Posted by Frances on May 24th, 2016
How To Increase Social Media Engagement
A lot of businesses often misunderstand what it means to be a social business. Rather than just registering for a Twitter or a Facebook account, being social requires you to actively interact with your online audience on a regular basis (rather than relying on a Twitterbot to do your handy work).
And it’s not just about posting regular content, but making sure that your followers feel heard and creating a thriving community that identifies closely with your brand.
Social media is a great tool to gain more exposure for your business while at the same time interacting with your customers in a more conversational manner.
Be Authentic
Customers gravitate towards brands who have a distinct voice. Think about the demographic you are trying to connect with and the types of adjectives you would attribute to your brand and build from there.
Listen and Contribute
Producing great content for readers should only be part of your social media strategy. Set aside some time to see how customers are reacting to your content. Feedback will help you know if your articles are engaging customers. Ask questions
Participate in Discussions
Customers love hearing from you and receiving special attention. Whether you’re thanking them for supporting your product/service or addressing a complaint, customers will appreciate that you’ve taken time out of your day to reply.
Be visual!
Readers respond will to graphics that could go along with your tweets and posts. It will be more memorable and increase the likelihood of reposting and replies.
Linking
Linking to other sites and social media channels will often pay off in spades. You can reach a larger audience and increase awareness for your own products and services. Share the content of your followers, and let them know that you have done so. They will likely share your content or posts in kind.
Hold Contests and Promotions
Drum up excitement about your brand by holding a contest or promotion. Customers love a good deal and repeat customers appreciate being recognized for being long standing customers.
Be Consistent
Post regularly and make sure it’s quality content. You don’t want to bombard followers with information but you want to post regularly to ensure they are coming back for more.
Track Growth
An often overlooked part of social media marketing is forgetting to track the success of your campaigns. Are your messages connecting with your audience? There are so many tools available now that are able to track whether or not your social media efforts are helping you convert leads into customers.
Here’s a list of resources to help you measure engagement when it comes to your social media efforts:
Twitter Analytics
Buffer
SumAll
Google Analytics
My Top Tweet
Audiense
