Social media is called social for a purpose. When you go into a social gathering, naturally you interact with other people and socialize with them. The same with social media, you just not consume yourself with information, but you share it with others, as well as offer your viewpoints with one another. Social media will not be social if there is no engagement. Nowadays, social media engagement is now the new marketing plan for businesses and brands. Word of mouth is a highly effective marketing strategy. Without engagement, there will be no sharing of information in two-way communication. If you want your social media marketing plan to go well, you don’t just pretend to post then just leave it there. Engagement is a continuous effort in engaging.
Here are eight tips to engage your audience on social media to make you more effective in your marketing strategy.Â
POLLS
As you start a conversation, the best way is to ask a question. People want to think through and they also want to hear from other thinkers. Polls can be effective to engage with your audience because it allows people to express their opinions and be part of the conversation. Brands can use polls to understand their customers’ needs, interests, and opinions which can be really helpful for brand marketing. Social media polls are effective because it boosts audience interaction while gaining valuable information from your followers and potential customers.
ENCOURAGE USER CONTENT
User content serves as an excellent social proof. As your audience will see content from real customers, it will increase your credibility and it brings your brand’s promise to the right perspective. To encourage your audience to create content for your brand, you can use hashtags to connect with them. Hash out a unique phrase that reflects your brand and invite your followers to jump in and hashtag content related. You can also encourage them through a contest where the focus on users to upload quality posts that you can use later. When they visit your company or buy a product, lead them to post a quality picture or video of their experience with delicate instructions of frame, light, filter and so on. You can rally your followers to do reviews, ratings, and testimonials. With this strategy, you’re letting their voices tell the story of your brand and you are doing marketing with them.
Q&As LIVE STREAMS
Live streaming offers followers something they cannot experience in other outlets and that is to experience a brand in real-time. In Q&A live streaming, the host answers questions from followers. When you invite followers to ask questions as you do live stream, it uniquely provides them with personalized answers and it encourages personal connection. Through real-time, you also hear feedback from your followers as they directly express what kind of information they want to hear from you. Make sure the entire live stream stays true to your brand by having a host that is engaging so it can create a memorable experience for your audience.
BUILD ON CURRENT EVENTS
Another way to encourage engagement is building on interesting things that are worth writing or posting, and that is on current events. On your posting ideas, you can mix it up with something universal where everyone in your feed can find it relevant. The trick of course here is to make a necessary connection that ties with your brand.
LEVERAGE TRENDING TOPICS
Brands can make their content on social media better by leveraging on trending topics. Trending topics will show you what everyone is talking about on social media at that moment and through this, it will give you an opportunity to engage in real-time. Trending topics will give you inspiration for your next social media conversation. There may be a lot of trending topics on social media but don’t be tempted to jump right away to the bandwagon. Instead, choose what is relevant to your business. Don’t try to force just to take advantage of the trend but think about what works with your target audience. Since being engaging is a continuous effort, you can share content that you find relevant for your business even if it doesn’t come from you in the first place. Make sure you also comment on other content as well or even share your genuine opinions. You can turn trending topics to your advantage and gain a new market and build engagement with your target audience.
CONTESTS
Another way of interactive content is through competitions. People like to play games, compete, keep score, and most of all, win. Satisfy your audience’s competitiveness by having compelling incentives in your promotions. Imagine the increase in your engagement activity if you are able to encourage your target audience to get involved.
COUPON AND DISCOUNTS
Your engagement strategy will not be limited only to what is mentioned above, but your brand can engage the audience with attractive offers such as coupons and discounts. You can experiment with different offers to discover what your customers best respond to. Don’t be afraid to try and explore. To have good promotion of your offer, it will be better to use an engaging image like photos of people using your product rather than logos. Make your discounts substantial by offering free items or a discount of at least 20%. Set an expiration that is sufficient enough for your offer to be shared among friends. And last, don’t forget to promote it.
SHOWCASE EMPLOYEES, CUSTOMERS & PARTNERS
Lastly, to encourage your audience to make content that features your brand, you can consider creating an advocacy program that features your employees, customers, and partners. Through this, you’re showing how you value community, at the same time you’ve amplified your voice and engage with newcomers to express themselves.Â
If you want to see success on your social media, you cannot ignore what is going on. You must be willing to give, follow people, respond to them and join conversations. Show them that you’re not existing just to make the sale, but you want to create a real and lasting relationship with your audience. We hope that you found these tips beneficial, useful and of course engaging!
