These days, it is important for businesses to have a social media presence to gain exposure to the goods and services they offer. Having just a website is no longer enough for a business, because today’s consumer’s want to be able to interact with brands in different ways. It is also not enough to set up a social media profile and wait for users to find you. If you want to get the most out of your social media presence, you need to be active and use tried and true strategies to increase user engagement and lead new users to your website.
1 – Your Posts Should Support Strategic Goals
Participation in social media involves more than just collecting comments, likes, shares, pins and retweets. It is important to make sure that every post you make on social media supports a strategic goal, such as building brand awareness, improving customer service or gaining new customers. You should be able to track and measure your objectives so that you can monitor the effectiveness of your strategies. Social media platforms such as Facebook offer tools to boost posts and track engagement. Spend a moment learning how they work.
2 – Track Your Engagement
Pay attention to the type of content you’re posting and keep track of what type of posts get the most engagement. Take a look at your social media analytics on a weekly basis to see how well your posts are performing. Use this information to improve your social media strategy and increase engagement. If you notice that your statistics are slipping, it may be a sign that it’s time to revamp your social media strategy.
3 – Generate Quality Content
Although people are spending more time than ever on social media, there are more and more posts competing for their attention. Instead of trying to engage users by cranking out a large quantity of low-value posts, focus your energy and resources on creating high-quality, relevant posts that potential customers will find useful or interesting. You’ll also want to post promotional pieces as well as contests or other activities that will encourage engagement.
4 – Don’t Spread Yourself Too Thin
If you find it overwhelming to keep up with all of the different social media sites, you are not alone. It may be tempting to stay active on all of the major social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn and YouTube. However, if you try to stay on top of all of these sites, you probably won’t see much of a payoff. Instead, narrow your focus on the social media channels that will work best for your company’s products and services.
5 – Pay Attention to the Competition
Your competitors can help you learn valuable information about the types of social media practices that are most effective (or ineffective) for your industry. Spend some time looking at the profiles of some of your company’s competitors on social media and pay attention to the types of content that generate the most engagement. Then take what you’ve learned and apply it to your own social media strategy.
6 – Participate in the Conversation
Another way to get your company noticed is to stay engaged on social media. Participate in LinkedIn discussions related to your industry. Always respond to feedback (both good and bad) on your social media pages or on review pages such as Yelp. Participation in social media adds a human element to your business and encourages others to join the conversation. It also gives you a chance to show off your customer service skills and tactfully address any concerns consumers may have about your business or products.
Want to Create a Winning Social Media Strategy?
If you want to create a successful social media strategy but are unsure about the steps to take, let us help! We are passionate about helping new businesses get noticed. Contact us today to find out how we can help boost your social media engagement. Our team has the time and creative energy to do the things you want to do but feel like you can’t or don’t know how to do. We can help!
