So you’ve amassed a following- congratulations! You’re now on your way to becoming a successful creator. However, it’s not enough to get an audience: now you have to keep them entertained. There have been plenty of creators who upload content that goes viral, and then a massive wave of new followers find them. These followers won’t stick around if you aren’t uploading content that they enjoy. While it’s impossible to please everyone, as a content creator, your success depends on maintaining an audience. Here are some tips for keeping your audience entertained, which will ensure your success as a creator.

Be Authentic

Content creators are often beloved for their unique personalities. Top creators on TikTok, YouTube, and other social media sites have amassed a following and kept it by being true to themselves. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of creators that copy and paste their content or personality from elsewhere- that is not how you create and maintain a loyal following! People want to see you for who you are as an individual. Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through your content. The more authentic and genuine you are with your audience, the more relatable you will be to them. People want someone to connect with, especially when we’re all recovering from isolation and separation. If you are a funny person, be humorous in your content. If you’re naturally shy, don’t over-exaggerate a false persona for the sake of your audience. People come to you for the only thing they can get from you: you! Embrace your personality, and the authenticity will translate into better, more relatable content.

Get Creative

It can be tempting to imitate the style of a creator you like. While it’s good to stay on top of trends, focus on producing fresh and entertaining content. Your audience will appreciate that you’re dedicating time and effort to giving them something they haven’t seen before. It can be beneficial to do brainstorming sessions, where you sit down and plan out ideas for content you can create. The best way to get more creative with your content is to find your niche and hone in on it. Once you’ve defined your niche and your audience has proven they enjoy that niche, you can dig deeper and come up with new and creative ideas.

Consult the Numbers

Nearly every popular platform has analytics available to its creators. These numbers are incredibly powerful tools that help you learn what content your viewership enjoys most. Posts and uploads that get a lot of engagement represent content that you should make more of. Similarly, if a post gets very few likes, comments, clicks, etc., then it’s most likely not something your audience is very interested in. Aside from traditional metrics, analytics can also tell you about your audience’s demographics. For example, if your viewership is primarily female, you can research and prepare content for that demographic. The same applies to age demographics as well. Analytics is an incredible tool to improve your audience’s entertainment and retention.

Ask the Audience

While you can use analytics and engagements to learn about what your audience likes, there’s a much more direct way: ask them! There are several ways to do this. You can ask for comment feedback, you can post polls, or you can make use of social media reactions. There are plenty of ways you can directly ask your audience questions to gain vital feedback. A good example of a popular question is, “What kind of content do you want to see from me?” This singular question can give you tons of information on the type of content you need to focus on, giving you a clear sense of direction to be more successful!

Stay Current

If you want to keep your audience entertained, you must keep up with current trends in your area or niche. Follow trends, be an early adopter, and spend time daily keeping up with the next big thing. Typically, successful creators stay on top of the trends as they arise, and plenty of creator tools can help you do research. This will also help you maximize new viewership- posting current, relevant, and trending content will allow you to capitalize on the popularity wave of new trends and draw in new followers from it. Once you have them, keep them entertained by continually working on fresh and current content.

Use Contests and Giveaways

While this may not be relevant for every type of creator, many see success in boosting engagement by running contests and giveaways. There’s a wide range of things you can do with this. There are also a lot of opportunities with this, as you might partner with a brand or company to sponsor said giveaway or contest. It could be something small, like giving away a bundle of makeup products, or something major, such as a vacation sweepstake. Running some sort of promotion will drive your engagement up overnight. However, you cannot rely on this as a continual form of audience entertainment in most cases. It’s perfect for giving you a temporary boost to gain momentum, but you should focus on your content creation more than anything else. While contests and giveaways help draw in new followers, the content is how you keep the viewers.

The Big Picture: Provide value to your audience.

Focus on providing value to your audience. Is your primary goal to make them laugh? Do you focus on educating your audience on a specific topic? Whatever your goal is, you need to make sure the content you post is providing some kind of value to your audience. This value will keep the audience coming back for more, time and time again. As a creator, you are your own brand, and you are a commodity. Learn how to capitalize on that commodity, and you’ll have a loyal audience following your progress every step of the way.