How do I Increase Engagement on my Social Media Channels?
What is engagement on social media?
When you post on social media, you are hoping to get likes, comments, shares, mentions, etc. You want people to be interested and “engaged” in what you are saying. If you don’t get any – then your post isn’t “social”, it’s just media.
The aim of social media is to make connections with clients and prospective clients, you want to chat with them, and start a conversation. It’s all about people buying from people, building awareness of your business, and gaining trust and loyalty.
How do you increase engagement?
Don’t panic, it isn’t as daunting as it seems.
1. Respond to any comments or mentions.
Always like any comments and respond. Try to start a conversation with them, ask them a question, and keep them engaged. e.g., “Thanks so much, we are glad you liked it, we’d love to hear more, let us know what interests you about it, why was it helpful, what part did you love, etc.”
If the comment is a customer service query, answer promptly, so other potential clients know that you are committed.
If it’s an angry comment, it’s best to say something along the lines of “We are so sorry to hear that, we hope we can solve this problem, please message us directly, so we can help you.” Take the comments to a private space, so you can keep the negativity away from your social media.
2. Share you, be you and be authentic.
When you are creating and writing posts for your social media remember that your business is YOU, so you need to write your posts to reflect your personality. It needs to show that you are friendly, helpful, approachable and a great person to do business with.
In essence, don’t just sell, sell, sell on social media. Show the workings of your business, behind the scenes, share your passion for what you do and make people want to buy from you because you are authentic and real.
3. Share posts that are interesting.
This is another reminder to not just sell, sell, sell on your social media. People will get bored and unfollow you. So instead give them something interesting, funny or helpful to read.
Informative pieces are always popular. Think recipes, ‘how to dos’, in-depth information about products, how it’s made, etc.
Sharing your knowledge and being helpful might seem counterintuitive, as you want to sell your skills. For people to trust that you know what you are doing, they need to see evidence, so by providing helpful free information, people will be more likely to spend their money with you. These sorts of posts are usually the ones that get shared by people and area great way to find new prospective clients.
Funny posts – think cat videos, inspiration quotes or silly things that kids say. How does it relate to your business? People love these and will share them, just don’t do too many. And it will keep your social media page upbeat and positive.
4. Ask people to engage.
Ask a question in your post e.g., what new products would you like us to provide, what service can we provide to help you? Run a poll or a competition. These are great to get people to stop and take the time to comment. Then you can reach out and start a conversation with them, building that trust.
5. And finally reach out and talk to people.
This is often the most difficult thing to do for people starting out in business on social media. Start off slow by liking posts from other people/businesses. It is sort of a little “Hello, I’m here.” Then start commenting. It’s the aim of what you are doing on social media, so if you do it for others they will be just as grateful and take the time to look at what you are doing.
When you first set up your business on social media, it will seem slow and hard going to get any comments and likes. But if you keep going and start chatting, it will get better and easier to do. Try to set yourself 30 minutes each day to reach out, comment, like and chat with people. It will make a huge difference.
This article was written by Fiona Service of Litus Digital
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