3 Ways to Gain Organic Social Media Following

A common way to boost the number of people visiting your online marketplace is to build your brand’s presence on social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.

But how exactly do you gain a following on social media? What kind of content attracts people? Are there any strategies to this? How do you curate an appealing selection of social media posts to attract followers?

Here are three quick tips to get you started!

Promote your merchants’ listings

Don’t just promote what your marketplace is about but seek to actively publicize your merchants’ items/service. Use your social media as a means to showcase the treasure trove to be found on your marketplace. This helps merchants generate a greater amount of transactions, which in turn enables your marketplace to grow at a faster rate!

Quick tip:

Choose crisp, inviting photos. Our brains process an image much faster than strings of text, and we are naturally drawn to images that provide an irresistible aesthetic pleasure.

Have a strong theme

As your social media sites become flooded with a myriad of photos and posts, it is easy to simply go with the flow and allow the content to dictate your brand’s message. Rather, always attempt to keep your pages “tidy” and thematic, and a simple way to begin is by adhering to a consistent design across your various contents.

Quick tip:

Use a colour palette. Colour palettes usually consist of a dominant colour, an accent colour and complimentary neutral colours. It should not have to cost a fortune such as employing a web designer to do this, especially when you are just starting out your online marketplace. Colour scheme generator sites like coolorcan do this for you in minutes, free-of-charge.

Example of colour palettes done on coolors

Start by deciding on a dominant colour that is most in tune with the purpose of your marketplace. Different colours evoke different responses. Red, for instance, is an intense colour that has high visibility and elicits energy, which is why it is often used in promotional sales placard and fast food restaurant logos.

Relate to your audience

Remember the class clown who made classes that much more “interesting” by cracking witty jokes and just lightening the entire mood? Humorous posts on social media are the same; they evoke amusement, fun and positive feelings among a slew of posts.

Social media posts do not have to be restricted to promotional materials. Playful posts, inspirational quotes and customer reviews all make it easier for social media users to relate to your proposition. Reviews, especially, are crucial in cultivating trust, and trust is essential in building your online marketplace.

Quick tip:

Share positive reviews on your page, along with the satisfied faces of your buyers (if any). But be sure to get their permission first! Faces have the amazing ability of both capturing attention and conveying emotions powerfully. A confident smile alone illustrates far better than any words about the quality of service rendered to him on the marketplace. If you are unable to get hold of a customer’s photo, an alternative is to overlay a portion of his testimonial on a relevant, scenic background. Don’t forget to leave your marketplace’s logo on the post!