Located in California’s Bay Area, Amanda Elhassan has grown her business from $10 million in volume to $50 million in volume through narrowing her focus to social media as a core lead generation strategy. Today, social media – with a focus on Instagram – is Amanda’s main lead generation source.

Currently with 9,000 followers, Amanda falls into the category of “micro-influencer.” These are people who have under 10,000 followers and are both selling and generating leads through social media. As Amanda shares, she hasn’t tried to grow a massive following because she doesn’t believe it equates to business. Instead, she focuses on treating her Instagram followers as a community and she treats them as if she were door knocking their neighborhood. In other words, it’s her niche and she’s hyper-focused on bringing this group of people the content that specifically appeals to them.

If you’re looking to become a micro-influencer, grow a following, and add value to those who choose to follow you, consider these 5 key strategies Amanda has used to grow her social media presence (and her business in the process!):

1. Determine your niche and avatar on social media.

Establishing an avatar, a specific type of person you are targeting, and a niche, the wider category of people, can help the platform’s algorithm to direct people to your content. Just like if you were to door knock a neighborhood, you are focusing on appealing to a particular group. The more specific you get when you are creating the content, the more you benefit from them staying on your videos longer, and the more your audience benefits from getting content that fits their needs. This, in turn, helps you to create your community.

2. Create a community through your social media presence.

Utilize the 5-5-5 Rule to use your social media platform effectively. This means that every day, you should follow-up with 5 people in your DMs, like or comment on 5 people’s posts, and create 5 new connections, such as following a restaurant in your area, a friend of a friend, or someone who follows you that you don’t already follow. Using this rule can help deepen your connections and take people from just being followers to people who you truly interact with. In other words, you’ll create a community of people who genuinely feel like they know you.

3. Optimize your profile for the people to find you.

It’s not enough to have your target audience follow you. They also have to know how to reach you. Make sure that your profile includes key details such as your full name and location.

Amanda also suggests making sure that you include links to your website where they can reach out to you with questions and inquires. While Amanda checks her DMs and interacts with people that way, she prefers questions to come through her website so that she can capture their email addresses, get them off of the social media app, and reach them via drip campaigns and touch plans.

4. Determine 3 pillars of content to focus on.

All too often, people fall into one of two categories: either they only post real estate content or they post content on anything and everything. Amanda suggests narrowing down your content to three specific topics that are of interest to you. For instance, Amanda focuses on real estate, travel, and her family. People generally want to work with the people who they relate to, so by focusing on the things that interest you the most, people can feel like they know who you are, like you, and trust. And when you attract people because they like what you post, the community is natural.

5. Make your content consistent, authentic, and easy to digest.

When it comes to social media content, Amanda says you generally have about 3 seconds to attract the attention of your followers. Therefore, get straight to the point. Don’t waste those essential first few seconds by introducing yourself – if they are watching your video, they likely know your name, that you’re a realtor, and where you’re from. Another key must-do? Incorporating subtitles. People don’t always listen with sound, but by using captions, you’ll ensure they can still learn what you’re talking about. Amanda also recommends consistently using the “stories” feature so that you are always present in people’s feeds. As she shares, it’s her “raw and real” stories where her followers get to know her and where conversations start.

Remember, when it comes to building a business through using social media as a lead generation tactic, it can be a numbers game. In other words, posting consistently for an ongoing period of time, establishing a set number of daily interactions, and creating a specific number of new connections. If gaining followers and building your business through social media is your goal, consistency and action are key. Get started and stick with it – it doesn’t need to be perfect!

Inspire members looking for social media inspiration? Download Amanda’s 30 days of content ideas from the Inspire Member Portal. Not a member? Get information on how to become one here.