How To Gain More Of An Organic Following On Your Blog / Social Media

I received a DM from a new blogger the other day, she asked me how I gained so many followers on my blog and Bloglovin' and other social media outlets.


First of all, I'm not an expert and I'm not overly swimming with followers so I felt I could only offer what I have learnt over the years.


Gaining an organic following on social media isn't easy by any means. The only way you can gain a good amount of followers is through your own hard work.



I've made mistakes over the years but have also learnt so much. Not just by myself, but I've learnt through other blogger's online. They're honestly the best people to go to for advice, I follow blogger's who I know have an authentic following and also inspire me to work my arse off. You get nothing in this world without working hard.


Like I said, I've picked up tips over the years since I started blogging and also learnt from my errors. Here are some things I've learnt over the years -

1) DON'T  BUY  FOLLOWERS

Those pages who follow you on Instagram and claim they can gain you 10,000 followers by lunchtime, politely tell them to f**k off. You will never gain much respect from your real and genuine following if you buy followers. Come on guys, don't fall into that trap, work hard to gain an organic following.



2) USE  TWITTER  TO  YOUR  ADVANTAGE


Those blog sharing pages on Twitter? Use them to your absolute advantage. On a daily basis, those blog sharing Twitter pages will tweet a tweet inviting you to share your newest blog posts for everyone to have a read and comment on. For god sake, share your newest blog post, even if you do it on multiple different blogger sharing pages, you're getting your content out there. It's well worth the effort of copying and pasting the links. It can be tiresome sharing the same link all of the time, but it's worth it babes, honestly. Not just Twitter, share the hell out of your blog posts on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and even LinkedIn. It's worth the fuss and time consuming-ness. A brand could see your content and want to work with you. Surely it's well worth it then?

3) CONSISTENCY


Those blogs that provide consistent content and those Instagrammers who provide a new photo on a daily basis are more likely to gain a bigger following. Obviously don't put so much pressure on yourself to do that. Even I struggle to post something on Instagram on a daily basis. Also, your blog only needs to be updated a couple of times a week, or even once a week. I'm one of those people who feels guilty when I don't post a blog post. I like to keep on top of everything regarding my blog, it makes me feel good posting new content every week, plus I enjoy it. 


4) KEEP  ENGAGING

Comment on that blogger's blog post, comment on their newest Insta photo, comment on their latest tweet and save their Pinterest blog photo to your Pinterest. I will always aim to reply to every comment on my blog posts, I like to acknowledge those who have taken the time to read and comment. I also like to reciprocate, it's like returning the favour. I love reading and commenting on blog posts, it's one of my favourite pastimes. It also makes me feel better that someone is reading my content, I'm sure other blogger's feel the same way also. That one comment can make that blogger so happy.



Let me know if you have any tips yourself!
52 comments
  1. Yesss totally agree with all of these! There's many areas of blogging that I still need to work on but I'm so proud of the following I've managed to build up on my blog and all of these points have helped. Being true to yourself is another great one too - people want to follow a real person. Not someone fake or trying to be like everyone else. I think that's another reason why you have a good following too! :) x

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    1. You're an amazing blogger Jenny and I'm so pleased how much of a following you have built over time! I love that point you made about being you, I only follow and interact with bloggers who are relatable and are real! x

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  2. Good and simple tips.
    I think there's no secret if you truly care about the blogging community.

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  3. I used to use Twitter blog sharing pages but I found loads of them stopped being used but I need to give it a bit of research on them! Fab tips and I deffo need to take this opportunity to grow my blog a bit more! xx

    www.iridescentplaces.com

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    1. There are still quite a few that are active lovely, but I know what you mean, some of gone completely silent which is annoying as some of them were amazing pages in terms of retweeting posts and comment threads xx

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  4. Great tips! I'm trying to build my Instagram as I'm still fairly new, and I've found that consistency helps engagement and following! I also use Twitter threads almost every day which has helped me a lot x

    - charlotte / charlottesspace.com

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    1. Consistency definitely helps in increasing engagement Charlotte, I'm beginning to learn that now! I try and use Twitter threads everyday as they are great for reaching out to other bloggers x

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  5. Such a lovely tweet from that person!! Messages like that are always nice when you're still on the smaller side. I agree with absolutely everything that you've said here. Consistency is such big thing when it comes to growing every platform and definitely don't buy followers, it's so obvious!! x

    Sophie
    www.glowsteady.co.uk

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    1. Yes they are Sophie! Consistency is so important in growing a following, it's hard to believe that people still fall into the trap of buying followers and thinking it's ok to do so x

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  6. I'm super new to all of this (since February) so any advice is helpful! In the beginning I was really afraid to share personal information with strangers but I have gotten much better at it. It still scares me so share things online but I just go with it because I know it's the only way that people will know I'm genuine. Blogging can be a little stressful and/or intimidating so I try to help other bloggers by including them in posts or sharing tips I have found helpful (like you did). It definitely makes it a better experience when you try to help others. Thanks or sharing!

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    1. I hope you find this post helpful lovely, I felt exactly the same way when I started blogging, I was quite wary about what I was sharing online, but I only share what I am comfortable for people to read, that's the best way to think of it!

