Here at Evielutions Design, we still believe in the power of social media, and as we stated in a previous post, we think it is definitely worth your time and money investment.

However, it can’t just be something you “set and forget.” For social media to work for growing your brand, it requires an ongoing, consistent effort to reach new people who are likely to engage with your brand.

So how can time-strapped business owners or lean marketing teams grow their social media followers? Start here.

Provide ORIGINAL content that informs

First, you should be producing your own original content, not just retweeting other people’s stuff. If you want people to follow you, you need to provide real value and information they can use to improve their overall situation. That starts by having a regularly updated blog on your website, so you can drive your followers there.

While it’s OK to talk about yourself a bit and share some ads or promotions, make sure the bulk of your content is sharing advice, tips, industry news and more that educates your followers.

One really easy strategy for producing content is to create blog posts that answer a single common question your followers are most likely to have. Be super focused and detailed and connect them to additional resources. They’ll gain advice they can use, and they’ll learn to trust you as an expert in your field.

Make it easy to follow you and share your content

Your social media buttons should be everywhere. On your main blog page, each blog post and newsletter, marketing materials, outgoing emails, the navigation bar on your website, your business cards, and so on.

Following you and spreading word about your content must be as simple as clicking a button. Most people just aren’t going to take the time to copy and paste URLs to share your content.

However, as important is that you must ask them to follow you. Simply say “Follow us on … to ensure you don’t miss a thing!”

Connect with influencers — but make the content more about your business

It’s a good idea to follow the pioneers, innovators and influencers in your industry, and even share their quotes, anecdotes or philosophies. That said, don’t overdo it — and don’t just retweet or reshare their posts. Share them, but add your own thoughts or perspective, and always copy those influencers on your messages. Most people will follow you back and may even give you a shout out, which can encourage their massive following to check you out, too.

Not sure who the influencers are in your industry? BuzzSumo can help you find them.

Go where your customers are

This applies to choosing the right platforms for your particular audience, but as important is finding the right people within those platforms.

For example, on LinkedIn and Facebook, join groups that are relative to your business, but don’t just use the opportunity to share a bunch of promotions. Engage with group members, share informative articles, and post tips. Once you develop relationships with them, you can invite them to follow you. And on Twitter, use hashtags to find and follow people who are interested in your business, products or services, and industry. They’ll likely follow you back.

It takes time, but with this approach, you are more likely to find people who will go on to buy your products or services.

Monitor your content

You need to know what’s working, so regularly review your content metrics to see which posts are driving traffic to your website, and as important, which are receiving the most engagement (e.g., reshares, comments, likes).

Early on, that engagement may be small, but as you continue to churn out content that is resonating, you will see both your followers and engagement grow.