Social media is a great tool for boosting a company’s online presence, build their brand, drive traffic to one’s website, and close sales. However, building a decent following is challenging.

One effective way to build a following is to tap into an already existing base – that of the competition – and convince their followers to choose you instead. Here are four ways on how you can steal your competitor’s followers.

1. Start Casting Your Networking Net

Successful business owners have one particular skill in common – they’re all expert networkers. So if you want your company to grow, you have to start casting your net and begin networking. Reach out to sites that are in a similar area of interest, as well as other overlapping niches.

The first step to your networking journey would be to scope out the competition and learn more about them and their followers. One way to do this is to follow them on social media. You can also search Google for competitors which have the most active fan base and community. There’s a lot to learn from observing your rivals, like how often they post or how reactive they are to their followers. From there, you can pinpoint which followers have the most influence or the most active. You can then reach out and start engaging with them.

2. Share Information to Develop Relationships

You want to develop good relationships with your social media followers. One great way to do this is to offer value without expecting anything in return (yet). You can start by answering questions they posted on social media. Not only do you get to interact with them, but you can also start to establish yourself as an expert, someone they can go to for answers. You can also offer to connect them with someone they need.

Once you have helped them, it would be easier to ask them for their assistance in return. They would also be more willing to help you, whether it’s by sharing content, purchasing a product, or referring someone.

3. Make Referrals a Good Thing

Your social network would undoubtedly include some customers. Take advantage of this by incentivizing referrals. A lot of businesses have a referral program so they can leverage their social network. This often comes in the form of freebies or discounts.

Affiliate marketing is another way to leverage your social media followers. Tell them about your affiliate programs but make sure that you do it in a way that won’t make them feel pressured. Try to convince your followers that this is a win-win situation; they get incentives when they refer someone and you get to secure some sales.

4. Don’t Forget to Say Thanks

Sadly, many companies forget to express their gratitude to their followers. When your loyal customers or followers go beyond what’s expected of them, make sure they know how much you appreciate it. Thanking the individual immediately after they helped is the best practice. You should then follow it up a few weeks later and thank them once again.

Building your social media followers is a fool-proof way to secure new clients, score new leads, and develop connections with peers that can assist you in building your company. You can build your base by stealing your rival’s followers. Interacting with them, creating strong connections, and showing that you’re grateful for their help are just some ways to do this.  

[Featured image via Pixabay]