At this point, everyone should know social media has the potential to offer great results for brands, including SEO, lead generation, customer service opportunities, lead nurturing efforts and even sales. However, before you can see these results, you must first grow and learn to engage the people on each of your social media platforms.
Why is engagement on social media important?
- Creating engaging posts means your content will be pushed to the top of the news feed by Facebook, thus increasing the reach of your content.
- High levels of engagement mean that you have hit the mark in terms of publishing content that your audience loves.
- Creating engagement on social media is a means to your business’ end goal: Sales.
So how do you begin to engage your social media audience? These tips should help.
Tip #1: Know Why They Liked Your Page In the First Place.
Knowing the reasons why they Like your page will tell you what types of content or campaigns you should be running. A recent survey revealed that most people (36.9 percent on Facebook and 43.5 percent on Twitter) follow brands because of their interest in special offers and deals. Following closely behind are those who have bought a product or service from the brand or are looking for interesting or entertaining content.
With these statistics, it’s easy to see that simply publishing posts about your products or services may not be the best idea. For example, you may want to throw a social media contest once in a while and promote it.
Don’t be afraid to ask your audience questions, like what are their weekend plans, what their favorite holiday beverage is or even what is their favorite aspect of your brand. It is also a good idea to share interesting news about the industry and ask them what they think about it. The possibilities are endless.
But only occasionally, when you actually have something noteworthy to share, should you include a post that is dedicated to selling your product.
Tip #2: Pictures Speak Louder Than Words.
As the wise saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. When it comes to posting images to your social media accounts, it’s essential to choose images that are not only visually striking, but also relatable and relevant. If you’re not completely sure about your audience’s interests, you can use Facebook’s graph search to learn more about the interests of your fans.
For a tutorial, check out our recent blog post on how to use Facebook Graph Search. This tool enables you to see the interests your followers have, and will help a great deal when it comes to choosing images and content to post to your social media accounts.
Tip #3: Understand That Social Media is a Two-Way Street.
Nearly 23 percent of Twitter users and more than 18 percent of Facebook users follow brands because they find their content interesting and entertaining. Content creation across social media channels is a way for businesses to share content and build relationships between followers and the brand. An important element of this relationship is the idea that it’s a mutual exchange.
The content you provide to your followers should communicate the benefits of what you’re trying to say while showcasing your brand as the go-to source for the particular topic your brand covers. Open dialogue with followers encourages this mutual exchange and makes your brand a more tangible entity.
Out of those surveyed, nearly all (97.9 percent) said their online experience has influenced their decision to purchase a product or a service. Although social media may not always lead directly to sales, these statistics show it does play a large role in a customer’s buying process.
Social media should not be used to just sell, sell, sell. Instead, it should be used to humanize your brand and generate loyal customers by developing close relationships with them.
The sooner you realize this attributive role of social media, the sooner you will see your social media empire blossom. If your brand is looking to begin driving engagement, and ultimately, results through social media, we are here to help.