30 Social Media Ideas To Win New Followers

Social media has become a lot more than just online platforms that allow users to interact with one another. Nowadays, it’s also often maximized by brands to reach out to their target market and grow their community of supporters. If they want to stand out from among the crowd, they need to use creative social media ideas to entice current and potential followers. But which strategies should you utilize on each platform?

Facebook

1. Tag-a-Friend

Posts that encourage followers to tag their friends result in maximum exposure without necessarily paying for advertising. Similar to word-of-mouth marketing, this tactic allows your supporters to endorse your brand to their friends.

And if you want to see this in action, take a look at this post by Bath and Body Works. They would usually encourage their followers to tag friends in most posts. Plus, the accompanying visual provides a recipe inspired by one of their fragrances.

2. Go on Facebook Live

Facebook Live is another way to bring your brand closer to your target audience. The spontaneity of digital broadcast can make them feel that they’re part of the action and the brand community in general.

Here’s an example of a Facebook Live by Starbucks. They encouraged the community to register to vote in 2018. Their Facebook Live generated 3.4 reactions and 580 comments.

3. Curate Third-Party Content

You don’t have to churn out multiple online content per day to keep your Facebook likes and followers engaged. Posting or curating third-party content relevant to your products or services allows you to enjoy the exposure. 

4. Promote on Facebook Ads

If you’re ready to shell out a few bucks to grow your community, it never hurts to use Facebook Ads to create sponsored posts. Firstly because you have the freedom to set the demographics and interests of your target market. And secondly, you’re most likely to reach the audience you’re trying to penetrate. Just like with an elevator pitch, you have to choose how you express your ideas concisely to sustain your audience’s interest.

You can check out this example from PayPal. The copy assures the audience that even if the user may have made a mistake, PayPal can reverse the solution on their end without any hassle.

5. Publish Engaging Visuals and Compelling Copy

If you want to further your reach, don’t rely on engagement only on Facebook. You want to think ahead by posting shareable content. And one way to do that is by publishing compelling visuals. What are some visuals you can post on Facebook:

• Typography (Quote)
• Data-driven visuals (infographics or charts)
• Event or promotional announcements

But it’s not only visuals you should focus on. Your copy should also be enticing enough that it will make people share your post. It’s one of the best and tried-and-tested social media ideas you should try on Facebook.

Here’s an example from Hubspot you can take inspiration from. As you can see, they gathered data from Statista. It’s a simple but powerful graphic that got 71 shares. Plus, the copy is straightforward, and you know what they’re talking about.

Instagram

6. Sponsor an Online Giveaway

Sponsoring an online giveaway is one of the most popular social media ideas, especially for brands that target the younger market. It usually works by requiring participants to like the post, follow the account, and tag friends in the comment section. 

Here’s one by Colourpop. Like their post, you can list down the process of winning the giveaway. Plus, you should also include the duration of the giveaway because it will provide a sense of urgency.

7. Share User-Generated Content

Sometimes the best type of content comes from your followers. User-generated content may help users connect more with your brand. Plus, it can help users move from Awareness to Interest or Desire on the marketing funnel.

8. Use Instagram Stories

Many brands take advantage of Instagram stories to showcase their brand. Some businesses post stories about general information about their products or services. On the contrary, others use this feature to repost testimonials and other user-generated content.

Subway saved various Instagram Stories themes for new users to explore. They can see promotional stories, view quizzes, or check out some merch. This will attract potential followers to click that follow button, and see what other content the fast-food chain can come up with.

9. Announce Collaboration with Other Brands

One of the most clever social media ideas to get new followers is to promote your collaboration with another brand. It’s a win-win situation. You get some of the followers from the collaboration, while the other brands get it as well.

Here’s an example of a brand collaboration on Instagram. Adidas and Allbirds announced they were teaming up to produce sustainable products. Both brands posted the same photo on Instagram to make it consistent as well.

10. Create a Holiday Campaign

With the right hashtag, caption, and image, you can increase your follower by doing a holiday campaign. You can do a series of promotional posts or showcase your product or services on a holiday theme. Whatever you choose to do, these may get shared, and you can entice users to click the follow button.

Twitter

11. Give Practical Tips

Offering information that will be of value to your customers is part of an excellent content marketing plan. You can do this by accompanying your Twitter posts with practical tips relevant to your product, service, or branding.

12. Poll Your Audience

Find the pulse of your audience by creating a Twitter poll. It could be about a serious issue, such as a national matter or something related to current events. Likewise, the survey could also be about something playful, such as finding out what product variety customers like the most.

Samsung conducted this poll to see which Galaxy S21 color their followers might purchase. It’s a great way to get insight into the minds of your consumers. Over 76,000 Twitter users voted on the poll, with Phantom Violet as the champion.

13. Ride the Trending Topic

One of the best social media ideas you can implement on Twitter and other online platforms is to ride a trending topic. Relate your product, service, or philosophy to a trending topic to spark interest and possibly tickle your audience’s funny bone.

Wendy’s is one of the most active brands on Twitter. Their snark and wit earned them almost 4 million followers. On Feb 12, they saw an opportunity to make their current and new followers engage with them further by using the #NationalRoastDay hashtag. Any follower would ask Wendy’s to “roast” them, and their signature sense of humor comes out. Both known brands and Twitter users joined in on the fun.

