as its accurate and credible.  Andrew Schrage,  Money Crashers Personal Finance 9. Exchange Shoutouts With Niche-Relevant Personalities   Find people in your industry with a similar follower count, and exchange  shoutouts. Its an easy way to attract relevant followers. If a particular person has a much larger following than you, offer something of value in exchange for a mention. If you find a way to offer something of value to someone, they will more than likely be more than willing to give you some social love.  Jonathan Long,  LAWYE.RS 10. Use Automation on Twitter   Twitter allows users to create automatic direct messages to followers. Take this opportunity to message new followers with a warm welcome, useful offer or great evergreen content. This helps maintain engagement with your newest fans.  Adelyn Zhou,  TOPBOTS 11. Use Online Tools to Study Competitors Successful Ads   We  have been using  Compass  for a few months now and it allows us to see the most successful ads used by our competitors on Facebook and LinkedIn, and also allows us to research the audience they are targeting. Another tool to identify your audience is  WhatRunsWhere.  Nitin Chhoda,  Total Activation 12. Create Memes   Take a picture that relates to your business and create a meme. Make it creative and on topic to current pop culture. Share it on your social media, and as long as it is good watch it spread. Put text on the meme to encourage the reader to take an action. You have to make it indirect, though, as to not seem spammy. Questions work well, as they encourage the reader to leave an answer.  Scott Kacmarski,  Reps Direct 13. Invest in the Right Logo   Before I invested in a logo and a friendly, bright character for the website, traction and memorability were low. Afterwards, people associated the brand with the character and it made us stand out in their minds. You should invest in something that is memorable and unique, to be used in advertising material  that will distinguish your business and in some way stay with the customers.  Ajay Paghdal,  OutreachMama 14. Hold Contests and Scholarships   You want to focus these efforts  on your business or niche. If youre appealing to students, offer a scholarship type of giveaway. If you want to attract more consumers to your brand, offer a contest. The email addresses will come pouring in, and your contest will be shared if the reward is worth it. The return on investment of these is often worth it if you have a set goal, such as likes, followers, etc.  Bryce Welker,  Crush The CPA Exam 15. Claim Your Listing and Pump It Full of Happy Customers   Make sure your product listing is submitted to every review site in your niche. Once they are all listed, push satisfied customers over to populate those listings with reviews.  Tim Chaves,  ZipBooks Online Bookkeeping Services