This article is for the brands starting out on social media. Like, you could literally be opening your Instagram account today, you’re that new. Either way, you have a small following, and you are seeking to grow. I highly recommend you read the advice I offer in this article.

However, firstly, I must ask you this. Do you know what content you’ll be creating? Ok, just in case your answer is, “No!”, let’s cover that quickly. What content do you think your audience would like? Can you show them something funny? Inspirational? Educational? Have you got great product pictures? A quote your brand lives by? A founder story? Ok, well share one of those.

Now, that was the easy part of brand building on social media. Creating content that tells your brand story is easy because you live it every day. You don’t have to think about it, just go ahead and share it. Social media users live for that content. But there’s something else you mustn’t miss out.

There’s a part of building brand awareness on social media that many brands omit, forget or are too lazy (Yes, I said it. Sometimes we have to be cruel to be kind) to participate in. You also need to actively build your community by seeking out potential customers and engaging with them. Not potential customers like your mum, dad, neighbours and best mates. But a group of people that you can build a business around.

Sure, hashtags will get your content seen, but nothing beats relationship building like leaving comments and liking potential customers’ content. That’s where the leg work is. Many brands stop at the creating part. Some awesomely talented brands may, in fact, get away with it, but for many of us, we need to put in the work building relationships.

Building brand awareness on social media is a strategy that must have a long term goal. However, you speed up the process when you make it a two-way game. The same way you expect your customers to engage with you, even if it’s for just 15 minutes daily, start engaging with them.