27 Aug Drive Customer Engagement on Social Media with These 10 Simple Steps
As marketers, there’s a sense of empowerment that comes with creating relatable content and high engagement rates. It means you’re connecting with the right people, at the right time, and initiating meaningful conversation.
At the same time, there’s nothing quite as disappointing as a social media campaign that flops. You work hard to produce content that will engage your customers, so you want to see the results.
Here are 10 ways you can ensure that your engagement rates continue to stay high and positively affect the bottom line of your business:
Network, Network, Network: While you’re already well acquainted with your brand’s unique value proposition, others may not be. So developing solid relationships with the right audiences is key. In addition to sharing persuasive branded content, consider joining groups and exploring hashtags that allow you to chat about relevant topics. This is called proactive engagement.
Choose a Destination: With no goal in mind, social media posts can easily get lost amongst the masses. Remember that this is a dance: you are leading, and the customer is following. Get specific about where you want them to go next, and base your content around that action. Your goal could be to nurture leads, generate comments, receive feedback, or move the customer further along the buying funnel. No matter what you’re trying to accomplish, knowing the destination is half the battle.
Create High-Value Content: What’s the one piece of advice you’d give away for free? This is where you want to focus your content marketing efforts to increase social media engagement rates. You’re an expert at what you do. By offering valuable information for free in the form of an Instagram post, you’ll continuously attract real people who are benefitting from your expertise.
Take Advantage of Trending Topics: A huge perk of social media is the ability to absorb trending topics with a simple swipe. By creating relevant content based on trending hashtags, holidays, and breaking news, you join a conversation that’s already connecting millions.
Share Content from Other People, Too: Generosity goes a long way in the world of social media engagement. The key here is to build community and trust, rather than a brand personality that hinges solely on your own company’s DNA. By curating a collection of posts from like-minded social media accounts, you’re essentially telling your audience that their content needs come first. It’s a powerful way to keep them coming back for more.
Embrace User Generated Content: Show love by featuring your own customers! There’s nothing that says ‘thank you’ quite like putting the spotlight on them. User generated content creates instant shareability, with the chance to cast a wide net of potential new followers.
Respond to Comments: At its core, social media is about having a conversation. Prioritize responding to comments on your posts, or comment on other posts about your company. This reactive engagement can be even more meaningful when you add a personal touch, by addressing the commenter by their name or answering a specific question. It’s a simple equation. More conversations mean higher engagement!
Create a Visual Feast: Words aren’t enough. Make sure your content is on brand and visually intriguing to the scrolling eye. If you’re creating content for Instagram, using a consistent template and color palette can help build brand recognition. With word-heavy social media feeds, implement the use of GIFs, emojis, and bite-sized videos to keep engagement high.
Choose only Relevant Hashtags: Making use of the infamous hashtag feature on social media can be greatly beneficial. It helps potential customers find your content, and it helps you track what other people are saying on relevant topics. Just don’t overdo it. Cluttering the bottom of a post with too many hashtags can look less than authentic for a brand.
Run Contests that Reward the Customer: Contests and giveaways are an extremely powerful tool for engagement. Maybe you want a current customer to share a post with a branded hashtag, or perhaps you’re leaning into industry-related influencers to gain new followers. Whatever the reason, offering an incentive for an action is an effective way to build quick engagement, especially when you relate it back to a larger marketing campaign.
And lastly, keep posting! Think of social media as a party. You don’t want to be the elusive loner who enters and leaves in a matter of minutes. Nobody is going to go out of their way to find out what’s going on in your world. Use social media to make your world known to the people you care about. With steady and consistent updates, you’ll see higher engagement rates in no time!
What will you implement today to take your engagement rates to the next level?