Today I want to talk to you about something that’s very close to my heart. I talk about it a lot but I want to really discuss it today. It’s the key to your social media success. Most people kind of forget that it’s out there.

The real secret to social media success is building your community. Quality over quantity every day, all day. Building your community is huge. You would much rather have a smaller, engaged audience of 100 people than an unengaged audience of 1,000 people. The better you create your brand warriors — the people who love you — the better everything is going to be. A person who is avid about who you are, who loves what you have to say, and who is absolutely connected to your community will bring in more business than an ad will. Word of mouth is huge. People who get involved and engaged are great, and most people online? That’s what they’re looking for. They want to be part of a community. When you don’t have that for them, they’re going to go to someone who does.

For building your community, you want to go deep rather than wide. You want quality over quantity. One of the best ways to achieve that is to choose the platform that works best for you. If you hate Twitter, don’t use it! If it’s going to become an obstacle or an objection and get in your way, then stay away from it. Love Facebook and are comfortable there? Do that. If you want to add Instagram, do Facebook until you get really good at it before you add the second one. You have to do what works for you because if you like it, you’re going to be on it more and you’re going to respond more and be more comfortable in your own skin. And then you’ll get a better response, because people can tell when you’re being genuine. I am so not a Twitter person, it’s just not where my tribe is. I have my biggest tribe on Facebook. I love my Tribe. I talk to them all the time, I go Live whenever I can, and it works for me. Be true to whoever you are. If that means just picking one platform, that’s great. If you can do four platforms, that’s great. Most people can’t do that, so start with one and get really good at it.

Sometimes I do an audit and I’ll ask a client, “Why are you on Facebook?” Crickets. They’ll say, “Because you’re supposed to be” but that’s not exactly the right answer. Yeah, it’s great to have a social media presence but you have to figure out why you are there. Are you building your community? Are you engaging your brand? What are you doing? What is your purpose? Once you figure out your purpose, talking and serving that purpose become so much easier. So it’s important to know why you are where you are.

It’s also important to give more than you get. If you want your audience to do something for you, you need to give, give, give then ask. What does that look like? It means you give content, you give tips, you give information, you create yourself as an expert in your industry, and then you ask for the sale. It’s an 80/20 rule that I like to use. If you follow me on Facebook at all, you will very rarely see me ask for a sale. I feel like Facebook is my platform to nurture, educate, and entertain, and I very rarely will turn around and say, “Oh hey, by the way, this is for sale.” You have to do it sometimes if you’re in business but you want to give more than you get.

I was doing an audit this week and was looking at a vendor’s homepage and there was a splash across the page that said, “Let us tell you about us.” Wrong. It’s not about you! It’s never about you! It’s always about them. You need to change that sentence to “Tell me about you.” Tell me about what you’re doing and how we can help you. Who cares about the ancient foundation of the building that Zeus forged with an ancient hammer? What they want to know is what’s in it for them and how you can help them. Now, if they’re history buffs and that’s important to them, they’re going to ask you anyway. Or if it’s critical and it’s part of who they are, they’re going to go to the About Us section and read it. But you need to always ask yourself whenever you’re online, your website, your email — are you serving? What’s in it for them? To me that’s a true compliment when a client says “Thank you for what you do,” because we strive to help all the time. You have to remember the “what’s in it for me” statement.

Aside from being involved in your community and being true to the platform you’re on, you have to speak in your own voice. You need to remember to put the “you” in your marketing. I’m a little goofy and a ton sarcastic and the more I embrace that in my branding and my social media the better we do. I stayed away from it for a long time because I thought nobody wants to hear that. I was wrong. Embrace who you are. If that means putting your face up on Instagram, that’s what it means. If it means being a goofball Live, which is what I do, then do it. You have to be true to yourself and your personality.

All of these things come together to help build your community and build your brand long-term. If you’re building your brand and you’re building and serving your community, that’s the secret to social media. Yes, you want to get the sale but nobody’s going to buy from you unless they like you first! It’s the know-like-trust factor. If they don’t know you, like you, and trust you, the sale is never going to happen. And that’s what social media is for, building that trust, building that like, and really growing that community.