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I was recently inspired by the story of a brand that recently made it big. That brand is Charisma On Command, which is all about ways you can present yourself more engagingly and persuade others. The channel is doing very well now on YouTube and in one video, the presenter explained how this success came only once they decided to focus on YouTube and stop concentrating purely on their blog.

The difference was immediately apparent. YouTube gave the creators a way to convey their personalities and thereby to build much closer relationships with their audience. At the same time, they were able to stand out with high quality production values and with a channel that looked and sounded instantly engaging.

And this is something that you should DEFINITELY consider as well if you are currently trying to grow an audience. Here is why:

It’s Not as Hard As You Think

You might be thinking that you don’t have what it takes to create a successful YouTube camera. Maybe you’re reluctant to go in front of the camera or maybe you don’t believe you have the necessary skills.

Firstly, note that a lot of successful YouTube channels like ASAPScience and Mr. Sunday Movies don’t ever go in front of the camera either. As for editing etc., this can often be accomplished through outsourcing.

You Can Stand Out

When head onto YouTube, you can immediately stand out in a way that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. You know those reservations we just addressed? Those are the same reservations held by countless other creators and as such, fewer brands are on YouTube than have blogs.

SEO Actually Works

Because of this lower competition, SEO on YouTube is much simpler and more effective. If you want to become the top video for a popular search term, it’s a simple matter of creating something great, adding the right keywords and then thinking about how you can link it with other popular videos so it will be a suggested video.

It’s Highly Engaging

Finally, video give you the opportunity to get your personality across, to convey emotion and to generally engage your audience in a manner that simply isn’t possible with the written word alone. This means people will be much more likely to subscribe and you can even ask them to follow you on social media, or to sign up to your mailing list.

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If you want to create a big audience for your website, business or brand, then social media is likely one of the first platforms you considered. Social networks are all about finding people, brands, products and services we like and then following them. It opens up a line of communication between a company and its fans and this creates a lot of opportunity.

But it’s not easy to stand out in such a crowded space. And it’s not easy to encourage action. So with that in mind, let’s look at some top tips for building your audience on social media…

Add a Twitter Feed for Your Blog

This is a pretty simple and specific tip but it works wonders. If your site uses WordPress (and it should), then look up a widget that will allow you to show your Twitter feed right in the sidebar. Do the same for your Instagram.

Now, when someone lands on your page, they will not only see your social media channel and have the option to sign up but they will also see what it’s like and what they can expect if they do sign up!

Communicate

Remember, social media is first and foremost a communication tool. That means that you should not only post ‘at’ people but also ask them questions, create competitions and generally get the community involved.

This engagement will mean your page is shown on more homefeeds but it will also build more trust with your audience.

Sell the Dream

This one is particularly important on Instagram but here the tip is to make sure that you are portraying the lifestyle you wish to promote through your social media. Learn who your channel is targeting and think about the kinds of things that get them motivated. Try to inspire them or to fascinate them because ultimately it is emotion that drives decision.

Post Regularly

This one is the most important of all: post regularly. This is especially true on Facebook where only a small percentage of your followers see each post. Find ways to make it easier to post more content by using scheduled posting tools, by using apps that post automatically and by linking your various accounts.

Whatever you do, just make sure that you don’t have periods of radio silence on your social media because attention spans are short and momentum is everything!

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If you know your niche and you want to build a massive following, then one of the very best things you can do is to engage actively in the community.

So, let’s say you have a well designed site and brand and you just posted a fascinating article on free running. You now have to go about sharing that article in order to get readers and to hopefully gain a few more followers in the process.

One tip you’ll get often is to head to a forum or another online community such as Reddit or Google Plus and then to post there. In doing this, you’ll be gaining exposure for your creation and getting lots of new eyes on it.

Problem: if you head over to r/FreeRunning and post your article, it will probably get downvoted and possibly deleted. And only one person will see it.

Why? Because you’re engaging in blatant self-promotion and close-knit, supportive online communities don’t take kindly to that. Even if the content is good. Not only that, but they don’t know you from Adam and they likely have a number of views and policies, several of which you probably violated.

The Other Approach

Now consider the other approach. You spend time in that community actively taking part. You comment on other people’s posts, you helpfully answer questions and you make friends with several of the members.

Then when you post your article, people see it is written by you. They know you and they trust you and so they click it. And because many people in the community will feel obligated to you and indebted to you for helping them out, they’ll be far more likely to share what you’ve posted in other places.

You now have the force of a whole community behind you. These people are practically guaranteed fans and backers and because you understand this audience so well, you can keep writing content you know is going to be a massive hit with them.

So, the bottom line is this: if you want to grow your audience then you should absolutely spend time in the community making yourself known. This can be transformative in the eventual success of what you release and it’s something that very few creators have used to the fullest of their capability.

And then you can find more communities and repeat the process!

