As an e-commerce store owner, it can be pretty hard out there. There are so many factors that determine success and so many millions of ways to attempt to achieve it that you might not be entirely sure of the best way to go about getting it. In theory getting followers, or increasing sales, or optimizing SEO may seem like it'll be a home run. In theory? Not so much. In fact, sometimes it may seem so hard to attain that you'll want to take shortcuts from time to time. Toeing the line of ethics can seem tricky, but it isn't all that hard. There are plenty of ethical ways to increase your followers and I'll show you a few.

1. Engaging Content

This may be the first thing that you want to work on. If the content you're posting isn't engaging then, simply put, no one will engage with your site. There are ways to so many ways to create engaging content that it would be hard to fail so long as you put in the effort for it. In order to create engaging content you'll want to make sure thagt what you post is entertaingin yet informstive while also being inspirational. Everyone loves a good story and stories are an easy way to engage people. Stories are inclusive of all of the components I mentioned and can be as long or as short as you need them to be. Weave a tale with every bit of content you post and your followers are sure to be intrigued.

2. Trendy Hashtags

By now everyone should know what a hashtag is and why they are relevant to our lives. If you want to increase brand awareness and exposure in a relatively short amount of time, hashtags are a great way to go. The trick with this is to find the hashtags that are relevant to your brand. There are millions of hashtags out there, so you will certainly need to put forth the effort to find hashtags that are relevant for your brand. The reason for this is because hashtags help consumers categorize their interests. The more relevant the hashtag is to your brand, the more likely a consumer will be able to find you.

3. Engage Daily

Another important aspect to consider is that you should engage with your followers on a daily basis. "Here today, gone tomorrow" is a phrase that everyone is familiar with. "Out of sight, out of mind" is another. In an industry such as this, it is quite important to remain fresh in the mind of consumers and if you aren't engaging with your followers, whether it be in the form of reposting and sharing, or responding to comments, or creating content for them to engage in, then you're doing yourself a disservice. If you're not allowing yourself the opportunity to engage with your followers, you're missing the chance to increase your exposure and visibility.

4. Influencers

If you were otherwise unaware, many consumers, particularly millennials, no longer trust the word of celebrities. Gone are the days where people trusted a celebrity vouching for a particular brand. Well, they aren't completely gone, but they are a far cry from their golden days, too. Nowadays, people trust the word of your average joe as opposed to a celebrity. Influencers are influential people who can help bring a brand or company's message to a larger group of people. While one could argue that influencers are celebrities in their own right, they're still pretty normal people. Endorsements from celebrities are great, but they're paid to say good things. Influencers are going to give their honest opinion about something, and it may not always be good.

Finding the right influencer for your brand is going to take some research. Like hashtags, there are millions out there, but not all of them are going to be right for your brand. You want to make sure that you're picking influencers that are going to target the correct demographic for you. The last thing you want is to be showcased on a platform that no one is watching.

5. Call-to-Action

This may be the one of the best ways to increase followers because it's so incredibly easy to do. All you will have to do is continue to create your engaging content as you would normally do and then challenge your followers by calling them to action. Is your post a comparison? Ask your followers which item they prefer. Is your post inspirational? Have your followers tag someone or something the post reminds them of. Or you could keep it simple and tell your consumers to click on the link for more information. This step requires no research on your part. All you need are for people to answer your call.

Conclusion

It can seem incredibly easy to want to take shortcuts when getting followers. Some shortcuts may even include buying likes and followers, but I promise you, you're only hurting yourself if you do this. Oftentimes, followers can tell when their fellow followers are organic or not. The only thing you will do is chase away the few organic followers you have. You owe it to yourself and your brand to go about retaining followers as ethically as possible. Once you put forth the necessary effort, it really isn't that hard to do.