We are forever hollering at people to “Stay social, it’s a social platform after all!” and yes we are aggressive with this message 😊
It's no secret that social media is no longer just an online meeting place or platform to stay in touch with friends and family. Among the dinner plate updates, photos of the kids and meme sharing; businesses have nestled in among the personal profiles to use social media as a way to communicate with their customers.
But unlike a human, a business has no real- life friends to add (aww), so how do they become popular on social media? The answer is: they must earn their friends. And we are here with advice on how to stay social.
Scroll Stopping
The first step in getting someone to engage with your brand is to stop them from scrolling past your posts. If you can stop your audience from mind thumbingly scrolling down the news feed, you have engaged their attention. The best way to get that attention is to post something they want to see.
How?
Be funny
When your customers are on social media, it’s likely to be happening in their spare time. They want to be entertained, not sold to or bombarded. Humor is one way you can promote on social media while keeping a captive audience. You might even start a chain of liking and sharing which is a marketers dream come true.
Get a Reaction
Facebook reactions were released which allows users to not only ‘Like’ posts but also to Love, Laugh, WOW, Cry or Angry on # a post.
These different types of engagements open up a new way of engaging with your audience by prompting more of a reaction than a simple thumbs up.
Use Emojis
Emojis are a great way to make the tone of a post clear to the audience. Sometimes humour or sarcasm can get lost in text and interpreted the wrong way. Emojis not only help avoid this but also make the posts feel less automated and more fun.
Ask for a Specific Reaction.
With the new post reaction choices, you can engage your audience by specifically asking for a ‘Love’ reaction, perhaps if they agree with the statement you’ve made. Or you could ask followers to drop a specific emoji in the comments to promote engagement.
Share Interesting Data
People love facts. Offering data relevant to your industry will make for an interesting read.
You could even be a bit cryptic and tempt your audience to head to your website for answers to questions.
Big up your New Release
If you have a new product or service coming up social media can be a great way to tease your audience. Release small details and encourage them to follow you for updates until the big reveal.
Offer a Giveaway
People love a freebie. Giveaways create a lot of hype around your business and from the likes, you re then able to invite those likers to your business page.
Go live
Videos incorporate visual, audio and even text. The combination of these elements with the excitement of the live aspect and you have a recipe for engagement success.
Cut the Crap
Your content should speak to your customers. So before posting any old random tosh, have a quick look through the following points;
Relevant – is it relevant to your target audience and their interests?
Original – are you saying something new and interesting?
High-quality – are you presenting your business in the best light?
Different – are you sharing content in a variety of formats such as blogs, images, videos, etc?
Current – are you in- line with current trends and sharing your views on industry news? (remember to avoid getting political).
Frequent – are you posting often enough, but avoiding spamming?
Relatable – do you talk directly to your customers? Remember the person reading your content is just that- a person!
So, there are a few ways to improve your engage-ability factor. But, do you know what guys? To get the X- factor you need make sure you do this one thing. REPLY TO YOUR AUDIENCE - They are your customers after all, and you wouldn’t ignore a customer in real life!
Doing all of the above with perfect execution will get you nowhere fast unless you respond and engage back with your followers. We see it so often, that as business picks up, time becomes limited and questions and comments are left unanswered. You can have the best product in the world, but if no one is stood behind the counter to serve the customer they have no choice but to walk out. The same goes for your social media presence. People LOVE a business that is responsive to social media, it shows you are attentive and trustworthy and in business, that is worth its weight in gold.
For information on Social Media Marketing, just drop us an email at purely-personal@outlook.com