I was recently asked by a colleague ‘How do we get more followers to our blog? It’s on Facebook and Twitter, now we don’t know what to do!’. As this is an issue likely to be experienced by many a blog owner, I thought I would post my initial response below;

- It may sound obvious, but give the audience a reason to follow your blog and return for more (Think, what’s in it for them to read/follow you?)
– Create interesting content that isn’t necessarily about you, but the market/sector in which you operate
– Include your blog address / Twitter name in all communications including email signatures/press releases etc.
– Follow others/likeminded people and groups and they may be inclined to follow you in return
– Similarly look to target an influential blogger who could re-tweet your content and thus increase the likelihood of their followers following
– Get active! Start engaging and leaving comments (and of course include your url in your email signature) on other relevant blogs/forums/sites, remembering to be open & honest about who you are
– Think about generating some kind of buzz like x amount of followers will be entered in to a prize draw or selected to receive a pre-launch content/advanced VIP access – (if you select the right people they may even review the content or product/offering site and post it online!

Now whilst there is much merit in the above recommendations, I can’t help but think that there is now a flawed approach to this king of strategy. Of course, these suggestions should still be undertaken and are great for SEO, awareness and PR. But the saying, ‘Fish where the fishes are’ could not be more apt! Perhap’s the question asked should now be ‘How can we engage with our target audience and build stronger more influential relationships?’

My response and suggested approach for this would be;

- Establish where your target market spend most there time online and are already discussing topics in your area/market
– Listen to there interests, needs, wants and concerns
– Engage and respond in a honest, open and relevant manner
– Add value, building trust and authority in the area/market

Ultimately brands who do this are more likely to build trust and become recognised as a leader in their field ensuring the audience are more likely to listen and value the opinion, increasing repeat visits and encouraging them to reference and share content across their social networks, thus increasing awareness and driving traffic to your blog for you.

Let me know if you have any tried and tested methods for driving relevant traffic and building stronger relationships with customers for your blogs.