Business tips

7 ways to boost your social media engagement

April 1, 2019

14631

Regardless of the industry you work in, there’s always an endless laundry list of things demanding your attention each day. So, it’s no surprise if you haven’t had the time to focus on a social media content strategy to build engagement and grow your business’ online presence. As more businesses have been going online in recent years, having a strong social media presence can give you a competitive edge over others. Engagement is crucial for growth on any social media platform. Without content that engages and prompts your audience to take action, there will be a lack of activity on your chosen platform, causing your social media presence to stagnate and decline.

Now’s the time to get started

Start using social media to engage your audience with these 7 tips:

1. Pick your platforms wisely

When selecting the right social media platforms for your business, it’s okay to be choosy. You want your content to reach the right people—your ideal customers. So, you need to ensure that you set up and post content to the sites that they’re most active on. Let’s take a step back and get to know the top social media platforms in Canada to see what’s best for your business.

Now that you’re an expert on the platforms available, let’s think about how you can best use them.

2. Plan your social content

Before you set out to dominate the social spaces of your choosing, make a plan. Take the time to set yourself SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based). This will help you to measure the success of your objectives—such as leads generated, conversion rates, referrals and so on—against your expectations. Course-correct your social media content strategy along the way.

Create a social media calendar to remind your team when and where to post content. Creating posts ahead of time will allow you to better focus on other business activities throughout the month. Be sure to create content with purpose. Ask yourself, “Is this relevant to my customers?” Remember, it’s a noisy space and you don’t want to get lost in the crowd.

Quick tip: Use the same name or handle for all social profiles—it makes it easier for customers to find you.

3. Say what they want to hear

Being on the same level as your audience and knowing what their needs are is a must. Show that you know them by incorporating the types of words, phrases or emojis they use to communicate online. For instance, if there are influencers related to your industry that your audience follows, taking a look at their content is a great way to understand what your customers are looking for. Or, you could search trending industry hashtags to see how customers interact with each other and other businesses. This may take some research and trial and error, but it’s a valuable exercise to help you build rapport and attract new prospects.

4. Be present

People want to feel heard and understood, and sometimes that means you’ll need to receive feedback with grace. Address any online negativity quickly with posts that are helpful, offer a resolution and above all else, show your authenticity and understanding.

That being said, you should engage in positive feedback about your business, too! Answer questions and promptly respond—even “liking” a customer’s post about your business or brand goes a long way. And be sure to repost content showing your customers using your products/services—there’s no better testimonial and it’s a great way to foster a positive relationship.

5. Teach them something new

Educating your audience is a great way to capture their attention while also telling them more about your products. The key is to create posts that show why your customers need your products, rather than bragging about the benefits.

For example, a hair salon might post a video on the latest trends this year while using actual footage of customers (with their consent) getting their hair done in the newest fashion. Or, a restaurant can show their food plating and presentation techniques and how it’s done on their most popular dishes to elevate even the simplest meals.

6. Make them laugh!

Humour is a great source of engagement, but many brands shy away from it because of how it can easily backfire. To get it right, you’ll need to consider two things: What does your audience find amusing and what do they find offensive? Try viewing the funny or comedic content your customers are looking at to get a good idea of the kind of tone you want to aim for. Ideally, your post should be content they’d like, share and repost on their own timelines.

Funny content can take on many forms. A simple yet effective method is to create a meme by adding words to an image for a shareable and humourous post. For more complex content, you might want to look into video. Creating a funny short-form video and posting it on YouTube Shorts or on TikTok can lead to an even broader audience engaging with your content and potentially more new customers.

7. Don’t forget to sell your products

Let’s be honest, you want to turn your followers into customers.

Make sure that the links to your website are clearly visible on all your social media accounts. These links should be included in your company bios and can be added to the content of each post whenever it’s relevant. The goal is to create a seamless experience that doesn’t feel like advertising, while engaging your customers with content that enhances the way they experience your brand.

And that’s it! Practice these 7 tips to start boosting your business’s social media engagement, leading to growth and new customers down the line.

Sources:

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/10146-target-older-demographics-social-media.html
https://www.semrush.com/blog/most-popular-social-media-platforms/
https://www.techwyse.com/blog/social-media-marketing/canada-facebook-users-statistics-infographics/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/859285/instagram-user-share-in-canada-age/
https://blog.hootsuite.com/linkedin-statistics-business/#:~:text=20.,of%20your%20LinkedIn%20marketing%20strategy.
https://blog.hootsuite.com/linkedin-statistics-business/
https://www.omnicoreagency.com/twitter-statistics/
https://www.omnicoreagency.com/snapchat-statistics/
https://www.sandvine.com/press-releases/sandvine-releases-2020-mobile-internet-phenomena-report-youtube-is-over-25-of-all-mobile-traffic
https://www.algonquincollege.com/ac-social-media/youtube-stats/
https://blog.hootsuite.com/youtube-stats-marketers/
https://sproutsocial.com/insights/pinterest-statistics/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/328106/pinterest-penetration-markets/
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/27/tiktok-reaches-1-billion-monthly-users.html
https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/canada-tiktok-marketing-2022

Now’s the time to get started

1. Pick your platforms wisely

2. Plan your social content

3. Say what they want to hear

4. Be present

5. Teach them something new

6. Make them laugh!

7. Don’t forget to sell your products

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

Becoming an eco-friendly company without breaking the bank

Automation: the key to a more human business

The secrets to effective recruiting

RELATED ARTICLES MORE FROM AUTHOR