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Think about the type of brands that you follow online and the sites you’ve subscribed to. What do they all have in common?

Chances are high that all of them have great production values and a high-quality presentation. They probably have beautiful logos, modern websites that are mobile friendly and active social media channels.

And when you land on a site that doesn’t have these things – that looks like a kid built it in the 90s – you will be instantly put off from following.

So, what does that mean? To grow your audience, you need to invest money. And not necessarily in marketing or other ‘obvious’ methods for increasing an audience. I’m talking about investing in designers, artists and writers.

Imagine Your New Site

Many people who start online businesses don’t have huge budgets to spend on design and other factors. They might also wonder if it’s really necessary for building their audience.

Well the first thing to recognize is that yes, spending that money on good design is 100% necessary. What’s more, is that it probably isn’t quite as expensive as you think it will be. Instead of struggling to make your own logo which will likely look grainy and which will put people off of your website, instead head over to 99Designs and get one made for you for a decent amount of money. It might cost you a hundred or two hundred dollars but the result will be something that informs your audience what you’re all about and that demonstrates your brand has the resources and skill to build something great.

Imagine these same higher production values for your website, for your writing and for every other aspect of your business. Suddenly your site comes alive with youthful energy and it starts to look like the top competitors in your niche.

Why This Really Matters

This matters because if your site looks amateurish, people will assume your information, your products or your services are amateurish too. As such, they’ll be less likely to sign up and less likely to invest time and money into engaging with your brand.

A good place to start is with a PayPal loan. This is a flexible and simple loan for small businesses that places no pressure on rapid repayments. It’s a good way to give your business a little nudge in the right direction with zero risk.

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Unless you are a celebrity like Katy Perry or Barack Obama, you’re going to have to work hard to build your initial following on Twitter. Rather than making slow-and-steady progress, you need to treat your Twitter account as a priority for a couple of months and create lots of content. Studies have shown that the more you tweet, the quicker you can build your followers. To help you dramatically increase your twitter following, here are five methods you can try.

Utilize Your LinkedIn and Email Connections

Studies have shown that you are more likely to be followed by someone that you already know. One easy way to do this is by finding your LinkedIn connections on Twitter and following them. While Twitter doesn’t have a way to do this, you can export your contacts into a .CSV file and upload them to your email account contacts. From there you can import your email contact into Twitter.

4. Buy Them

Facebook has some of the most targeted advertising at your disposal. You can use Facebook advertisements to drive more people to your page with the hopes of converting them into fans. With this method, it is crucial that you have a compelling call to action on your page to turn these new fans into customers.

5. Cross Promote

A part of your overall social media strategy should include cross-promoting your content across multiple social media platforms. Drive some of your Twitter or YouTube followers over to your Facebook page by providing them with high-quality content and quality engagement on your Facebook fan page.

Just like with all your marketing efforts, it is going to take some time to build your fan base on Facebook. By creating great content and engaging with your audience you’ll turn your Facebook Fan page into a thriving community.

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As of 2017, Twitter had more than 328 million active monthly users on its site. This makes Twitter a potentially powerful business marketing tool if you know how to use it. Leveraging the popular 280-character social media site to drive more traffic to your business doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are the top tips for successfully marketing on Twitter and building your brand.

Optimize Your Twitter Bio

To get the most out of Twitter, you need to make sure that your company voice and identity are branded and optimized. This means that your bio needs to tell people who you are and include a link to your landing page or website. It is also essential that you keep a consistent tone with all of your Tweets so that people can clearly understand who you are and what your business does.

Interact with Your Industry Influencers

As you begin to post to Twitter, find out who the experts and influencers are in your industry and interact with them regularly. You can use Twitter search or similar tools to find like-minded customers and influencers by searching the keywords that are related to your industry. Once you discover the right people, follow them and interact with them on a daily basis.

Tweet Regularly

One sign of an active and healthy profile is regular tweeting. If you are only tweeting once a week, or once a month people are going to forget about you and your business. To stay on the top of your audience’s mind on a consistent basis, you need to send out daily postings. The information you tweet needs to be useful and relevant that your followers will read, click on, and retweet.

Offer Discounts to Twitter Followers

Run Twitter contests to get your followers engaged with your business. You can give a specific number of people who retweet your posts special discounts off your products or services or hold a random drawing based on the people that upload pictures of them using your product or visiting your store. 

Integrate it With Your Other Marketing Efforts

Twitter will become much more useful for your business if you integrate it with your other marketing activities. By engaging your audience in more than one marketing effort, you are increasing your reach and followers.

Like all the other social media platforms, the more effort you put into your marketing efforts, the higher the chances of you finding success. These simple tips can help you maximize your marketing efforts on Twitter to build your brand and increase your followers.

