Generate a Loyal Audience Online: 3 Tips With Josh Miller

Social media has taken this generation by storm. Nowadays, your online following is like your resume. Many millennials see your following and engagement numbers as equivalent to your overall credibility.

The social media space is a nonstop evolution process. It’s no longer just about being active online or posting an ad for your business – it’s all about the brand. People only buy online from brands they trust and have an actual connection with. Too many people try selling before establishing a relationship with their followers, which doesn’t work like it used to.

To demonstrate the proper way to build a loyal audience, expert Josh Miller shares with you three strategies he is currently implementing to crush it in 2020 with his brands. These strategies work for both a business owner and an individual looking to create a presence on Instagram.

1. Build your personal brand.

The first strategy is to focus on building up your personal brand on Instagram. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you’ve done or what kind of business you own – the world wants to know you. Your buyers will arise and become more active when they see your face and hear your voice. It gives your potential customers the ability to build a real connection with you.

2020 is all about the rise of the personal brand. People are taking over industries by simply documenting their life through their Instagram feed. Things like starting a podcast, doing live videos and posting quality, value-driven content seem to be the winners moving forward on Instagram.

One powerful way to accomplish this is through what’s known as influencer marketing. This simple yet effective strategy has helped millions of brands explode on Instagram.

The idea is that you reach out to major accounts within your niche market and ask them what it would cost for them to post your photo or video on their account, exposing their followers to you. You may even be able to collaborate for free in return for you promoting their brand on your account. It’s a common win-win tactic that, when used correctly, can take your brand to another level.

The key is to become known in your industry, to become the go-to expert in your specific field, and one of the best ways to do that is by building up your personal image online, particularly with Instagram.

2. Build an engaged following of people who love everything you do.

Having a lot of followers on the front end looks really good and is the starting point to establish yourself as a figure of authority. However, without a back-end following of truly engaged people, you won’t see true engagement or ever really sell anything. The goal is not only to establish credibility but also to build a culture with your followers so they listen and take action on everything you say.

There are many ways of doing this, but by far the most effective is the story feature on Instagram.

The first strategy of Instagram stories is to provide as much value as possible. Everyone on Instagram is trying to sell you something, but few provide any real value. Remember, no one cares what you know until they know that you care!

Find creative ways to do this. For just a few examples, you can give value by simply uploading motivational or inspiring content, sharing tips and tricks you have learned inside your niche or industry, or actually giving something of value away for free to your followers. E-books, courses, cheat sheets and video recommendations are all great and easy value-adds that people love to receive.

The second strategy for building a cultlike following through your story feature is showing your day-to-day life to your followers. This strategy is what allows your followers to really connect with you on a deeper level. An example of this would be you waking up in the morning and taking a video of you talking about how excited you are for the workday and sharing a tip about your morning routine. As dumb as it may sound, it works.

Another example would be you walking across a stage accepting an award for something. Your story is a peek into your actual life, and it is recommended to showcase the good, the bad and everything in between. It shows you are human and allows you to not only establish some credibility with your followers but also connect with them. We live in a filtered world, and the brands that are raw and real will take the upper hand.

3. Create a clear message through quality posts.

Content is king on Instagram – on any social media, for that matter. One of the biggest mistakes that so many people make is that their content doesn’t portray a clear message in an effective way. When clicking on your profile, a potential follower should know within seconds what type of brand you have, what niche you are in and what they will get by following your account.

At the end of the day, Instagram is all about clear, concise and quality content. Take some time to figure out what your brand is all about, and create a structure to paint that vision to your followers.

These three strategies work, plain and simple. The ones who apply them consistently over this year will be ahead of everyone else. Go and set yourself up for success in the new digital age!