How Donnalyn Bartolome grew 7M Facebook followers in 1 year
MANILA, Philippines — Vlogger and singer Donnalyn Bartolome shared her personal hacks into growing your online presence and becoming a certified social media star.
Recently, Donnalyn once again proved that it's okay to be silly and sexy sometimes. In a new fun vlog, she showed her enviable bod and wacky sense of humor as she submitted to her fans' dare to spend 24 hours in a bathroom.
The "Kakaibabe" singer flexed her vocal skills while promoting a brand of bra, as part of her bikini ensemble in the challenge which sees her spending quarantine in a posh hotel.
Within 24 hours of its upload, the video reached half a million views on her 8-million strong YouTube channel.
Such is the power the Viva artist holds in the social media sphere. She belongs to that crop of content creators whose videos are surely going to gain immediate traction upon uploading.
Donnalyn shared it was not an easy road to grow her online presence. For example, her Facebook page had remained stagnant at 4 million in 2017. It was a conscious effort for the star to pinpoint how she can improve her Facebook following, and she figured she could maximize the social media site's Creator Studio tool. From there, things started to pick up, and so did her following. From July 2020 to July 2021, Donnalyn increased her following by over 7.7 million. She now has 15 million followers on Facebook.
“I started from the bottom and did not get to where I am now instantly. I’ve always felt like an amateur, which made me strive, at mag-try ng mag-try based sa insights na nakukuha ko from Facebook. Yung effort when you combine it with page insights, you’ll surely start to see results,” Donnalyn shared.
If you're also one of those who are raring to be the next social media star, Donnalyn gives tips on how to grow your channel:
Tip 1: Understand your main audience
Donnalyn recalled how she felt like she hit a wall when her channel did not grow in terms of followers in three years. When she took a crash course on the Creator's Studio Tool, she figured that the most important tip she learned was knowing her audience, and it was not a surprise to know that a majority of her viewers are young women.
In fact, her 24-hour bathroom challenge were flooded with comments from mostly women viewers. It was then that Donnalyn decided to share more of herself, and even dish out occasional pieces of love musings and advice.
“At first I wondered kung okay ba yun, since it was really doing daily things or talking about silly stuff, but the audience engaged with it, the more naka-relate sila, the more they engaged with my videos and posts,” the singer said.
Tip 2: Be authentic
The less you edit yourself, the more authentic you come across. Basically, Donnalyn has no qualms making a fool of herself. She's a babe who appreciates a good laugh.
The Viva star shares videos that give her followers a glimpse into her daily life. She also does Facebook Live events several times per month to interact with her audience, and constantly updates her fans through Facebook Stories and Instagram Stories to share what she's up to.
Tip 3: Interact with viewers
Her latest challenge is part of the #DareDonna challenge, where Donnalyn scrolls through the comments section and finds time to sift through possible "ganaps" on her channel. She also takes time to respond personally to viewers' comments.
Tip 4: Learn how to come up with great editing using the best tools
A great content sometimes can get ruined with poor video quality and haphazard editing.
Donnalyn reviewed the viewer retention metrics on her videos and realized that the videos people watched longest were those with better video quality.
Thus, the social media star advised to upgrade recording equipment for a more engaging viewing experience. She also advised to take particular note of how a video is being edited.
Tip 5: Develop a consistent content schedule
Donnalyn used to not have a schedule at all when she uploads her video. When she decided to set a schedule, her viewers became more engaged as they knew when to check her channel and page for a new upload. She began posting videos more consistently too – which is up to four times per week.
“Kapag may steady following ka na, kailangan meron silang aabangan. You give them content at a consistent time and the viewership will follow,” Donnalyn said.
Tip 6: Branch out
No man is an island, and this adage also applies to all content creators. Almost all of them have already interacted together in videos through collaborations. Donnaly has collaborated several times with fellow content creators such as Zeinab Harake and Jelai Andres.
Donnalyn also suggests to cover other fun gimmicks, like doing pranks or hosting giveaways, noting that the latter is a surefire crowd pleaser. Who doesn't want freebies?
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