5 Ways to Increase Social Media Engagement

Every business should include a social media strategy in its marketing plan. No matter what goods or services you are selling, consumers and businesses alike will research your digital profile. Engaging social media posts are a proven way to control your message, broaden your reach, and target your ideal customer.

However, social media is far from a one-size-fits-all project. It’s more than randomly posting memes to Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Social media must come from a clear vision of what your brand is, who you want to reach, and what you want your audience to do.

Here are five ways to increase your social media engagement and grow your business.

1. Develop a Strong?Brand

Before you hit Tiktok or Instagram, you need to put careful thought into your brand identity. The visual elements of your brand must be consistent across all platforms, and convey a consistent message.

You want to select a name, logo, tone, tagline, typeface, and graphics that illustrate to the market what you are selling. The design components will come from a deep understanding of who you are and who you serve.

Create your ideal customer. How old are they? How do they get their information? Who do they trust? What do they respond to?

The characteristics of your ideal brand persona will dictate how your brand looks and feel across all platforms. The brand you create for the general counsel of a large corporation will be entirely different from one for a product geared towards tweens.

You will also need strong messaging for your brand. Your messages will be conveyed across print, video, and digital media.

2. Frequent and Consistent Posting

In order to increase social engagement with your brand, you need to create a consistent presence on the platforms you choose. It is not enough to post content on LinkedIn once. You have to share with your connections over and over again.

Social media demands an ongoing stream of content. You can create thought leadership through self-published articles. You can share media mentions of your company or photos of people using your product.

Many companies are too busy to maintain the constant supply of content needed to stay prominent on social media. Others are not experts in this area, and delegate the messaging and execution to agencies like Motion.

Whether you have an in-house content manager or you outsource this function, you need to keep your followers engaged with news they want and other messages which underscore your brand. Some companies use systems that automatically generate postings to ensure the well does not run dry.

The ideal outcome is getting your audience to not only follow you but to share with their connections. It’s especially wonderful if they engage with you on social media: sharing their own photos, reviews, and testimonials.

3. Interaction

A sure-fire way to improving social media engagement with your brand is by inviting interaction. You want people to click, share, and comment.

You can encourage engagement in a variety of ways. First, you can offer your audience something important, valuable or amusing.

Your thought leadership may provide precious solutions to problems your audience faces. Messaging on social can play up the idea that “this is something you really need to know!”

People love to be the first to get information. If you can share the information your target persona needs before anyone else, they will remember that you were first. They will also be more likely to share with others, so they can get the halo effect of being up on the latest.

Many brands use game techniques to engage audiences. If users get a certain amount of shares, they unlock a certain benefit like early access to tickets, VIP seating, or a discount.

Other campaigns appeal to people’s altruism. Social media is a great way to promote causes and charities close to your organization’s mission. People will click and share because it is easy and giving makes them feel good. Your brand is then associated with that good feeling.

4. Ambassadors

Everyone in your company from the C suite to all levels of employees probably has social media accounts. They are your most effective brand ambassadors.

Most people trust people they know, not companies. When people who work with you share your social media, new audiences are more receptive than if they see a self-congratulatory tweet from a large corporation.

You may even get the attention of media influencers. These are people of all ages and demographics who have assembled a large social media following. If they post about your brand, you can reach a vast audience.

Not every brand needs to catch the eye of an influencer like Kim Kardashian. You need to reach your ideal customer. If you are a financial advisor and the CFO of a successful accounting firm shares your LinkedIn article to his audience, that can be a huge source of business for you.

For some brands, quantity is key, and they want to reach as broad a client base as possible. Other brands like professional firms must be more focused. They only need to reach a select few in order to make valuable connections.

5. Digital Advertising

Many social media sites offer paid options for boosting your audiences. These alternatives to traditional print ads are surprisingly cost-effective and can be highly targeted.

Facebook ads and other digital paid advertising will reach far more eyeballs than your individual posts. The platforms also will provide you with valuable analytics to help you see what is working and what isn’t. These reports will help you further tailor your messaging and branding to improve social media engagement.

LinkedIn also offers compelling advertising services that help you reach professional audiences for purposes like lead generation and brand awareness.

Engaging Social Media Posts to Grow Your?Business

Engaging social media posts are a critical tool in your business development kit. You can do it yourself, or you can hire specialists who will design the perfect online campaign for you.

By raising your brand’s profile through social media, you can solidify your credentials in front of your key audience, increase sales, and establish your company in the public consciousness. For more tips on leveraging social media and technology to grow your business, keep checking back.

Originally published at https://www.namasteui.com on June 21, 2020.