It’s time to talk about building a social media strategy that works.

No matter the type or size of your business, having a strong social media strategy is important. You don’t have to be an expert to find success on social media.

Getting People to the Party With an Effective Social Media Strategy

I want you to think of your social media profiles like a party! And people can’t come to your party and have a great time if they don’t know about it or show up.

I’m going to break this down into seven ways for you to step up your social media strategy to attract more followers.

Seven Ways to Step Up Your Social Media Strategy 1. Be Visual

If your social media page is a party, think about how you signify to real-life guests where to find your party. You put out balloons and maybe a sign. You want to make it really clear: THIS IS THE PLACE TO BE!

Do the same thing when you post content on your social media page: make it visual whenever possible. This will instantly set your content and posts apart. Can you add a photo or video? Is there a graphic you can create? There are tons of apps and tools to help you create visual content in less than a minute. I’ve got a list of a few of my favorites on my Social Media Cheat Sheet.

2. Be Interesting

The human brain is designed to ignore anything that is familiar. It’s constantly scanning its environment and labeling, categorizing and discarding anything that isn’t necessary for survival. It’s crazy.

It’s the reason that I can say, “If at first you don’t succeed . . . “ and you instantly know how to finish that sentence. Your brain finishes it for you and moves on. But if I say, “If at first you don’t succeed, then skydiving probably isn’t for you,” then that stands out because it’s interesting.

Related: Ep 31: Branding the Look and Tone of Your Busines

3. Be Varied

When you add variety to your content on your social media strategy, it keeps people coming back for more because you’ve added an element of surprise and delight. It’s the same reason that I could go into T.J. Maxx twice a week but I won’t go into a department store more than twice a year. Department stores don’t have as much variety as T.J. Maxx! The variety is addicting and it draws you in again and again. Mix up the types of post you’re putting out into the world to keep your follower’s attention.

Related: Get the Most Out of Your Content

4. Be Engaging

If you want to grow your impact on social media, you need to increase your engagement.

Engagement indicates how many people acted on your post—they didn’t just view it or scroll past it; they responded in some way. They liked it, shared it, retweeted it, left a comment, etc.  Any of these are great things because the more people that engage with your posts, the more “successful” the platform views that post and the more likely they are to show it to even more people. When it comes to your social media strategy, pay attention to what types of your posts get people to do something.

5. Be Responsive

In life and on social media, one-way conversations are not fun. That’s why you should set aside a few minutes each day to respond to comments and feedback you receive. Your customers are more likely to respond to your content (remember: engage!) when you respond to them and engage. Treat others how you want to be treated, right? So if you want more responses, be more responsive.

Related: 3 Ways to Connect With Your Tribe Using Social Media Content

6. Be Consistent

If your social media followers see you four times a day for months, and then you choose to go off the grid, they’ll be