Social media is one of the major distribution channels your business needs if you want to see any long-term success online. Without it, your website’s online presence can be affected negatively. Social media is actually a good SEO practice, because those social media links connected to your website will help inform Google that your website is trustworthy.
However, when it comes to content, that is another issue entirely. Some businesses tend to blast their content at people rather than engage with others on it; this will not help in the long run! There are ways in which you can get more people engaged, however, which is what we’re going to go over in our article.
Now, there are solutions such as paid promotion on Facebook that can help, but that’s not the focal point of our article. We’re talking about ways to engage with your audience without having to break the bank or invest in chatbots, which are being used more frequently on Facebook (we have a post expressing our opinion on that, if you’re interested). If the latter is what you’re more interested in doing, by all means, continue reading!
Without further ado, here are some tips on how to make the content on your social media more engaging.
1: Host a Contest
Who doesn’t love winning free stuff, or free services? We certainly can’t think of anyone! Each social media account, from Facebook to Instagram, contains their set of rules regarding hosting contests, and it’s important to read up on these rules before setting one up yourself. However, these are great ways to build interest in your business no matter what day of the year!
Congratulate those who win, thank everyone who participates, use a catchy hashtag that will get people talking, feature eye-catching images, offer great prizes, and make sure the rules are clear and easy to follow. Doing all of this will guarantee you a successful contest and some engaging content on your social media!
2: Get Snap-Happy
The common saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” heavily applies to social media. Even if your business is B2B or it’s overly technical, posting photos is better than not having any at all! Some of the best examples of photos we’ve seen include the following:
- Staff pictures, usually where the people are relaxed or happy
- Staff congratulating customers for contests (see our previous point)
- Event or convention pictures
- Cute animal photos (if you’re a veterinarian this should be easy!)
- Happy customers with the products you’ve sold
- The very products you’re selling
- Holiday greetings
- Galleries of your location, especially if you’re a hotel or accommodations business
The list goes on. The point is, get out the camera and take some photos!
3: Lights, Camera, Action! (i.e. Use Videos)
Like photos, videos make for a very visual experience on social media, and in fact it draws more people in than you would expect. Whether they’re video testimonials from your customers or clients, or you’re sharing what kind of weather is going on in real time (you could post about snow if it prevents people from getting to and from your business safely, for example), sometimes videos will better articulate what is going on in real time. Naturally most cameras can be used with smartphones, but if you’re serious about video marketing for your social media, having a professional on board can help!
4: Tell a Story
Some of the best social media accounts we’ve seen regularly tell stories with their content rather than simply blasting them out and waiting for a response. This means the best practice is to respond to comments as soon as they are posted, even if the situation in question is a less than ideal one (i.e. your debit machine shuts down, or online service is temporarily unavailable, etc.). With that in mind, not only should you create content that engages with your audience, but also you should discuss with them the content and encourage them to share their thoughts. This is why we suggested videos and photos; it may get more people engaging with you than an article. It all depends on how you approach it, which brings us to our next tip:
5: Have a Sense of Humour
Having a sense of humour or at least showing that you have one may resonate with customers. It’s a good idea to show it if it helps your business stand out over competition. This point also applies if your sense of humour is part of your business’s brand. If that’s the case, feel free to share or post funny videos or images with good-natured captions related to your business’s industry.
Bear in mind with this point that humour is subjective, so if something seems inappropriate to post even though it’s related to your industry, chances are it is. This should be the first thing you consider before posting or sharing content you think is humorous. Other people may not think something is funny as you do! So long as you approach each piece of content with consideration before posting, this tip will help you improve engagement online.
6: Have a Blog
Yes, we’re talking about blogging again. It’s not just an effective content marketing strategy to own a blog, it’s an effective strategy to market your business, period. You don’t have to post and share straight-up written articles from your blog to your social media, either. Basically, whatever content on your blog you post could be video, audio, or visual as well (check out our post on the subject if you’re not too sure what we mean).
Bear in mind that each social media platform has a different way of formatting these types of content. For example, infographics may look great on your blog, but Facebook tends to squish them so that they fit the smaller format, making them unreadable! Pinterest, meanwhile, doesn’t have that same issue, so you may be better off using that platform for your infographics.
7: Have Social Media in the First Place!
Yes, believe it or not, there are still people in the world who do not use social media despite their owning a business. It’s a shame because despite their reasoning as to why they won’t use social media, these are the types of people who need help the most with their business.
As negative as social media can be some days, it’s pretty much engrained into our society now to the point where we can’t deny its advantages even if we feel otherwise. Besides, you’re not obligated to use every single social media platform that is available. If your audience connects best with you over certain platforms, keep using those and don’t worry about all of the others. The important thing is you’re using the platforms regularly, and search engines will pick up on that and even give your website that much-needed boost (so long as your website is featured on social media, that is!).
So, ready to start using your social media? Do you still need assistance with it, or do you have issues making the accounts show up on your website? If so, get in touch with us at V3 Media. Not only can we consult with you one-on-one about social media if you’d like, we can also update your website if it’s been 10 years (i.e. 100 years in Internet time!) since it was created.