Quick Info:
| Why care? | Building relationships with complimentary accounts online helps you to reach more of your ideal audience. |
| Cost: | FREE |
| Who should do this: | All Businesses |
| Platform: | Social Media |
| How? | Read on… |
What’s the deal with engagement?
If you’re using social media exclusively as a place to post about your own stuff, you’re missing the point. Social media works best when it’s used as it was intended – as a place to be social!
Think of it like a conversation. If it’s a good one, the flow of dialogue goes both ways. (Unlike Aunt Patty’s endless monologues about her latest ailment, or personal opinions on kids these days.) So, how do you do that on social media? You do it by watching & interacting with the content that others are creating, just as much – if not more – than the amount you put out, yourself.
If you’re already feeling like this is going to require too much work, you need to shift your mindset. You and I know, you already spend time scrolling the app, so let’s make sure some of that time is spent on activities that will make you more money. mmkay?
How do I know which accounts to engage with?
You may think that the algorithm already has this figured out for you, which is why they fill your feed with those lovely suggestions (so damn frequently). But social platforms aren’t actually sending you suggestions that they think will help your business. They are working very hard to send you recommendations that they think will keep you on the app longer, therefore helping their business.
So instead of just scrolling your feed and seeing what pops up, we need to do this a little more mindfully as a business owner. And it starts with a little research.
The first step in finding complementary social media accounts is to determine who is the right fit for your brand. You want to look for complementary social media accounts that share a similar target audience to yours, but who are not your direct competitors.
For example, if you are an artist who creates art using dried flowers, you may want to collaborate with local florists & wedding planners, instead of collaborating with other dried flower artists. This way, you can cross-promote each other’s content and expand your reach without competing for sales.
More examples:
You are: A candle maker who specializes in aromatherapy
Look for:
- yoga studios
- self-care/wellness gurus
- massage therapists
- interior designers
- home decor shops
You are: A local lawn care business owner
Look for:
- realtors in your area
- local nurseries/garden centers
- local landscaping companies
- local pool/hot tub companies
- local micro-influencers who love to garden
Finding accounts:
Once you have a sense of who these complementary accounts might be, search hashtags and keywords related to these brands on social media to find new accounts.
You want to look for accounts that engage with their audience regularly. (This is more important than the size of their audience.) You can also use Google to find businesses in your area, and then look to see if they have an account on your social platform(s).
Once you have identified a potential complementary account, analyze their content to determine if it aligns with your brand values and messaging. You want to collaborate with accounts that have a similar voice as yours, so you know this audience will also connect with your voice.
How do I make this lucrative?
There are SO many ways that forming these relationships will end up turning into opportunities for mutually beneficial sales. But it doesn’t happen overnight. You need to build a relationship first. In order to get to the good stuff later, it’s important that you start today by finding the accounts who will become part of your online network.
So…
Today’s task
✅ Your task for today is to find (at least) 5 accounts on your social media channel of choice who meet the criteria listed above, and start following them.
✅ Click the notification bell on their profile to get a notification when they post, or save 1 post from each account into a folder called “Collaborators”, so you can easily find them again later.
✅ Bonus points: if you start engaging with these accounts on a regular basis, they will start magically showing up in your feed more, making it even easier to keep up with them regularly.
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