A loyal, engaged social media following is one of the most important assets for any creator or business in today’s world but it can be difficult to stand out when there is so much competition for attention. It takes a special combination of skill, industry knowledge and timing to build an audience of superfans, but if you get it right – you can have significant influence over culture and spread the ideas that you really care about.
We chatted to Alex Ketchum, a young Jewish-Canadian social media creator who is taking the worlds of YouTube and Instagram by storm – to ask him about some of his tips for growing an online audience. His success has been a beacon of light for fellow content creators, and over the past few years he has risen to the upper echelons of social media success. Hopefully you can take away some of his wisdom and apply it wherever you are trying to grow your audience.
1. Be Authentic
There is a temptation online to try and pander to what you think people want to see but this is very transparent to outside observers. Content consumers are looking for real, authentic expressions that show the world from your unique viewpoint, so focus on making the content that makes you come alive and infuse it with your own personality, raw and unfiltered. That’s how you build real relationships with those who follow you.2. High Energy
When people are scrolling through social media, they are immediately drawn to enthusiasm and energy because they are looking to escape. So, your content needs to be high energy in order to really grab the attention. If you’re not excited and enthused about what you’re making, then why should anyone else be? Ketchum is famously energetic in his videos and that really translates to his audience.3.Create Content Native to the Platform
YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. All of these platforms have different form factors, features and user behaviour. Instead of just creating something and using each platform for distribution, it’s important to tailor your content to what works on each individual platform. Ketchum has been very deliberate with which types of videos he posts on his YouTube and which will work better on Instagram. Understanding the native workings of each will give you a much better chance of success.4.Clear Call-to-Action
If someone watches your content and gets right to the end, they were clearly compelled by it and if they leave that interaction without joining your tribe – then you lose out on building a relationship with that person. Ketchum focuses on being very clear on call to actions so that his viewers know exactly how to join the family and they keep coming back again and again.5.Go Above and Beyond
Ketchum always tries to stretch the idea of his content to see just how far he can push things. This means he is always getting out of his comfort zone and bringing his audience along for the ride – often resulting in hilarious consequences. Under-promise and over-deliver and you’ll be able to achieve a loyal audience.
Being a content creator isn't easy, but if you keep those 5 tips in mind, you’ll be in a great position to build your own audience online. If you would like to keep up-to-date with Ketchum, you can do so by following him on Instagram.