Originally posted on https://famoid.com/what-is-clout-what-to-learn-social-media-influencers/

 

Many individuals and businesses see the success of influencers on platforms such as Instagram and Twitter. Understandably, these individuals and businesses dream of having the same level of success that these top influencers have.

There’s just one problem: they have no clout!

Are you asking yourself “what is clout?” If so, that’s the first lesson you must learn from the world’s top social media influencers.

What are the rest of the lessons? Keep reading to discover the answer!

What is Clout? – Famoid

What Is Clout

We’ve put together a comprehensive guide for how to build your online clout. First, though, we need to answer your question: just what is clout, anyway?

In a word, clout is “influence.” It means that what you do, say, and share can have an impact on others around you.

In the online world, your clout level is basically measured by how many followers you have. This means that your every post or tweet has the ability to reach a large number of people.

This is why we use the term “influencer” for various social media superstars. And if you’d like to be more like them, then it’s time to copy some of their top tips for your own account.

Cross-Promotion

If you didn’t already know, a lot of your clout chasing will involve using hashtags. And while it’s important to come up with good ones (more on this later), it’s also important to use those hashtags in creative ways.

The name of this game is “cross-promotion.” If you have a signature hashtag, it shouldn’t be contained to a handful of posts. It should also be in places like your website and your social media bio.

Don’t overlook the importance of physical marketing as well. It’s easy enough to put a hashtag on receipts, bags, t-shirts, and so on.

As long as it builds interest in your brand and online profile, then it’s worth it!

Friends and Family

Want to hear a secret? Here it is: many of the most famous social media influencers had to start out just like you.

Sure, some influencers were already actors, musicians, or athletes, and they brought a major following with them. But others had to start from the ground up and find a way to build a following.

Here’s a humbling tip: don’t be afraid to ask your friends and family to follow you on social media.

Some people hesitate to do this because they think it’s like asking their loved ones to buy things. However, following you online costs nothing, and loved ones will enjoy getting online updates from you.

Of course, the end goal is to get more followers. If new people see that you have almost no followers, they may think you’re not worth following.

However, a solid “base” of friends and family can help convince new prospects that you have content worth checking out.

It’s Not You, It’s Them

If you’re reading this, then you want to copy the top social media influencers. However, here’s one habit you need to avoid: making everything all about yourself.

The temptation is strong to treat your social media account like a very public diary. However, the brutal truth is that most people aren’t that interested in your life, or your selfies.

Instead, focus on what new followers might actually want from you. This might include funny content, informative “how to” content, or just beautiful imagery.

This doesn’t mean you can never talk about yourself. However, think of courting followers like courting a new partner: if all you ever talk about is yourself, then the relationship isn’t going to last very long.

What’s Your Frequency?

Many people who are clout chasing ask themselves how often they should be tweeting or posting. Here’s the answer: if you have to ask, then you should be doing it more often!

There are certain times of day you should be posting more on behalf of your audience (see our notes on “timing” below). In general, though, platforms such as Twitter favor users who are producing more content.

For example, if you post once or twice a day, the Twitter algorithm may bury you where few people can see you. But if you tweet five to seven times a day, you are far likelier to be seen by other people.

Don’t forget that there are third-party programs that can help you to write tweets out in advance and then schedule their release. To your follows, you will look brilliant and spontaneous: they don’t need to know all the planning that went into this!

Complex Hashtags

Hashtags have become a kind of universal social media language. And for someone trying to gain more followers, this can be a double-edged sword.

For example, most prospective followers really respond to hashtags. That’s the good news. The bad news is that most simple hashtags make for very poor marketing!

If you tag a tweet with #Love, you get lumped in with the thousands of other people using that tag. The solution is to create more creative and complex hashtags.

This is more of an art than science, of course. The hashtag needs to be long enough to make an impression while being short enough to still feel dynamic and immediate.

In some cases, you may even be able to adapt some of the SEO you use on your website and turn it into a successful hashtag.

Good First Impression

Here’s a fun fact: when you meet a new person, you figure out whether you like them or not within a few seconds. And this is exactly what happens to your account on social media.

You may be focusing on creating really awesome posts. And while it’s true that content is king, don’t end up neglecting everything else!

You’re going to need a good profile picture (ideally a professional headshot) and a witty bio. Your bio should be short but engaging: humor is not required, but it certainly helps!

Once you have this set up, then you have a nice “one-two” punch for attracting new followers on social media.

Be the Leader

Ever wonder why so many people online give themselves titles like “guru” and “thought leader?” Here’s a hint: it has to do with how many followers they want!

Basically, people surfing the internet have been trained to look for experts online. They understand that a ton of people are cranking out a ton of content: accordingly, they are looking for people they can trust.

Research has shown that giving yourself a fancy label can boost your followers by 100 or more. And it also gives you something to aspire to: no one can achieve greatness before they believe they are already great!

All About Timing

Earlier, we mentioned how third-party programs can help you schedule tweets and posts for specific times of the day. As it turns out, this is a valuable strategy for anyone who is going clout chasing.

For example, those aiming for widespread appeal should time their tweets on weekdays. Specifically, they should make these posts between early and later afternoon.

Now, not every audience is created equally. You may need to make adjustments because of your audience time zone or even factors such as age (consider that younger audiences stay awake longer than older ones).

Consider all of this an ongoing experiment. Tweak the timing of your posts until you find what works best for you and your company!

Part of the Conversation

Pretty much every social media platform makes it easy to see which hashtags are trending. Here’s some simple advice: try to participate in these trending tags each day!

The whole point of hashtags is to allow users to quickly navigate posts. By using trending tags, you can strike while hundreds or thousands of people are interested in the same tag.

Of course, you still want to be “on brand.” Don’t participate in things like crude or cruel hashtags if you think it will alienate your actual demographic.

Otherwise, your online engagement might end up driving off more people than you bring in!

Let’s Get Visual

This last bit of advice is nice and simple. It’s also “platform agnostic.” Here it is: you need to get visual with your account.

The truth is that most people respond to things like images and videos more than text. And that means you need to be sharing more visual media!

You don’t have to become a photographer overnight or suddenly become a movie director. It may be enough to repost popular memes (or, even better, your own versions of popular memes).

Find out what your customers like the most and work on giving them more of what they love.

The Bottom Line

Now you have an answer to “what is clout?” However, do you have an answer to who can help you get more followers?

Here at Famoid, we specialize in helping individuals and businesses grow their online following. To see what we can do to help your brand grow, just contact us

Regards,

Famoid Blog – 2019