Social media has become an inevitable part of the business world. It provides the best way to connect and communicate with the audience. Whether it’s a startup or a well-established organization, everyone uses social media to reach their audience and drive more traffic to their website.
But to be a leader in your industry, you certainly need to improve social media engagement and attract new prospects. So, here are seven effective steps that you can use to keep your audience engaged.
1. Choose the right Platform
Over the years, a lot of social media platforms have been launched with different features and services. So, before you begin and plan your social media campaign, first figure out where you want to run it.
Analyze your website very well and then evaluate which platform will serve your needs and get you more traffic. Also, check which all platforms your target audience is spending most of their time on and then decide accordingly. Being available on the platform your audience likes the most, will make your work easier.
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are some common social media outlets where you can see people of all age groups and businesses of all kinds. So, if you are finding it difficult to narrow down your choices, then you can just start with these three platforms. You will not get disappointed.
But make sure that your campaigns are tailored according to the social media platform you are choosing because every outlet is unique in its own way. So, if you will be more specific, you will get better results.
2. Perform keyword research
Keyword research is a very important factor for creating social media engagement. It will help you to gain an advantage over your competitors and improve engagement and conversions.
You might have a few high ranking keywords for your content, but that’s not enough. Keyword research is not just about finding the high-ranking keywords or post ideas for Instagram or any other platform. It should also match the user intent.
Remember, what your audience is searching, and what you want them to search are two different things. If you want your audience to get engaged, then you need to think from their perspective.
Nowadays, because of voice technology, people tend to search more with actions like “How to get likes on Instagram” instead of short keywords. Therefore, make use of both the keywords, long-tail, and short-tail and research well before picking up any.
3. Understand components of engaging post
Every social media outlet is different in terms of what they consider as engaging posts, but still, there are some similarities that stand out.
Videos like YouTube shorts ideas, images, stories, blogs, a lot can be posted on social media, and these are basic features that more or less every platform offers. But the thing that needs to be understood is what type of content actually your consumers want to see. What attracts them the most.
According to a recent study conducted by sprout social, it has been observed that approx 68% of the people love to check out images, 50% prefer video, and only 30% want text-based posts.
But before coming to a conclusion, do check if these metrics are true in your case and are the ones that people engage with most.
3. Create unique content
Content plays a huge role in social media engagement. It helps in improving the relationship between the brand and customers. Don’t post something that the rest of the crowd is doing. Instead, be unique and try to create something which your audience will not get anywhere else.
Audiences only get engaged when they connect with the content and find it valuable. Otherwise, your content will just disappear.
To make your content enticing for your specific business niche, you can share some insightful information that fits the taste of your audience for example some unique Instagram carousel or post depending on the platform etc. So that when they like it they will share it with their family and friends.
4. Use strong headlines
The headline is the first thing that catches viewers’ attention. A good headline entices the readers to stop and read the complete post. So make sure to use action verbs for headlines and also ensure that your writing is accessible to the readers.
Avoid using industry jargon in your post or try to describe something in an overly complicated way just to sound smart. Social media audiences generally won’t take out time to read and decide the post that is not written in a simple and straightforward way.
5. Identify the best time to post
Track when your audience is most active, liking, and sharing your content. And if you are thinking about how to track, then no need to worry. There are so many analytics tools available in the market using which you can get to know when your posts get more engagement, whether it’s in the morning, afternoon, or night.
The goal behind this is to prepare for the days and times of the day where the greatest portion of the audience encounters the content and clicks it on.
You can also use social media management tools like Socinator, which provides detailed activity statistics about your posts and also allows you to schedule your posts in advance on your preferred networks. This way, you can save your time and efforts and also keep your audience engaged.
6. Encourage sharing
Sharing posts for your audience on your social media is one-way communication. But to keep your audience engaged and get followers, you need to make it a 2-way communication. And you can do this by encouraging your customers to share the experience they have with your brand.
Apart from this, you can also conduct giveaways and contests for your audience so that they feel motivated to stay with your brand. It is the best way to get engagement and to market your brand on social media.
7. Be Responsive
Earlier social media was only limited to sharing posts and connecting with friends and family. But now it has also become a go-to place for customers to reach their favorite brands.
Therefore, you also need to be responsive on your part. Gone are those days when people used to wait 24 hrs for a response. But now, they expect an immediate response. People don’t usually call it good if you take too much time to respond.
So, along with constant social media cross posting, you also make sure to respond to the needs and requests of your audience otherwise, you will lose them.
Ensuring that your customers have a great experience using your services or making a purchase is only half the battle. You should also listen to them and respond to them. This way, your brand reputation and social media engagement will increase, and your customers will become your biggest cheerleaders. This also improves your customer engagement strategy.
Also Read:
Healthcare Content Marketing: How To Do It?
7 Successful Social Media Campaign Examples To Learn From
Top 7 Social Media KPIs To Grow Your Business
9 Reasons Why To Use Social Media Scheduling Tool To Manage Multiple Social Media Accounts
Though the process of discovering, engaging, and building an audience on social media might look overwhelming. But if it’s done in the right way, then success will surely knock your door.
There are so many ways to keep your audience engaged and improve social media personal branding. But, to follow the right approach is important to get desired results. Whether you are running content, working with influencers or simply posting, your aim should always be on the engagement of the users.
