By Candice Galek Founder and CEO, Bikini Luxe @bikinigeek
There are a lot of business leaders offering advice to entrepreneurs, and chances are you've heard the saying, "Don't put all your eggs into one basket." You can attribute this to many areas of your life, however today I want to focus solely on your social media activity.
Lately, I've been noticing an alarming number of posts about the deletion, suspension, and shadow banning of social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and a slew of others. There's also been talk of Facebook's algorithm changes and how they're negatively affecting business profits.
This generally leaves people like us in a panic, and when we email and submit support tickets, we often get ignored. We're left feeling hopeless, and as if we've wasted years of our lives building something that was just ripped away without cause or notice.
As Twitter cracks down on accounts that violate its terms and conditions now, I'm reminded of the time Linkedin randomly deleted the accounts of many of its top connected users (before the Microsoft takeover). Those users were left with no way to communicate with the followers they once had--that was their platform of choice, and they didn't have a well-rounded following anywhere else.
You need to diversify your social media impact. Here are three ways to increase your followers on any social platform:
1. Direct your followers on one platform to follow you on another.
Not all businesses are suitable for all platforms, so do your research. When you determine which platforms you want to occupy, use your pool of followers on one account and direct them to follow your new profile on the other app or website.
By shouting yourself out, you're telling your customers and supporters about another way they can keep up with you. Be sure to inform them of the benefits of following your other account.
If you post content there they can't find elsewhere that's a good selling point. If you use Instagram for more of a behind-the-scenes look, and Facebook for more lengthy quality posts, be sure they're aware.
This is the quickest way to move people from one place to another.
2. Make friends with high profile like-minded users.
When you've got friends in the right places, you can lean on them in times of need. Getting a shout out from these friends if your profile goes mysteriously missing can help tremendously.
If you're friends with someone in a similar niche as you, they can direct their followers to your other social profiles to maintain the relationship. Ask that they tell their Instagram followers about your new account via an Instagram story, for example. They can even tag you or provide a direct link to a landing page if necessary.
Of course, you shouldn't befriend these like-minded people solely for the sake of asking for shout outs. Tread carefully and remember to offer your help in exchange for theirs.
Funneling interested followers from one account to another is a great way to gain exposure and keep them in the loop, and is the way many users and businesses have grown tremendously over recent years. It's influencer marketing at its finest.
3. Collect your followers email addresses.
This is my favorite piece of advice for anyone building their business, and it seems to be overlooked by many high-profile social media users. Why? Because collecting email addresses is not always an easy task. However, I'm a strong believer that it's the most powerful social media tool you can use.
It's your way of getting someone's immediate attention, and nobody can take your email list away from you. If ever you want to introduce a new product, service, or social media profile all it takes is an email blast and you're back in business. Offer something of value in exchange for signing up, like an educational how-to article or even a good discount code for your services.
On any social media platform, you need to focus on creating valuable content for your readers. You're always better off safe than sorry--not to mention, we could all use more engaged users across all platforms.