Tag: Social Media

Technology has transformed the business world. And as it advances, the way customers interact with brands is changing, too!

In this digital era, having an online presence isn’t the key to success; it’s engaging with customers that will make or break your business.

Without engagement, you’re just another business shouting into the abyss. We see examples of such companies every day that has a massive user base but very little active engagement. Conversely, there are many businesses with a low following but high levels of engagement.

There are a few critical reasons for this:

• Social media platforms are saturated.
• It’s harder to get attention due to the noise.
• It takes more effort to create engaging content.
• Customers are savvier, and they want more than just one-way communication.

As you must be aware, there are approximately 3.96 billion social media users globally, and this number will only grow.

But not all of these users are equal – some are more active than others. To get the most out of social media, you need to engage with the right users.

So, how do you identify these users and go about getting more engagement?

There’s no one answer to that question, as it will vary from business to business. But today, I plan to share social media engagement strategies and examples of businesses that have achieved success in both – user base and engagements.

1. Create Content That Builds Relationships

First comes the content itself.

Simply put, you need to create content that attracts the audience and encourages them to participate. Ultimately, this would help build connections and increase your engagement.

Here are a few ways to create content that builds relationships.

Ask Questions

Questions are a great way to get people to engage with your content. They help you learn more about your audience and start a conversation. 

Ask strategic questions about your products and services to learn more about the audience’s experience. You can also use the social media platform to ask personal or general questions to draw in the audience.

Share Insights and Latest Industry Trends

The audience enjoys reading the latest updates from their preferred industry. They help give a behind-the-scenes look at your business and establish your authority. When you demonstrate your credibility to the audience, you earn their respect and loyalty. 

Check how Future Forum builds its reputation by sharing the latest insights from the industry. 

Share Stories

Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of communication. When you use stories in your social media content, you’re not only engaging your audience, but you’re also humanizing your brand.

Look how Salesforce shares the experiences of its chairman and CEO in a narrative format. 

Be Relatable

Another way to create content that will engage users is to make sure it’s personal and relevant to them. You will successfully capture the audience’s interest when your content is relatable and fosters a connection.

For instance, posting pictures of ordinary people – similar to your buyer’s persona wearing your clothes will be more relevant and engaging than models. 

The point is when customers see everyday people using your product, they feel like they can be a part of the brand, too.

For instance, check elo’s posing strategy:

Using models that resemble their ‘normal’ appearance is more likely to resonate with their audience and result in more engagements.

Be Interesting

In order to create engagement, you need to be interesting. No one wants to read a post that’s just selling them something. Be sure to mix up your content with things that will interest your audience. 

Meme marketing has become the latest rage in the social media world, and it’s a great way to add variety to your content. Check this post strategy from Diamond Express Travels:

A content strategy like the above helps get the audience’s attention and create engagement. They’re funny yet, relevant – all things you want in your content.

Be Creative

Don’t be afraid to be innovative with your content. Try out new things and see what works best for your audience.

For example, Apple’s #shotoniPhone campaign is the biggest launch of an advertising campaign in history. It was a creative, new way to show off the camera on the iPhone, and it resonated with users.

The key is to think out of the box and develop unique ways to inspire the audience. As you can see from the above example, the hashtag by Apple managed to generate millions of photo uploads on Instagram.

2. Provide Stellar Customer Service

Do you know what creates the engagement?

Answer: Excellent customer service!

Recent stats found 90% of Americans decide whether to buy again from a company or not, based on the customer service they received.

This is where social media can help your business grow.

You can build relationships with your customers by providing stellar service on social media. And when you have a strong relationship with your customers, they’re more likely to visit and buy from you again. Plus, social media is the perfect platform for providing customer service. It’s immediate, it’s public, and it’s easy to track.

Slack does a great job of providing customer service on social media. A user tagged them on Twitter after facing an issue. Slack’s response was quick and effective.

Check another example from Glossier:

The idea is to be there for customers when they need you and provide your support. When you do that, you’re building relationships with your customers, which will help your business grow.

Here are some tips to help you improve your customer service. 

Use Chatbots

Chatbots have become incredibly popular in recent years, and for a good reason – they’re efficient and effective. And they’re perfect for providing customer service on social media.

With chatbots integrated into your social media channel, you can handle customer service inquiries quickly. They can also help you track customer interactions to see what’s working and what’s not.

Plus, chatbots are ideal for repetitive tasks. So, if you have a lot of customers who are coming to you with the same questions, chatbots can automate that for you.

Use Live Chat

Live chat is the new normal of customer service. And it’s perfect for social media.

It allows you to connect with customers in real-time. This helps you provide quick, effective customer service. 

Plus, it helps you build relationships with your customers. Remember that social media is all about relationships. The more you build, the more likely customers are to buy from you again.

Personalized Response

When providing customer service on social media, it’s essential to personalize your response. When consumers are offered tailored responses, they feel more valued and satisfied with the brand. In fact, 72% of customers say that they will engage with a business only if they receive personalized service. 

Check this screenshot from Clever Messenger:

Let’s say a customer is furious with the product or service they received. Don’t you think such personalized responses will ease down the customer? Eventually, they will see your brand as a trusted source and become loyal consumers.

3. Utilize High-Quality Visuals

A user comes across many posts on social media when they are scrolling their feed. Why should they stop to read your post when there are so many other things to distract them?

Well, attractive visuals can help you break through the noise and capture your audience’s attention. It is the first thing that every social media user – including you and me – notice when looking at a post. After all, images are processed 60,000 times faster than text. 

When the audience sees an accompanying image with text, they are more likely to respond and take action. 

For example, check this screenshot from Nike:

The footwear manufacturing company utilizes high-quality visuals to explain its range of products. They are engaging and compelling, making it convenient for the viewers to decide. 