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  7. This was soo useful! especially the last one, keep engaging is the most important thing to me. Thank you for sharing :)


    www.blossomikebana.com

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  8. Totally agree with all of these, especially the ones about Twitter and engagement! Making use of blogger threads on Twitter is so helpful for new bloggers and it really makes a difference, but at the same time it's also important to make sure you return the favour by engaging with everyone else! Great tips, thanks for sharing :)

    Amy | sassycatlady.com

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    1. Oh yes you definitely need to return the favour in regards to commenting! x

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  9. Great tips for getting more followers, I'm finding sometimes it hard, when I always don't have the time to share :)

    Nic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes

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  10. I couldn't agree more with engaging on twitter - it's been so good for growth! Thanks for sharing these tips Lucy X

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed the post Kayleigh! x

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  11. Fantastic advice Lucy! I won't lie, sometimes I'm terrible and scheduling and that means sometimes I don't tweet or post on Instagram as much as I'd like. I try to maintain a level of consistency I can keep up with though, by simply posting on Instagram at least twice per week. It might not be significant enough to grow my following hugely, but I'm still happy with what I've achieved so far.

    Kate | thelittlecrunch.co.uk

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    1. I never schedule my tweets either Kate! I just tweet as often as I can in terms of promoting new blog posts! That's a good consistency for Instagram lovely, it's all about what you're happy with and it doesn't have to be a massive growth in following, it's the fact that you've gained a good following that counts x

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  12. Twitter is the biggest referrer to my website

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  13. Thank you so much Lucy for this post, those tips are absolutely true and effective, twitter is one of my biggest help and those blog rt pages on twitter are so under recognized, the literally give you at least one view per day, so worth the stress of copying and pasting your links.

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    1. The Twitter pages are so good in helping you gain traffic to your blog!

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  14. Engaging on Twitter has been one of the best thing to happen to my blog, so yeah copying and pasting links is worth the stress

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    1. it's definitely worth the copying and pasting of links!

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  15. yes yes yes to number one! It's hard to feel motivated at the start when building a following but buying followers will do you more harm than good! Great tips Lucy :-)
    Sarah x

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  16. I'm so glad I came across this!! I've not long started my own blog up and never even thought to use twitter to promote it! Thank you for this
    https://georgia-g.com/

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    1. I hope this post has helped you lovely and welcome to the blogging world!

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  17. Thanks for your hints & tips - I found these really helpful! As a new blogger I’m consuming so much info at the moment, I really loved how concise and to the point your post is 💖 Toni x

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    1. Welcome to the blogging world Toni! I hope this post has helped you and you can always DM me on Twitter if you have any questions! x

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  18. I honestly think connecting with others plays such a huge part in gaining an authentic following! Being able to relate to someone is such a special thing and creates a bond without even really knowing it. It's so rewarding feeling like you've helped people in that way, too :-)
    Alice Xx
    www.blacktulipbeauty.co.uk

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    1. The relatability factor is so important in blogging, I only follow bloggers who I can relate to and like you said it is such a rewarding feeling when you know you've helped them too! xx

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  19. This is a great post! With lockdown I've taken the time to work on my blog and Instagram a lot more, because I love those platforms and I want to see them grow. I definitely reach out more to other bloggers I follow, and being more consistent has helped lots too. Thank you for sharing these tips, they're all super relevant! :)
    Take care and have a great Sunday x

    Julia x
    Last Post: The "Stuck At Home" Checklist - Fun Ideas Of Things To Do From Home! | https://juliaspeaksbeauty.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-stay-at-home-checklist-find-new.html

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    1. That's good to hear that you've taken time to work on your blog and Instagram during lockdown, there's no better time to do that right now! x

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  20. Amazing tips Lucy! Buying followers is one of the biggest mistakes new bloggers can make in my opinion. It always pays to be genuine with your audience especially in the long run. Honestly I don't know where I'd be without those daily comment threads - they're amazing for engagement :) x

    https://www.femaleoriginal.com

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    1. Absolutely Faye, it's so sad that some new blogger's for into the buying followers trap, I hope new blogger's can learn from us that buying followers is NEVER a good idea. I love comment threads, they help increase my traffic so much! x

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  21. These are some really great tips, thank you! I need to start using twitter more really!

    Shelley x


    www.onlyshelley.com

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  22. This was such a great blog post! I'm always looking for new ways to gain new readers and grow more on my blog! One thing I know for sure is what you said, be consistent! Another thing that I found that's helped me loads recently is SEO! I've been using the Yoast plugin, and i've been getting a lot of views from Google. Again, Great post Lucy xx

    melina | www.melinaelisa.com

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    1. Thank you Melina! I'm glad the Yoast plugin has helped you with your SEO lovely! xx

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  23. Honestly it disappoints me that so many people are still buying followers, it is so pointless!

    Love, Amie ❤️

    The Curvaceous Vegan

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    1. It really is Amie, can't believe that some people still do that x

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  24. OMG for me engagement was everything! The more you post and read and get involved in the industry, the more people get involved back! Thanks for sharing your tips!

    Katie | katieemmabeauty.com

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    1. Engagement is so important in gaining a following isn't it Katie?!

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  25. Such a great post, thanks for sharing. I find it hard to keep up with engagement all the time so find Pinterest is a really good outlet too! Danielle || https://www.missdanielle.com

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  26. Ooo I love this post! I completely agree with these! Thank you for sharing!

    Amber - The Unpredicted Page - https://theunprdictedpage.com

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