Find ways to get yourself in front of new audiences. Even if it's only a few people, that is a few new people who may be interested in your brand. Each of them have approximately 150 meaningful contacts who most likely haven't heard of you.
Why is this so important?
Growing your brand from zero is slow. People do stupid things when they're desperate to gain followers. If you gain followers who aren't engaged, you may as well stay at zero. Your impressions will plummet if people aren't connecting with your content.
How do I do this?
Collaborations are a great way to do this. Whether the guest shows up in your content or you show up in their content, you will attract attention to each other. Keep connecting with new people who get excited about who you are and what you're doing.
Hosting or attending events is another great way to meet people who share similar interests.
Engage with strangers. You never know where it might lead.
Never underestimate the impact one person can have if they love your brand.
Examples!
I wanted to attract people to my mental health brand so I partnered up with a filmmaker who made documentaries about drugs all over the world. We know that where there is drug use, there is often pain, so it was the perfect audience to tap into. I was able to attract a lot of new followers who wanted to find a better way to manage their suffering.
Also see key #1.
Bonus tip!
This might sound crazy but you actually don't want followers who don't love your brand. If you've got 1000 followers and only 1% of them engage, go through your list and remove the followers who never show up in the likes and comments. As you're no longer wasting those impressions, your engagement increases and the algorithm promotes you more.
Understood?
It's easy to create the illusion of success by getting lots of followers using dishonourable methods. You'll be able to bullshit everybody else, but you won't be able to bullshit yourself. Keep it real.
Note: Make sure you truly understand Key #6 before you start collaborating.
In Action!
Below you will find a video of an obstacle course event. I organised a mental health team to participate together. This event generated a lot of new connections and a general sense of excitement around my brand.