But not every business has the same resources, investment, and time that Nike can commit to professional photography. So, what can you do?

Your best bet is to utilize stock image websites to access high-quality visuals. They are affordable, boast excellent quality, and are available for download immediately. 

But when using stock photos for your social media marketing strategy, look for unique photos that are not overused, generic, or cliche. Some stock photo sites also display a counter that informs the users how many times a picture has been downloaded. Avoid such pictures. 

You also have the freedom to edit stock photos and adapt them with your unique branding. However, make sure to check the terms and conditions of the site you are using to ensure you are not violating any copyright rules. 

4. Utilize Social Media Ads to Gain Visibility

We just talked about millions of posts on social media and how it’s difficult to stand out from the noise.

The thing is, you can’t expect your audience to engage with your content if they don’t even see it.

That’s where social media ads come in! Ads help increase your reach, target your ‘ideal’ audience, and create better engagement. Plus, you can’t always rely on organic reach because it’s not always consistent.

Check this ad from Binance:

This ad is targeting users who are interested in cryptocurrency. It’s relevant, eye-catching, and useful. It is also helpful for increasing Binance’s reach. 

When creating ads for social media, make sure to add captivating images that help catch users’ attention. Similar to posts, you have the freedom to choose between original photographs and stock photos for your ads. But the pictures you use should resonate with the textual copy you have created.

In the end don’t forget to add a compelling call-to-action that you want the visitors to complete. Provide them with a phone number to click, a link to visit, or an email to contact. Whatever it is, make it easy for the visitors to comprehend and even easier to accomplish.

5. Leverage Influencer Marketing to Build Relationships

It is essential to reach audiences organically and via paid media, but it isn’t always enough for marketing campaigns.

That’s where influencer marketing comes in.

Influencer marketing aims to find people with a large following and a good relationship with their followers. So, if they promote your product or service, their followers will be more likely to listen and even take action. 

Check this example:

Digital General Insurance is running a social campaign with Virat Kohli as the influencer. The renowned Indian cricketer has 49 million followers on Instagram.

So, don’t you think this campaign will be successful?

Of course, it will!

Virat Kohli has a huge fan base who admire and trust him, more than any brand. His loyal fans follow him on every social media platform and take in every recommendation he makes. 

However, many marketers have NOT received the desired results with influencer marketing. The reason for this can be many but the main cause of influencer marketing not working include:

• Hiring an influencer who does not align with your brand’s goals and targets demographics (age, gender, location, interest).
• Focusing on the follower’s numbers only and not looking at the engagement rate. 
• Improper planning of the marketing campaign. 
• Not trusting the influencer’s style of communication. 
• Failing to respect the influencer marketing rules.

While there are no set rules for influencer marketing, it is important to follow the best practices to achieve your desired results.

6. Algorithm Changes: Know What Works for You!

We talked about organic reach, social media ads, and influencer marketing. But without proper planning, your efforts might not yield the desired results.

That’s because the algorithms on social media platforms are constantly changing. For instance, when we talk about the right time to post, Hubspot found the best time to post on Facebook is 1 PM to 3 PM EST. 

But according to Hootsuite, the right time is 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The thing is: every study comes up with different times to post on social media. That’s because the algorithms are fluctuating in the digital world, and every business is different from the others. 

So, what works today might not work tomorrow, and what works for the clothing industry might not work for real estate.

That’s why it’s essential to keep track of your own results. See what type of content works for you, the most suitable time, and the platform that brings you more user engagement. 

So, how do you know what works for you?

The answer is simple. You need to test and measure.

First, you need to test the types of content. For instance, 92% of marketers say video marketing is the must-have part of their business. Visuals like infographics, charts, and graphs drive an 80% higher readership rate. 

Second, you need to test what time of the day your audience connects with you. Do they watch your content daily, on particular days, or on weekends?

Organic posts, and social media ads.

Analyze your previous posts and see which ones received more engagement. Then, try to recreate those posts with a different angle.

Here are a few ways to find comparative data:

Look at Social Media Analytics

Check the screenshot above. The more likes and heart responses indicate the users loved the content and found it resonating. These metrics are available for every social media marketer. Take a look at them to assess how your campaign contributes to your goals. 

Look at The Demographics of Your Followers

If most of your followers are from a certain age group or location, then you can assume that those are the users who will be more engaged with your content.

The screenshot above shows 87% of the audience is men. So, it’s safe to say that the specific company’s content resonates more with men than women. You can use this information to tailor your content accordingly.

Look at Your Competitor’s Social Media Analytics

Now take a look at your competitor’s social media to analyze their marketing strategy. To see a competitor’s analytics, you can use a tool like Social Blade. It will help to see how many followers they have, their engagement rate, and how their growth is trending over time.

When you have this information, you can create content similar to what is working for them but with your own twist and brand’s voice.

7. Use Facebook Creator Studio to Your Advantage

We all know that Facebook is the most used social media platform globally. And it is a favorite of marketers, too, who are looking for ways to increase engagement and grow their business. For their assistance, Facebook also provides many tools to help the creators make the most of this platform. 

One of them is Facebook Creator Studio!

The Facebook Creator Studio is a free dashboard that helps marketers improve their customer service and view all metrics in one place. With this tool, you can:

• See how your posts are performing.
• View your audience insights.
• Analyze your video performance.
• See how people are engaging with your content.
• And more!

It gives you insights, overview, and analysis of your Facebook Page. This way, you can see what’s working and what’s not working. 

Conclusion

As you can see, active engagement on social media depends on many factors. Now that you know them, it’s time to put them into action. The strategies mentioned in this article will help you to do just that. And as always, experimenting is the key to finding what works best for you and your business.

With a little effort, you can create better engagement and connect with more customers than ever before.