One of the biggest struggles creators face is growing and maintaining their audience. Your audience is the people who follow you, support you, and contribute to your success. Having a large and loyal audience will boost your posts, improve your analytics, and generate greater brand awareness for you. For new creators, it isn’t easy to grow your audience organically, especially when you’re just getting started with content. However, there are a few tried-and-true tips that can help you grow your following, no matter what platform you’re using. Here are 7 valuable tips for growing your audience as a content creator.

Tip #1: Post Regularly

If you are randomly uploading content every week or two, it’s nearly impossible to grow your audience. Just as you have to water a plant on a routine to make it grow, you need to be posting content frequently if you want to see any sort of growth. This does not mean that you need to have a set content schedule and upload on specific days, nor do you need to post multiple times per day. However, regularly updating your feed with fresh content is essential to growth.

Tip #2: Use Hashtags

Hashtags are not meaningless words tagged at the end of your posts. Rather, hashtags are powerful tools for content creators because they refine, filter, and narrow user feeds to show them relevant content. For example, if you are a content creator producing makeup tutorials on TikTok, you must use relevant hashtags such as #makeup, #mua, #tutorial, etc. This will take your videos and push them to users who have liked videos tagged similarly or ones that the algorithm has flagged as being interested in that kind of content. Social media platforms use their algorithms to curate individual feeds, and tagging your content will allow the algorithm to push it to new viewers. Many platforms let users search and filter by hashtags. Therefore, it’s essential to tag your content appropriately if you want that content to be shown to new users and grow your following.

Tip #3: Engagement is Everything

To truly own your audience, you must engage as much as possible. Replying to every comment is not feasible, but keeping up engagement with your audience has some benefits. It will foster greater loyalty and support and show other users that you are a responsive creator who cares about their audience. Don’t simply upload content and disappear until it’s time to upload next. Engage with your audience by replying to comments and DMs as much as you can, and it will amaze you how much it can do for your overall growth.

Tip #4: Focus on One Primary Platform

Having a powerful presence on multiple platforms is very helpful, but you shouldn’t rush into content creation trying to build up all your platforms at once. When you’re starting as a content creator, choose one “primary platform” and leverage most of your time and energy into building an audience there. Once you’ve established yourself on the primary platform, you can expand and synchronize your presence across other platforms to create a cohesive brand image. If you plan to be a YouTube creator, don’t spend too much of your initial time worried about your Instagram. Focus first on establishing yourself as a YouTuber, then carry that image (and audience!) over to Instagram. Make sure when selecting a primary platform that you consider where your target audience usually spends most of their time.

Tip #5: Pay Attention to Analytics

Nearly every popular social media platform offers its creators extensive analytics. These are more than numbers on your screen. Analytics can tell you what type of content your audience prefers, the demographics of your audience, and more. It’s important to be aware of trends and patterns in your analytics. If certain types of content are performing far better than others, it’s a good sign that your audience enjoys that style, and it would benefit you to post more of it. You may have posts that “flop” occasionally, but if certain things are routinely underperforming, it might be in your best interest to step away from that type of content.

Tip #6: Start with Low Commitment Content

What do we mean by “low commitment content?” The answer depends on your platform and niche, but often this means free, short-form content that doesn’t require your audience to pay or dedicate a significant amount of time to consume. For TikTok and YouTube creators, this may look like posting shorter videos that new viewers can watch quickly. From a shorter video clip, they can determine if they like you and your content or if it’s not what they’re interested in. They’re far more likely to watch a shorter video from a creator they aren’t familiar with, generating more exposure for you.

Tip #7: Be an Early Adopter

Content creation isn’t an undemanding job. You need to stay on top of what’s trending, and when new trends arise, being an early adopter can reward you with massive exposure. You should dedicate time each week to staying current with recent trends and popular topics. This will aid in your content creation by providing you with fresh ideas, but it will also increase the likelihood that you can capitalize on the initial popularity wave of a trend. You can find excellent examples of this on TikTok, where creators use up-and-coming trending sounds to boost their visibility. In the world of content creation, it pays to do your homework.

Ready to get a jumpstart on growing your audience?

Growing an audience, especially if you’re starting from scratch, might seem an impossible task. However, millions of content creators have done it successfully, and you can too. Having a plan for growing your audience is half the battle, and these tips will surely help you in your endeavor. As you grow, don’t forget where you came from. Appreciate those who have been by your side since the beginning, and don’t let the successes change you. After all, you are your own brand, so be loyal to yourself.