14. Use Twitter to Answer Questions

One of the best uses of Twitter is to connect with users by replying to tweets. But many brands or businesses take it a step further by answering questions. In some cases, Twitter can act as their support page. And when other customers or users encounter the same issue or problem, they can get redirected to Twitter and see how the brand can solve their problem.

15. Share Your Blog Post

With the right keywords and hashtags, you can distribute your blog post on Twitter and get more followers on the platform. And if people follow a particular topic on Twitter, they might find your post there as well. According to Hootsuite, Twitter users can follow 5,100 topics on the platform, and over 70 million of them follow topics related to their interests.

YouTube

16. Publish How-to Videos

First of all, almost everyone searches the internet whenever they need to know any information. Because of this, producing simple educational videos has become an effective content strategy for many brands. Cooking instructional videos or general life hacks, to name a few.

Here’s this easy instructional video by BMW. They don’t post long-form how-to videos, which can help the user with a specific query. As such, they publish different short how-to videos, so it’s much easier to follow. Plus, viewers can watch other tutorial videos on their channel.

17. Post Video Testimonials

Video testimonials are a great way to show prospects how much your current customers enjoy your offerings. You can launch giveaway contests. Ask customers to send in video testimonials and collate the materials to come up with a short and entertaining video. 

Apple posted a video testimonial about people using their Apple Watch and how it saved their lives or made it more comfortable.

18. Launch Video Podcasts 

Launching a podcast is a great way to offer value to your clients and customers. By touching on their interests and choosing your topics and interviews well, you can catch their attention and earn more followers. Maximize your podcast’s mileage by recording the program on video and uploading it on YouTube.

19. Collaborate with Influencers

If you’re thinking of jumping onboard influencer marketing, research about potential vloggers your audience watches and follows. That said, most subscribers turn to YouTube whenever they have idle time. Having a video about your brand on the platform can help generate leads even years after it was first posted.

Nintendo tapped Serena Williams as their influencer to promote the Nintendo Switch. It’s a great way to connect with sports fans to buy a Nintendo Switch. Or perhaps, they wanted to show to the audience that one of the greatest tennis players of all time is also an avid gamer.

Snapchat

20. Share Fun Stories

Many Millennials and Gen Z consumers turn to Snapchat because of the perceived authenticity of content rather than highly-staged photos often shared on Instagram or Facebook. Take advantage of this perception by making your brand’s snaps fun and spontaneous.

21. Promote Coupons

Many brands targeting the younger market use Snapchat to send coupons to their followers. This marketing tactic is an excellent idea. In addition, it rewards your community and also offers an incentive to consumers who follow your account.

22. Demonstrate How to Use Products or Services

Show your followers creative uses for your product or tease them with the quality of your services. Do this by posting product or service demonstration videos on your Snapchat account. Lastly, this can entice them to try out your offerings and also maximize your visibility as a brand.

23. Promote an Event

Snapchat is an excellent platform to promote an event. You can create a video snap explaining the details of the event. Additionally, you can also include registration links or direct followers to your website or accounts on various social media platforms. 

Or, in this case, by Dunkin’, you can promote an event and create a filter or lens dedicated to that event. 

24. Show BTS Videos

Behind-the-scenes snaps complete our list of the best social media ideas. Creating BTS posts is somewhat similar to taking your clients on a VIP pass backstage. This gives them an exclusive glimpse of how your team does the work.

Everlane has a series on Snapchat called #TransparencyTuesdays. It’s an excellent way to demonstrate your social impact and show behind-the-scenes footage of your company.

TikTok 

25. Initiate a Branded Hashtag Challenge

Become a trendsetter on TikTok by starting a hashtag challenge that other people will do. It’s a surefire way to win followers, and it’s one of the best social media ideas you can apply on the platform.

26. Take On A Challenge

On the other hand, you can follow the trend by using a hashtag challenge from other brands or influencers. Make it impactful by being authentic and funny on the video.

27. Educate Followers

You want to make sure that you’re also establishing your business as an authority on TikTok. It’s not always going to be all skits or funny posts. But, if you can, publish a video that will educate viewers. The Washington Post goes the extra mile by making educational videos more entertaining and easy to follow.

Clubhouse

28. Build A Network

One of the features of Clubhouse is to create a room and let others join in and give their input. Once you have a room ready, you can start a discussion about your company, for example, and have people listen in. And once they get an idea of what your company is about, they can further discuss it with you. Who knows a famous personality could show up in your room, and they might even engage in your discussion and promote you?

29. Collaborate with Big Names

Another feature of Clubhouse is “sharing the stage” with other speakers in the room. If your business wants to collaborate with influencers or big personalities, Clubhouse is the best way to do so. The audio social media app can become the fastest way to establish authority because celebrities and business leaders are there. Once you’ve connected, you can create a room or an event and invite others to join in on your discussion.

30. Announce Company Updates

Clubhouse can become another platform where you can post company updates. Those who may not have access to other social media platforms can learn about news about your company through audio. Perhaps another way to announce an update is by giving exclusive offers or updates that only Clubhouse users would have access to.

Final Thoughts

The social media ideas mentioned above aren’t limited to one platform. For example, you can share the same video on Instagram and YouTube. From there, you can see which platform your content would perform better. Perhaps you can mix up content by posting a video on one platform but only a text post on another. 

Either way, when you follow these tried-and-tested social media ideas, you may get more followers. This means you get more opportunities to showcase other posts and content.