The Only Social Media Strategy You Need to Grow Your Brand.
This is the only strategy you’re going to need to build your brand. It doesn’t matter what social media platform you are on. Whether you are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Periscope, Vine, or ANYTHING else.
This is the only social media strategy you need to grow your brand: depth over width.
What is “Depth over Width?”
It’s a simple philosophy that states: the number of followers you have doesn’t matter. What matters is how engaged they are with you, and how DEEP of relationships you can create with those people.
Take the majority of your energy and focus on creating deep relationships with your current followers.
If you focus on creating real value with those people, then your follower count will grow and consequently—you will have width. By this method, you could have 100,000 Twitter followers who share your content, buy your book, go to your concert, and build you into a real brand.
This is the same principle as Kevin Kelly’s 1000 true fans. 1000 true fans will buy everything you create and will drive for miles just to see you. 1000 true fans who spend $ 100/year on you will create a lifestyle of $ 100,000 a year.
Depth over Width is a mindset. Once you start thinking this way, your social followings will explode.
What is “real value?”
Ever heard the phrase, “Cost is what you pay, value is what you receive?”
If people aren’t buying or engaging with you—then you are not adding enough value to the deal. This is the case whether you’re in a business transaction for money, or a transaction for attention.
We’ve heard time and again to “add value” but know one has said exactly how. This is because VALUE is completely subjective. Value can only be defined as helping an individual in some way that is “meaningful and significant.”
Meaningful and Significant.
Meaningful is expressing an emotion or idea without words.
Significant is to be large enough to be noticed or have an effect.
To create real value, we have to express an emotion or idea without words and create a large enough effect to be noticed.
To create real value, we have to express an emotion or idea without words and create a large enough effect to be noticed.
How to add “Real Value” on Social Media.
95% of people are on social media to take. If you don’t believe me, follow 200 random people. Then see how many of them send you an automated direct message that say “like my facebook page, buy my book, here is a free offer for you.” All of these people are “takers.”
They want to take your most precious commodity: your time. They want you to be on their agenda. They want you to sign up to their mailing list, read their blog, buy their product.
I completely get it. They want to grow their business and they need people to join their mailing list, read their blog, and buy their products.
The question now is, “How do you get that to happen without being a taker?” The answer?
Add real value. Do something that is meaningful and significant.
The way you win in social media and in business is to do something different. The goal is to stand out from the noise, be different and innovative and disrupt the normal. That’s how you get attention.
Enough theory, let’s execute on this idea.
Depth over Width on Twitter:
Since we have been using Twitter as our example, this is how you can add real value and create deep relationships with your Twitter audience.
Whenever someone follows you, shares your blog post, likes your Tweet create a personalized native video message JUST FOR THEM. The message is pretty simple. It’s just a: “thanks for the follow, share, like, etc.”
Doing this is meaningful and significant.
It is meaningful because you are saying “I value you so much, that I will take time out of my day to personally thank you.” It is significant because NO ONE ELSE IS DOING IT!
Seriously, I can not stress enough how powerful this tactic is. By doing this, you are focusing on depth over width.
Depth over Width on Instagram:
To create real depth in Instagram, you must leave comments. Instagram is hot right now—blazing inferno type of hot. That means there are tons of people trying to game the system. Those people will leave a comment like “Nice pic”, copy the comment and leave that same comment on 100 other users profiles. They want to put the minimal amount of time in to get you over to follow their account.
To create real depth in Instagram, you first have to make Insta-worthy content. If your account sucks, don’t even try this.
The next part is to leave real comments: about the user, about the photo, or whatever you can. The comment can’t be generic. It must be specific and relevant to the user.
Better yet, send a personalized video to your Instagram followers!
Depth over Width on Pinterest:
Pinterest is one of the few social medias that has no video capability. It is also one of the few social media’s where following a user doesn’t mean jack. You can’t game the system by following and unfollowing. It just doesn’t work.
The way to create real depth in Pinterest is how you engage.
For instance, every few days, I check who is pinning from my website. To do this go to https://www.pinterest.com/source/insertyoururlhere.com/ (https://www.pinterest.com/source/dscience.co/) our page for example.
I then go to each of their pins and thank them for pinning. I make sure to follow them and share their content if I can.
Every time I see someone pin many of our pins, I reach out to them in the messenger system on Pinterest to thank them, personally.
This drives really deep relationships, and usually nets me more repins on my articles. That’s a double whammy!
Depth over Width on Snapchat:
Snapchat not only allows you to send personalized videos to people like Twitter. Snapchat gives you direct access to exactly what is MOST important to them. It shows you what is “valuable” to your audience. It shows you what they do on their free time, and what their hopes, dreams and aspirations are.
Snapchat is an amazing tool to listen to your audience and engage with them on a deep level.
For example, a Snapchat friend (@blakec432) created a new goal to write every single day and blog every single day no matter how much he dislikes it. He set a goal, and is setting out to master writing.
Now…I write every day.
I blog three times every week on our website, and I have a few tips and tricks to writing. Seeing as I could help Blake, I shot him over a bunch of mini videos giving him some tips.This was catered, and personalized content.
What I did, in a matter of 45 seconds is build a DEEP relationship, with a Snapchat user. One who happens to have a lot of social clout in this space. Because I created a piece of content that not only helped him be a more effective writer, it said “you are important, and I support you.”
Depth Over Width on any platform is simply done by having the right mindset.
Instead of trying to figure out how to sell your agenda, you simply look at how you can add real value to someone else’s life. In the end, they naturally will want to give back and join your community, share your content, buy your book, or whatever you need.
Love the strategy? Think there’s more to it!? Let us know in the comments!
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