What to expect: In this article, I talk about some growth tips for new content creators which include the importance of mastering one social media platform establishing goals, finding a platform, how to win on that platform and finally, if a dedicated platform can be an answer for you.
I recently wrote an article titled: A Content Creator’s Guide to Web3. In it, I discuss the importance of a loyal audience, how to leverage that audience, and how to win in Web3.
What I didn’t necessarily cover are some specific best practices for new creators and the actual strategy behind growing an audience when getting traction seems difficult.
One of the most effective ways to grow an audience, especially if you are a new creator, is to approach the endeavor with a proper plan of attack and to understand the importance of leveraging existing mediums.
Some important elements of that plan include a few things:
- Focus on ONE existing social platform where your users spend time
- Create content consistently to grow a following
- (Monetize) Sponsored posts, advertisements, promote products
- Convert to your own website, email list, app, etc. using incentives
- (Monetize) Sell your own merchandise, digital products, information products, services, etc.
- Scale…scale more.
I think the most important stage is the very first part. Building a new audience is the most difficult prospect for a new creator. Once you do so, you have so much wiggle room to test ideas, products, and more.
So naturally, I will focus a bit on that in this post. And as mentioned, my recommended approach is to focus almost religiously on one platform as you are starting out.
Platform Mastery – the key to growing an audience
It might seem tempting to publish content and share it on all social platforms whenever possible.
While that is a good idea to find out which platform works for you, it is not the best idea to grow and scale (in my opinion).
I refer to this simply as platform mastery. This means you own a small section of a particular niche within a category on that platform. Of course, the niche can be shared by multiple brands/influencers depending on how large that section is.
The simple reason this is such a powerful strategy is brand and content recognition. It is extremely important to establish a cadence early on to let your audience know where, when, and what type of content you will be publishing. One consistent look and feel is vital to being memorable. And that’s not to mention all of the logistical reasons behind platform focus like resource scarcity, the time required to grow, etc.
An important factor in dictating your success on that platform is naturally, the earlier you get there and begin carving out your niche/topic, the more likely you are to succeed.
This may sound a little concerning for emerging creators who may think that they are too late to find success on platforms such as TikTok or of course, legacy platforms like Twitch or YouTube.
Thankfully for those creators, there are hordes of addicted consumers swiping endlessly, ready to stumble upon your content.
At Liquiditeam, one of our goals is actually to encourage more platform independence. So why would I be writing a post about how to effectively master an existing platform?
To put it simply, if you are a new creator, it is much easier to build an audience by finding where users already spend most of their time. You need to win them there first. Think of those existing platforms like a marketing funnel. That is the top of the funnel. That is where the rabbit hole starts for you.
Let’s talk about how to leverage existing social media to grow an audience, then some strategies for each, then we will talk a little more about the next stage of the funnel: platform independence.
A proper plan of attack
1) Before you make a single piece of content, think about what your goals are. When you define your goals, you will have a better understanding of exactly which platforms and social strategies work best to achieve those goals. For example, if your goal is…
- To increase site traffic: Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn allow for more conversational exchange. Can be used to spark intrigue in your brand.
- Boosting brand awareness: TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter allow you to show more of yourself, and your unique tone, and use images/videos to better connect.
- Selling and converting users: LinkedIn, Email (if you consider it a channel), your website/app/platform (more on this later)
- Talent sourcing/recruiting: LinkedIn for recruiting, Instagram to show your brand and culture, Xing (if in Germany)
2) What is your product/service? For example, B2B brands like SaaS companies might be better suited to focus on account-based marketing, search/display advertising, and thought leadership/SEO. An eCommerce brand might be more successful using paid and organic Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms that encourage reflex actions.
3) Resource allocation: Some platforms are much trickier and harder to scale and grow on. Twitter, for example, requires constant oversight and heavy posting frequency. Your resource allocation determines which platforms you can actually invest in to get a high enough return on your time investment.
3) What skills are at your disposal? Are you good at video editing? Are you a graphic design wiz? Are you a funny/interesting copywriter or blogger? Your actual technical skills determine which platform would make sense. Starting a YouTube channel when you aren’t good on camera or poor with editing would be a poor choice. This is actually an impressively important factor and a lot of creators quit because they are fighting an uphill battle to actually push content out.
5) On which platform is your topic underserved or ripe for enhancement: As I mentioned earlier, being late isn’t always a bad thing. If your topic is already being covered by various creators, this is an opportunity for you to do some competitor analysis, and find out what content works out, and what content doesn’t. Pre-existing competitors in your topic is a disadvantage at a glance, but you can take a quantitative and measured approach when you can analyze prior success and replicate or optimize where applicable.
When it’s time to create content, the three most important factors are quality, consistency, and quantity. Make good stuff regularly and often.
But if you want to
Grow, Convert, Scale
Once you begin to see traction, there comes a time when you can begin thinking about moving users further along the journey.
Naturally, your journey could end on social media. You can promote existing products via sponsored posts, and shout-out advertisers, and generate revenue through the native advertising tools (Google Adsense typically).
And then there is the wonderful world of creating your own digital revenue streams that you own and operate.
For most traditional companies, this means selling products or services on their website. Simple enough. We have all performed such a transaction.
For content creators, this could of course include products and services that you have created, affiliate products, but it could also include access. Access to you. Access to premium experiences and content. Access to exclusive groups and communities.
Think about what an influencer or content creator is and what their strengths are. The audience they are able to build while competing with existing powerful brands isn’t by accident. It’s because people are interested in other REAL people. Content creators‘ best attribute is their (perceived?)flat hierarchy with their fan base. Because of that fact, fans might be very keen on connecting with you. With you! Not the products you are peddling. Not the discount code for your fitness shakes. You. For creators, your best product might be the access you can offer.
And to create your own digital revenue streams, you will need a website, app, or place for your fans to navigate to.
At Liquiditeam, we have just the thing.
Web2 meets Web3 for Creators
Our core product at Liquiditeam is Unyfy, a Web3 content and community management system that enables creators to launch their own fan platform where they can publish free/premium written content, videos, podcasts, and more. Creators can also launch their own creator token, mint utility NFTs, and host fan participation content like votings, AMAs, and more.
It’s customizable but not overwhelming to get started as you can disable or enable whichever features you don’t need.
We created a dedicated article that breaks down exactly how you can use the platform ranging from the tokens, votings, participation modules, and more. Check out the full article here.
I’ll give a brief summary:
- Distribute or sell your own creator token that can be used within the platform to boost ideas, participate in votings, and show support for ideas.
- Publish free/premium content that can be gated by tokens, subscriptions, and even NFTs (they need to own an NFT to access that content).
- As mentioned, you can mint, distribute, and sell NFT collections all easily within the platform. I wrote an article called „4 Unique Ways Creators Can Use NFTs„. Check that out and see why this could be amazing for you.
The best part is that it’s simple to set up and use. No coding, design, or heavy customization is needed.
Check out the Unyfy to read a little more about it.
So let’s repeat the plan:
- Focus on ONE existing social platform where your users spend time
- Create content consistently to grow a following
- (Monetize) Sponsored posts, advertisements, promote products
- Convert to your own website, email list, app, etc. using incentives
- (Monetize) Sell your own merchandise, digital products, information products, services, etc.
- Scale…scale more.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that it can be a slow burn and that consistency prevails.
Good luck!
