by The Computing Australia Group | Social Media (SM) marketing has marked its place in the world of business, and it’s here to stay. It has become a natural extension of any online as well as offline business. E-commerce sites make it a rule to have a social media presence. Recognizing the importance of a social media presence, most small and medium-sized enterprises create accounts on social media platforms to connect with potential customers. But it is not enough to just create an account; using SM effectively is necessary to increase customer engagement. In this article, we share a few tips to increase social media engagement from our SM marketing analysts.
What is social media engagement?
We can understand social media engagement in terms of the interactions the audience has with the brand. Having a large number of followers is a good thing. But to turn it into something extraordinary, one has to interact, build relationships, start conversations, create an impact and eventually turn the follower into a customer. Engaging the followers with positive content and opportunities for interaction can make a meaningful relationship with the brand.
Simply put, it is the measure of likes, comments, retweets, tags and mentions, hashtags and shares that your brand gets. In this case, the more, the merrier!
Here are a few tips to increase social media engagement, leading to a greater engagement rate and positive outcomes for the brand!
1. Starting conversations
Having a social media platform and a large base of followers, if used correctly, is a grand opportunity to boost up your social media engagement. One way is posting content that will get them talking. Posting content that is relevant and has a clear call to action can generate higher engagements. It also helps if you are talking more than just about your brand. Broadening the conversation topics to include socially relevant and intriguing content can create the right kind of stir.
Starting a conversation by posting questions about personal experiences is another great way to create engagement. It allows the brand to get to know their opinion and feedback. It also means that you need to follow up on the conversation and keep it going. Posting related content, answering queries and keeping in touch with the followers are good practices.
2. Keeping it visual
3. Respond to Questions and Customer Issues
Social media engagement does not limit itself to simply posting content for attention. It acts as a channel of customer service or social service care. Customers often rely on social media accounts to contact a brand and naturally expect a swift response. Responding to queries resonates well with customers, also building a better relationship on social media.
4. Keep it personal
One sure-shot way to create a better relationship with your prospective customer is to give direct responses. Responding to comments, addressing the user by name and keeping it casual can make the brand seem more people-friendly, leading to more engagements and customer loyalty. Another way to keep it personal is to include the employee’s name while signing off posts, making users feel they are being addressed by a person rather than a computer-generated message.
Sharing content by customers who mention your brand or use your hashtag makes the user feel valued. Similarly, the brand can make its responses more genuine and personal by adding emojis and a casual tone. Keeping it personal also makes for an exciting read!
5. Giveaways and Contests
Another effective way of engaging followers is to hold contests and giveaways. Followers eagerly respond to posts hoping to win. This format, if used well can result in an overwhelming response. Asking people to post pictures using hashtags is one of the popular ways of generating such content. Giveaways are hugely advantageous as the brand simply needs to pick a random winner from a large number of responses. The upside is getting new likes, shares and comments, and a lot of data that can be useful for the brand.6. Curating content, knowing the audience
The kind of content you post, the type of response you should give are all determined by the type of audience and customer you are talking to. The content is determined by the kind of brand you are and the kind of product you sell. Knowing these factors can hugely help curate the content that suits your audience.
This includes the brand voice, choosing the right social media platform, timing the posts, language and tone. When you get these right, you can connect easily with the particular type of audience you have, leading to more engagements.
For example if your audience are sports enthusiasts your content will be based around sporting events and will generally have a casual tone. If your target customer is a business owner, your content should have a slightly formal and analytical tone.
These are a few of the tips for increasing social media engagements. For a more comprehensive approach to making your brand shine, check out The Computing Australia Group social media services, where we introduce your brand to the world! Or drop an email to us at sales@computingaustralia.group.
Jargon Buster
eCommerce – The buying and selling of goods over the internet through websites or webapps.
Hashtags – is a metadata tag preceded by a # symbol, that acts like a label for similar content. It makes it easier for people to share, connect and find all content for a specific topic.
Mentions – On social media, it means that a user has referenced your brand, product or business. A user may tag your social media page or website while mentioning your brand.
Tagging – on social media, means when someone mentions you in their post with @ symbol.