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Facebook continues to be one of the most popular and influential social media platforms in the world with more than one billion active users. As a business, you can no longer continue to leave Facebook out of your online marketing strategy. If you want to grow your business, you have to have a presence on Facebook. However, to be successful, and build your Facebook fan base, you have to be engaged with your audience. Here are five of the best ways that you can boost Facebook engagement and increase your fan base.

Ask Questions

A great way to spark dialogue with your audience is to ask them questions. It is by far one of the easiest ways and best methods to boost audience engagement on your Facebook fan page. There are various types of questions that you can ask to get your fans talking.

Get the Timing Right

When it comes to uploading content to your Facebook page, timing is crucial. The last thing that you want to do is update your wall when everyone is working or asleep. Numerous studies have proven that the best way to engage with your audience is to post at 9 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm. These are the times that your audience is most likely to check for updates. If you don't think you can remember to post at these times, you can always utilize a free scheduling tool to ensure you get the timing right.

Include Call to Actions

Placing a call to action on your page instills psychological nudges that can help you drive your audience to respond the way you want. Something that many businesses miss when they update their Facebook page is a call to action. People tend to respond better when they are told what to respond to.

Utilize Facebook Ads

Due to Facebook's newest algorithm, only a small fraction of your audience will get to see the wall posts on your Facebook page. If you want to boost the engagement of your audience, you can promote it through page post story ads, which will help your posts reach more people.

Posting Frequency

The frequency that you post has been shown to have a significant effect on Facebook engagement. According to recent studies, businesses that post one or two times per day have 40 percent higher engagement rate than those who post more than three times per day.

What works for some businesses may not work for others when it comes to boosting audience engagement. However, these tips have proven to help increase engagement when used correctly.

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If you own a small business, you are probably well aware of how important social media can be for increasing your bottom line. However, getting started on social media can be incredibly daunting. With all the different options and ways to gain followers, one can quickly become overwhelmed. Here are the top five ways your business can gain more social media followers and increase your bottom line.

1. Create Strong Profiles and Pages

The best way to start growing your audience on any of the social media platforms is to create strong profiles and pages for your accounts. You need to include branded cover photos as well as profile photos, and detailed descriptions of your business.

2. Share Quality Content

As you begin your journey to gain more social media followers, you need to create and share high-quality, value-added content that your target audience will enjoy. This can include blog content, videos, podcasts, infographics, presentations, etc. This content can be created by you or by others.

3. Add Links

Not only do you want to be sure to include links to all your social media profiles on your business website, but you want to include your site link in all your social media profiles. It will also help to add links to your top social accounts in your email signature. Adding these links will help you to expand your reach and broaden your exposure.

4. Use Friend-Finding Features

Most of the social media networks provide ways for their users to connect with other people they know. As you first start to use social media to build your brand, you want to ask people you know to follow your account. By having them like and follow you on different platforms, you gain more exposure to a broader audience base.

5. Cross-Promote Your Social Accounts

If you already have a large audience on one of your social media accounts, why not use that to your advantage. Ask followers to connect with you on your other accounts. This can be as simple as sending out a tweet to your Twitter followers asking them if they are on Instagram, and if they are, asking them to follow you there as well.

Growing your social media followers is easy to do but will take some time. The more effort you put into creating valuable content for your target audience the more followers you’ll gain.

Not even the most significant leaders can escape periods where they lack self-confidence. Your self-confidence isn't a static quality but rather a mindset that, when the going gets rough, takes some effort to maintain. It is something that must be learned, practiced, and mastered just like all your other skills. When you can master it, your life will change for the better. Here are six ways you can build your self-confidence.

Act the Part

The one thing that can instantly demonstrate self-assuredness, or scream insecurity, is your body language. You always want to present yourself in ways that say that you are ready to master any situation. Looking confident and acting the part will allow you to feel more in control and people will be much more confident with you as well.

Dress the Part

When you look better, you tend to feel better. Choosing clothing that fits well and suits your industry and lifestyle and that makes you feel good will automatically increase your self-esteem. You have to look like the part you want to play.

Speak Assertively

Great speakers speak confidently, in a steady and rhythmic tone, rather than the flow being interrupted by the “ums” and “ahs.” To build your confidence, adopt an assertive way of speaking that indicates your self-confidence. Avoid high-pitched, nervous chatter and giggles in your speech.

Think and Act Positively

Positive energy will always lead to positive outcomes, so create a mindset that sets your mind to the can-do side of situations. Also, avoid the negative self-talk that can make you feel less confident. Always look for ways to smile, laugh, and surround yourself with positive people.

Take Action

There is more to being confident than merely dressing and acting the part. You have to take action. Inaction will breed doubt and fear while taking action will breed confidence and courage. When you practice being self-confident, you will soon find that it has become second nature.

Be Prepared

The more prepared you are for any given situation, the more confident you’ll feel about your competency and expertise. Being prepared will help you to avoid getting tripped up by life’s unexpected challenges. Learn everything you can about your industry, your goals, and what drives you to success.