The toughest part about creating brand awareness is building a following that cares about your brand.

Let’s say that you have high-quality content and that you have established your brand. That is really just the first step in the equation. You now need to figure out how to build a following online. In other words, how do you get people to like you?[adrotate group=”4″]

The importance of being likable

Why do you need people to like you? Likability is the second element to establishing what is known as the “know, like, trust” factor. This factor is the core of building a successful audience base. It is important to strengthen this factor in order to drive traffic and see results.

When focusing on the “like” element, you are really trying to figure out how to build a following online. The key is to build quality relationships in order to increase your likability.[adrotate group=”4″]

Imagine that you are faced with two different people offering the exact same product for the same price. The first person is dull and lacks any personality. The second person is friendly, engaging, and makes you feel positive. Which person would you prefer to do business with? This is the essence of likability.

Here is a list of ten ways to increase your likability:

1. Keep it real: Remember to stay authentic and use your content to express your unique voice.

2. Let your true personality shine through: Don’t be afraid to share who you really are. You’ll gain more popularity if you are passionate, open, and personal.

3. Stay nice: Make sure you are always engaging with your audience in a positive way. Be available, respond promptly, and provide helpful advice. Additionally, try to avoid annoying or speaking ill of people. If you treat people with respect, your audience should respond in kind.

4. Engage in interactive dialogue: Open yourself up to two-way conversations with your audience by inviting them to interact with you. Easy and effective ways to do this are by encouraging blog post comments and asking questions in your autoresponders.

5. Keep up with the times: Understanding your audience’s current interests and concerns will allow you to increase your likability. Read your audience comments, do some research, and ask questions. Take those concepts and create relevant blog posts, an entertaining webinar, or a powerful autoresponder.

6. Get your face out there: It can be comfortable and easy to hide in your office and write all day, but you can sometimes make more of an impression by actually showing your face or, at least, using your voice. Consider adding video interviews, Google hangouts, or even podcasts to your content. Your audience is more prone to like you if they can see or hear you.

7. Show them you’re a real person: It’s important for people to see that you have a face and a personality. Ditch the egg in favor of a picture on your social media profile. Post some captivating photos on your website. Use your About page to give life to your business story. All of these are simple tricks to creating a friendly and likable image.

8. Adjust your social media ratio: Bear in mind that you should be devoting 95% effort to relationship building and 5% to selling.

9. Share and share alike: Be generous with your time and efforts. Make sure you are sharing content and promoting other people. You can’t expect people to share your content if you aren’t committed to doing the same.

10. Show your social proof: Don’t be shy about showing the tweets and shares of your content or even publicly stating your subscriber numbers. Your popularity may appeal to and attract a wider audience.

Likability is an important element to increase your audience. Hopefully, these steps can help guide you in the right direction.

Want more help with your business?

If you like the above tips, you are going to love working with Success Harbor.

See the many ways we can help your business on our “Hire us” page.

[adrotate group=”2″]

 

 

photo credit: Lovro Artuković, The Face of the Painting